Karate student floors attackers
Karate woman floors thugs
Karate student floors attackers
STACEY WOOD
05:00 30/05/2011
A young waitress used her karate skills to fight off two attackers as she walked home from a night shift in central Wellington, earning praise from police.
The woman, 18, has studied martial arts for seven years. She elbowed one man in the chest, then punched his accomplice in the stomach.
"We are well and truly impressed. Often we don't encourage people to fight back, because it can make things worse, but she acted with a great degree of bravery and she's done a great job," Detective Sergeant Shane Dye said.
"And she's not a big girl, either."
The woman was walking home past the old Amalgamated Video store in Taranaki St about 6.15 on Saturday morning, when she noticed a man leaning against a car, smoking a cigarette and watching her. Mr Dye said the woman told police the man grabbed her from behind as she passed.
"She's been doing karate for about seven years, so she elbowed him in the chest and stomped on his foot.
"She was then attacked by a second male who she hadn't seen, and he began to pull at her handbag – then she punched him in the stomach."
The woman fell to the ground as she fought off her assailants, and the first man came at her again while she was down.
"She kicked out at him and then managed to get to her feet and run away."
The first attacker was about 1.7 to 1.75 metres tall, about 30 years old, with light skin and "on the tubby side rather than muscular". He was wearing a smoky-green hoodie with a cream-coloured logo, baggy dark-blue jeans, and had close-cropped, slightly balding black hair, with stubble on his face.
The car he was leaning on was an older-style maroon four-door sedan.
The second man was tall and skinny with olive skin, about 35 years old, with long, dark, oily hair down to his shoulders, and a moustache and beard.
He was wearing a black zip-up jacket and jeans, and woollen gloves.
Senior karate instructor Sensei Rajesh Ravji was pleased to hear that the woman had used her skills to escape the attackers.
"When someone is bigger than you, it is always a difficult thing to combat, but that's the beauty of martial arts, you learn how. Those attackers would have been surprised to have someone come back at them like that."
- The Dominion Post
Karate woman floors thugs
7:23 AM Monday May 30, 2011
Two thugs got more than they bargained for when they attacked a young Wellington woman as she walked home from a nightshift at the weekend.
The 18-year-old was walking along Taranaki St, near the Salvation Army store and the old Amalgamated Video building, about 6.15am on Saturday when she noticed a man watching her. When she passed him, he attempted to grab her and pull her towards his vehicle, a maroon four-door car.
They found they were no match for the waitress who floored the pair by using her martial arts skills.
Police said they were impressed with the young woman's bravery.
"Luckily the victim has several years of karate experience and was able to fight the offender off, however, a second man attempted to grab her handbag over her shoulder. She managed to punch him before she fell to the ground," Detective Sergeant Shane Dye said.
Detective Sergeant Dye said the victim luckily managed to fend off her attackers and make her escape.
"This was a very scary attack and has left the victim extremely shaken, leaving her with a knee injury."
Police want to speak to a witness who walked past the victim as she was approaching the Taranaki Street/Vivian Street intersection.
"We believe this man may have walked towards the offenders and may hold helpful information. The victim would have been visibly upset at this time and was running south on Taranaki Street. I appeal to that person to come forward and contact police," Mr Dye said.
The first offender is described as fair-skinned of solid build, around 173cm, and about 30 years old. He was wearing a green hooded sweatshirt and dark blue baggy jeans.
The second offender was very tall and thinner than the first offender with darker coloured skin, aged around 35 years with a thick black moustache and beard, with shoulder-length straight black hair. He was wearing dark-coloured woollen gloves.
Anyone with any information should phone Wellington CIB on 04 381 2000 or phone Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
- Herald Online, NZPA
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