I'm a little hesitant to post this because I don't want it to seem like I'm bragging which is not my intent at all. This is a great example of why I train though, and I hope this will add to the discussion. Last night some jack ass tried to shake me down for my wallet. I was going to a club in mid-town to hear Infiltrata spin, and when I got to the door I realized that I was short on cash. That was no big deal since I knew where there was an ATM a couple blocks away. As I was getting close to the bank the street was pretty much empty except for three guys on the other side of the street about two blocks in front of me. They were being loud and laughing. As we approached each other one of them crossed the street and stopped in front of me. His two friends were watching- still on the other side of the street. He tapped my arm and asked me how much money I had. I looked him over and didn't see any obvious weapons, and although he was a little taller than me he didn't really have a size advantage. I brought my hands up and told him I didn't have any (I had about $10 in my pocket) so he asked me again louder. I looked him in the eye and told him "Not a dime". I was more than a little nervous, but I figured if he had a weapon he'd have pulled it on me from the get go, and his friends were still on the other side of the street. He pulled his fist back to his ear like he was going to throw a big sloppy punch and I brought my fists the rest of the way up to guard- I had my hands up the whole time. At that point he quickly jogged back over to his friends, who were cracking up laughing.
Looking back on it I'm proud of how I handled myself. I called his bluff without escalating the situation and ended the confrontation without losing anything or getting hurt. Although I didn't do anything other than put my guard up I def. think my training served me well. It gave me the confidence to look him in the eye and hold my ground without panicing, and the fact that my natural reaction was to put up a solid-looking guard showed him that I meant business and was prepared to fight if I had to. Obviously from the way they behaved they weren't hardened criminals. I think he was just showing off and hoping that he could scare me enough to get a few quick bucks.
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