Went to a rough HS. Had one fellow pull a knife on me... others separated us. Good. He'd probably have cut me some. I'd probably have hurt him real bad with the brick I picked up.
Once on a construction job one of the men got hot at me b/c I refused to back away from a confrontation. He pulled a plain pocket knife, opened it and started up with what he was going to do. I told him he didn't want that kind of trouble and he calmed down and put the knife away.
One morning I saw a man stomping a woman at a bank ATM. I ran at him to stop him. He tore the bank bag from her hands and ran. I followed. About 3/4 mile later, cornered him against a fence. He hollared that he was going to cut me and stuck his hand in his jacket... not sure if he had a knife or gun. I had a couple of broken bricks in my hands. Back then I was playing a lot of church league soft-ball. At that distance, his head was a easy target. Thankfully the police got there before he pulled his hand out. I'd have used the bricks. At that distance he'd have been badly hurt.
Doing in home family therapy and crisis intervention, had a man pull a butcher knife out from under the cushion of a sofa. We were in a small living room. Things got intense. Ended up out the door in the front yard. Got the knife away from him and threw it into the next time zone. He ran over to his car and got another one. Got that one away from him. He picked us a piece of 2x4 which he couldn't use any better than the knives. He ended up going to jail. Only man I ever had to have arrested.
Worst was when I was running a Wednesday afternoon youth program at the church. A teenager pulled a knife out of his boot and tried to use it on me. It turned out alright, was able to get the knife away w/o having to hit him to hard.
The preceding incidents occurred between 1972 and 1995. All the men (always men) involved were plain people, not highly trained knife fighters. I have never had any training in fighting, etc. I have played different sports where one has to learn how to anticipate an opponent, deal with hard impacts, etc.
From time to time I've carried a knife b/c I anticipated being in a tight situation where I could not legally carry a handgun, etc. Thankfully I've never had to use a weapon on anyone. And thankfully since that summer in 1995, I've not had to deal with anyone out to hurt me or my family.
About the best suggestion I can offer is to pay attention to what is going on around you. If you are the authority figure in charge, be in charge and stay in charge. If someone gets froggy, they may decide to hop. So, remember, distance is your friend. At least with the folks I had to deal with, they weren't very good at running and attacking at the same time. Because I was able to get them off balance, I came out on top. That incident on the job, very glad I was able to talk and calm the guy down. He was not a bad man. Neither was I. But we were both fully of teenaged stupidity. It could have gotten really bad. Same with that teenaged boy that jumped me. He wasn't an evil spawn of Satan. He was a troubled boy who needed help. Glad it didn't go any farther than it did. Would have served no point putting him in jail. Would not have helped him or his family. One other thought. If you are in a building, pay attention to the location of furniture/doors. Furniture works real good as a block. And doors... point of escape. That joker with the butcher knife would have turned that living room into a killing field except that there was lots of junk I could throw up at him. It gave me time to get the door open. His girlfriend and baby were also at risk. For all of us that unlocked screen door was probably a life saver. That's about all I can think of that might be helpful to you.
Once on a construction job one of the men got hot at me b/c I refused to back away from a confrontation. He pulled a plain pocket knife, opened it and started up with what he was going to do. I told him he didn't want that kind of trouble and he calmed down and put the knife away.
One morning I saw a man stomping a woman at a bank ATM. I ran at him to stop him. He tore the bank bag from her hands and ran. I followed. About 3/4 mile later, cornered him against a fence. He hollared that he was going to cut me and stuck his hand in his jacket... not sure if he had a knife or gun. I had a couple of broken bricks in my hands. Back then I was playing a lot of church league soft-ball. At that distance, his head was a easy target. Thankfully the police got there before he pulled his hand out. I'd have used the bricks. At that distance he'd have been badly hurt.
Doing in home family therapy and crisis intervention, had a man pull a butcher knife out from under the cushion of a sofa. We were in a small living room. Things got intense. Ended up out the door in the front yard. Got the knife away from him and threw it into the next time zone. He ran over to his car and got another one. Got that one away from him. He picked us a piece of 2x4 which he couldn't use any better than the knives. He ended up going to jail. Only man I ever had to have arrested.
Worst was when I was running a Wednesday afternoon youth program at the church. A teenager pulled a knife out of his boot and tried to use it on me. It turned out alright, was able to get the knife away w/o having to hit him to hard.
The preceding incidents occurred between 1972 and 1995. All the men (always men) involved were plain people, not highly trained knife fighters. I have never had any training in fighting, etc. I have played different sports where one has to learn how to anticipate an opponent, deal with hard impacts, etc.
From time to time I've carried a knife b/c I anticipated being in a tight situation where I could not legally carry a handgun, etc. Thankfully I've never had to use a weapon on anyone. And thankfully since that summer in 1995, I've not had to deal with anyone out to hurt me or my family.
About the best suggestion I can offer is to pay attention to what is going on around you. If you are the authority figure in charge, be in charge and stay in charge. If someone gets froggy, they may decide to hop. So, remember, distance is your friend. At least with the folks I had to deal with, they weren't very good at running and attacking at the same time. Because I was able to get them off balance, I came out on top. That incident on the job, very glad I was able to talk and calm the guy down. He was not a bad man. Neither was I. But we were both fully of teenaged stupidity. It could have gotten really bad. Same with that teenaged boy that jumped me. He wasn't an evil spawn of Satan. He was a troubled boy who needed help. Glad it didn't go any farther than it did. Would have served no point putting him in jail. Would not have helped him or his family. One other thought. If you are in a building, pay attention to the location of furniture/doors. Furniture works real good as a block. And doors... point of escape. That joker with the butcher knife would have turned that living room into a killing field except that there was lots of junk I could throw up at him. It gave me time to get the door open. His girlfriend and baby were also at risk. For all of us that unlocked screen door was probably a life saver. That's about all I can think of that might be helpful to you.
Last edited:
