Martial Spirit..

Scott M. Rodell · Post by **Scott M. Rodell** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 11:00 am

Found on the web, offered without comment...

BY THE SWORD: Residents of a house in Memphis, Tenn., were awakened by a home-invasion robbery. Two men burst in and started shooting. During the robbery one of the victims grabbed a sword and swung it at one robber's gun just as he was about to fire. The blow severed the robber's trigger finger, and the gunmen ran. Police recovered the finger and were able to lift a clean fingerprint, which matched Terence Stewart, 28, who was recently released from prison after serving time for violent home-invasion robberies. (Memphis Commercial Appeal) ...The pen may be mightier than the sword, but sometimes the sword is the perfect tool for the job.

Kyro R. Lantsberger · Post by **Kyro R. Lantsberger** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 11:56 am

Doesnt this appear to be a case of CSI gone wrong? I understand the value of fingerprinting, but I think fewer resources would be spent looking for a 9 fingered guy than examining the information of the remaining 1.

Linda Heenan · Post by **Linda Heenan** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 2:21 pm

Nice strike - minimal damage for the maximum result. My swords aren't accessible enough to grab one that quickly. Over here, the police may well be on the door before the invaders left because we live in a town small enough for the neighbours to immediately call the police if they heard a gunshot.

Also, would many of us, in such a situation, aim for the hand? It might have been almost accidental as the victim struck at the gun to prevent being shot. The other day, I found a spider on my ankle. It was dead before I had time to decide if it was a poisonous one. The reaction was faster than thought.

yowie_steve · Post by **yowie_steve** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 4:47 pm

I wonder if that was just dumb luck or a masterfully directed tiao.

I was anticipating the home defender being faced with a lawsuit also. I've heard of martial artists defending themselves before and being sued. Depends on the situation and the home invader I suppose.

Scott M. Rodell · Post by **Scott M. Rodell** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:34 am

yowie_steve wrote:... anticipating the home defender being faced with a lawsuit also... heard of martial artists... being sued...

That can happen, but it depends a lot on the State, i.e. local attitudes. Here in Virginia, you would probably be praised. Up north in New Hampshire, yo could go to jail.

B.Ko · Post by **B.Ko** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 2:09 pm

In gunfights, especially when untrained people are shooting shots often hit the hands holding the weapon. Part of the stress response forces one to focus in on the threat.

I think it is ideal, sword vs. gun....legally gun is more 'lethal'. Also, hitting the arm has less chance of inflicting lethal injury which may cause more serious legal aftermath as well. Also if one is in cramped quarters the sword or knife can be advantageous vs. a firearm.

Tashi James · Post by **Tashi James** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 9:33 pm

I'd move your swords if i were you;

When a lady friend of mine and I were walking once we heard a domestic dispute with the male offender threatening to cut and kill the woman. We called the police {twice} and went in to assist. Things settled down without violence. The police turned up three hours later harrased us and arrested the male.

Mind you they did turn up to a break in within 5 minutes. Bottom line police don't really want to get involved in domestics and this isn't an isolated incident.

Tomita · Post by **Tomita** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:30 pm

That is something I would hesitate to do, my friend...

Especially if I don't know the people involved. You never know what you are getting into, and i would think of the safety of my friend first.

Glad everything worked out, though...

Kind regards,

Tomita

Linda Heenan · Post by **Linda Heenan** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 2:24 pm

You never know what you are getting into, and i would think of the safety of my friend first.

That's a good point. Perfectly sensible in fact. Just the same, if Tashi hadn't gone in, his lady friend would have - just a guess - but it is still very Australian to help someone else at the risk of harm. If you are the only one witnessing a dangerous situation, could you live with yourself if you didn't at least try to help? What if you called the police, walked away, and then read later in the papers that someone had been killed? What if the distraction of two people going in to the house was enough to slow events down until the police arrived?

I realise this point of view is illogical. Good sense says don't get involved. Still .... in Australia there isn't much chance of a gun being involved (that's the biggest difference). The man was probably drunk. It would now be three against one. People do die trying to save others. It's a risk you have to weigh up. Three hours for the police to get there? That's awful! When there was a domestic screaming match up my street a couple of months back, several different households called the police and they were there (three cars full), in 10 minutes.

Tashi James · Post by **Tashi James** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 6:01 pm

Thats exactly right Linda;

What can you do, When I was younger Mr self-preservation would step in.

Unfortunately as I've seen on many occasions, many people turn away and don't assist. My best friend was getting chased by a rival gang {when I was in my mid' teens} and knocked on someones door to ask for help. The guy who answered said wait here, came out with a baseball bat and kneecapped my friend. So certainly there is no need to be naive about others intent.

However I wonder if in part closing ones eyes when another needs assistance is in itself an act of violence.

We have lost our sense of community, our ability to take care of our own.. I am saying no to the each to his own mentality. As Ella Wheelcox once said; to sin in silence when one should protest makes cowards out of men.

Personally I am also an advocate of non-violence, howerver it is unwise to use it as an excuse to do nothing when a friend is in danger.

Linda Heenan · Post by **Linda Heenan** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 8:20 pm

Tomita, I hope you don't feel attacked by those two last posts. That is not the intention at all. It's just a different cultural situation. Like I said .... there wasn't going to be a gun in that house. To tell the truth, there would probably be not a single student in the Aussie group who would think differently from the two of us. If this happened in America where you would surely be shot if you interferred, our whole position could change.

..... so, back to the original topic:

Edited for better information:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/loc ... 61,00.html

There you go. It wasn't years of training and keeping cool in a pressure situation. The man just got lucky in a desperate attempt to save himself from being shot. He used his gardening tool

Tomita · Post by **Tomita** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 2:10 pm

Linda and Tashi,

I certainly don't feel offended by your posts. And frankly I don't think there is a cultural difference in play here, either... I guess that I would probably try to intervene, too. But I wasn't at the scene, and I could only gather that much from the incident described...

Do not misinterpret caution for pacifism, or worse, for indifference.

What Tashi described about his friend, is very real: collective denial of a bad situation and thus nobody intervenes. I've been there, too. Nothing that serious, though.

Kind regards from my side of the pond

Tomita

josh stout · Post by **josh stout** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 2:40 pm

Well I read the article and now I am curious. Two men broke in and robbed eight men at gunpoint? That sounds like people exploiting illegal immigrants' fear of the police. At least I think it does. Guys in better circumstances don't usually sleep eight to a room. My guess is that the men did not use banks, and the robbers were planning on relieving them of their season?s pay. What is a "cavalry type saber" and who would use it for weeds? Most sabers that guys who sleep eight to a room could afford would not be useful for slicing off fingers or cutting weeds. I would expect a machete. I would also expect such men to be extremely skillful with a machete, as they would use it daily. However, the Latino policeman would not have described a machete as a "cavalry type saber".

So anyway I am trying to picture circumstances where eight men would be sleeping together with a saber under the sofa. Assuming it was not a slumber party for sword lovers, I am picturing perhaps a military saber kept for personal protection. I am having a difficult time with the garden tool explanation. It is the wrong tool for the job, the right tool is easily available, and you wouldn't keep a garden tool under the couch. It would get dirt everywhere.

I would say that the man who did the cutting had very good martial spirit. He first assumed leadership and confronted two guys with a gun entering his house and was pistol-whipped for his trouble. Then he regained consciousness, and instead of playing dead, he retrieved the weapon he had hidden for just such an emergency, and without hesitation, in his groggy and pain filled state, went for the guy with the gun, and was successful.

I would not want to mess with that guy.

Josh

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