Sometimes the art of self-defense requires more than physical skills. A little creativity can go a long way. Christine Schoefer has this Perspective.
In 15 years of teaching self-defense in the Bay Area, I’ve been told many stories. Descriptions of attacks have kept me up at night. Reports of quick-witted reactions and creative escapes inspire me: Way to go!
Recently in a Berkeley workshop, a white-haired man named Barry recounted a story unlike the others.
One evening, Barry was walking with his young nephew on the Berkeley Pier, enjoying the sparkly view of distant San Francisco. In an instant, pleasant became threatening: two men stepped out from behind a concrete fishing shelter. The smaller one spoke: “I have a gun. Give me your wallet.” He was agitated, high strung. It was dark and no one else was nearby. Barry spoke to the larger man who appeared to be calmer.
“It was too dark to see well but I had an intuition that this man was not dangerous,” Barry told us. “I said, ‘I won’t give you my wallet but I will give you a blessing.’ We locked eyes, while the small guy cursed under his breath. The tall man spoke: ‘What if I told you I need 20 bucks for my family.’