Pugilists

Left to right: Brent, Woody, Pete, and Brendan.

(click on pic to enlarge)

Photographer: Anthony

school holidays

Hey kung-fu people,

I will be away for these classes:

Monday 28/9/15
Wednesday 30/9/15
Monday 5/10/15
Wednesday 7/10/15

On these dates Hadrian is in charge, along with Brent and Pete.

You're in good hands.......................

Anthony

Self-defence in the News - No. 85

Dairy owner takes on armed robber

 Wednesday Aug 26, 2015

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11502949 (Video through link.)

by Nikki Papatsoumas

Nikki Papatsoumas is an NZME. News Service reporter based in Wellington. 

 

 

A Hamilton dairy owner is nursing bruises this morning, two days after wrestling a rifle from a man who demanded money from his till.

Rupan Patel is this morning meeting with police again after grabbing the gun off the offender causing him to flee the scene at about 7.15pm on Monday.

"I did get a bit of bruising," he told the New Zealand Herald.

He did not yet know if the man had been caught by police.

When the man walked into the dairy with his face covered, Mr Patel said he thought it was some kind of joke.

"This area I've been told is really safe -- nothing ever really happens.

"He walks in ... he puts the gun up and I thought 'this is for real'."

Mr Patel said the offender passed him a shopping bag and ordered him to fill it with money from the till, while continuing to point a gun at him.

"He said 'no mucking around'. He used the f-word and stuff like that," he said.

Mr Patel said when he tried to open the till it wouldn't open.

"He came to the front of the counter and he tried to make a jump across the counter - that's when I took the chance.

"His hands were free and he wasn't pointing the gun at me.

"He was quite close to me and I tried to push him down on to the ground.

"He was holding on to me, I'm holding on to him, we're on the ground. We have a bit of a wrestle, but my main intention is to get the gun off him."

During the confrontation, Mr Patel managed to grab the gun. He said the offender's balaclava came off, revealing some of his face, but he quickly fled, jumping into his getaway car and speeding off.

"Then he makes a run out the door, I want to hit him with the gun, and tell him 'don't come back'."

"Scary thoughts" ran through Mr Patel's head as the gun was pointing at him, he said.

"He could shoot if it was loaded, if I didn't do anything, or what he wanted, then he would have shot me," Mr Patel said.

"I was trying to follow what he was saying but I couldn't open the till.

"Everything happened so quickly, my mind was pretty much blank."

Mr Patel said he took over the business three months ago, and the incident was like nothing he had experienced before.

Despite Monday night's ordeal, he has remained calm, and was back at work yesterday evening.

"I've got my family now at night time. I'm not by myself any more, just to be on the safe side."

- Additional reporting: Susan Strongman of the New Zealand Herald

- NZME.

Winter training on a snowy Saturday...

Left to right: Pete, Brent, Sohail, Hadrian.

Photographer: Anthony

Self-defence in the News - No. 84

Schoolgirl knees attacker in the genitals

12:03 PM Thursday Jul 30, 2015

 

Police are looking for the man after the attack on Mackay St 

in Thames about 2pm on Tuesday.

A schoolgirl kneed a man in the genitals and fled after he indecently assaulted her.

Police are looking for the man after the attack on Mackay St in Thames about 2pm on Tuesday.

"Our victim, a 16-year-old girl, was walking on the eastern side of Mackay St, towards Sealy St, when a man walking towards her suddenly stopped her and subjected her to an indecent assault," Detective Sergeant Martyn Hughes said.

"Keeping her wits about her, our victim has kneed her attacker in the genitals before fleeing and raising the alarm."

The offender was described as a clean-shaven man in his late 20s with olive skin who was "reasonably tall" and wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans.

Police have asked anyone with information about the suspect or the incident to either call Thames police on 07 867 9600 or anonymously contact the Crimestoppers organisation on 0800 555 111.

Police praised the girl's "presence of mind" in the situation.

Mr Hughes said police were speaking to local schools to discuss safety issues.

Wednesday, 3 June

Reluctantly I am cancelling the class for tonight, due to the road conditions.

Self-defence in the News - No. 83

Knife used in self-defence

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/344550/no-charges-over-self-defence-stabbing

No charges over 'self-defence' stabbing

Wed, 3 Jun 2015

 

Charges have not been laid against a man who stabbed a 40-year-old Mount Manganui man in the chest during a confrontation.

A coroners report has found building contractor, David Cunningham, died after becoming involved in an altercation with another man, David Broiles, who stabbed him in "self-defence".

The incident occurred after Mr Cunningham left the house where he was staying to go and buy cigarettes around 11pm on the night of August 26, 2012. He was then seen on Ararimu road, at around 2am on August 27, where he entered a property.

Mr Cunningham proceeded to a sleep out where a person living on the property was sleeping.

Mr Broiles heard Mr Cunningham's approach, armed himself with a knife and torch believeing the person was an intruder. He confronted Mr Cunningham at the door and a fight ensued.

Mr Cunningham was stabbed several times. He died at the scene.

The report found Mr Cunningham's death was caused by Mr Broiles and no other people were involved in the events of that night. Despite acknowledging this fact, the man said he used the force he did in self-defence.

Police were unable to establish the reason Mr Cunningham was on the property at Ararimu road and no evidence was found to conclude he had gone onto the property with any criminal intent.

A blood test found Mr Cunningham's blood alcohol level was almost three times over the legal driving limit. The limit has since been lowered.

No criminal charges were laid in relation to the death of Mr Cunningham.

- by Regan Schoultz

Self-defence in the News - No. 82

Grandmother plays possum to survive violent home invasion

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/68889043/porirua-grandmother-played-possum-to-survive-violent-home-invasion 

May 29 2015

NEIL RATLEY

KEVIN STENT/Dominion Post

A Porirua grandmother was beaten and throttled in her own home for half a packet of cigarettes and an iPad.

Linda McElwee played possum to survive the attack, which left her with scars and bruises to her face, chest and shoulder.

"He tried to strangle me and then started bashing me with his fists and then an object. I knew I wasn't going to win a fight against him, so I played unconscious," the 63-year-old said this week.

But despite her ordeal, in the early hours of May 21, she says she feels "a bit sorry" for her attacker and wants to see him rehabilitated.

The sanctuary of McElwee's home in a quiet, bushy dead-end street in Ranui Heights was shattered when she awoke to find a stranger in the house.

She thinks the deadbolt from the seldom-used sliding door in the lounge might not have been fully put back the last time it was used.  

"I had fallen asleep on my couch under a big fur blanket. The lights were on, the TV was on."

The invader opened the sliding door and circled the couch, probably not spotting the sleeping McElwee, burrowed into her blanket.

A packet of Winfield Blue 25s, holding 12 cigarettes and a lighter, and an iPad were taken from the coffee table. The burglar then headed for a small table at the foot of the couch, where a laptop was charging.

"I woke facing the window and I noticed the curtain open. I made a slight move and he jumped me," McElwee said.

"He came right down with his hands and then slammed his leg across the top of my shoulder and my chest, trying to pin me down. Then he got his hands around my throat.

"I knew then this was for real. I started trying to protect myself and then he came on with his fists.  

"He must have thought the thumping wasn't doing any damage, so he picked up something solid and started bashing me around the face.

"I realised this is getting serious and went limp."

The invader made a run for it out of the door and into the darkness.

McElwee's 83-year-old mother, who lives with her, slept through the entire episode.

"Thankfully mum is deaf and slept right through it. I can only imagine what could have happened to her if she had wandered in while I was being attacked," McElwee said.

Her mother said it was horrific to be woken by her daughter, her face covered in blood.

"I thought I was dreaming when she woke me up and said, 'Mum, I've attacked.' Part of me feels guilty I slept right through it."

McElwee, with blood pouring from her face and dripping on to the cream carpet, picked up the phone and called the police. Despite a good cleaning, the carpet is still visibly stained.

Police were soon on the scene with the dogs, and McElwee said they tracked down a suspect just a few blocks away, having a smoke.

A 17-year-old is due to appear in court on June 12.

McElwee said: "I realise there are people struggling out there. It's sad to think they believe they have to resort to these kind of things.

"This young person must have no self-worth, no self-respect and no pride. Hopefully the system can help give him these things."
     

 - Stuff

Monday, 25 May

Class cancelled due to the state of the roads.

See you Wednesday.

Self-defence in the News - No. 81

Sex attacker choked-out by female kickboxer

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/68725133/Sex-attacker-choked-by-female-kickboxer 

May 21 2015

 Sex offender "bit off slightly more than he could chew" when he attacked a female kickboxer.

 

Sex attacker Mark Willis dragged a woman over a wall and tried to get on top of her, but five minutes later he was unconscious.

The female had two years of kickboxing under her belt and put her attacker in a triangle choke, Metro reported.

The move involves wrapping your legs around the neck of the other person to cut off the blood flow to their brain, and puts them to sleep.

Willis, 39, was not prepared for his attack to go all so wrong.

He had targeted the woman who was walking alone through a town in Gloucestershire, England at 2am (local time).

Wallis grabbed her and punched her several times, then forced her into a garden and got on top of her. He told her to be quiet, do as he said and she wouldn't get hurt.

"I swore at him," said the woman.

"My legs were still free so I lifted my left leg up onto his shoulder and around the back of his neck. I crossed my right leg over and squeezed together as hard as I could.

"I closed my eyes and held it for as long as I could hoping he would pass out in a few seconds. Then I felt his body go limp. I thought he had lost consciousness or run out of air. I flipped him off, rolled over and crawled through the bushes to the door of the house."

Later Willis was quickly arrested, identified by the woman, and convicted of sexual assault, despite his denial.

He is yet to be sentenced.

The woman received a £500 reward from the presiding judge, as a token of the court's appreciation of what she has done to catch Willis.

"He bit off slightly more than he could chew with this young lady," Judge Hart said.

"Not everyone could do what she did and not everyone could even sensibly try to do what she did."

 - Stuff