Reply With QuoteJesus Christ! Hahaha, I would crap myself as well if some nutter of a woman did that out of the blue.Originally Posted by bobdog
As above i've been in a few sticky situations and the decision to leg it as fast as my little legs will carry me has proved to be a good choice. Shouting and generally behaving like a loon also can confuse and disorientate, it worked for me when someone decided to get in the back of my car, i think it was a mistake on his behalf but didn't plan on asking what his intentions were as i was in a bad part of town.
Some dubious 'ladies' of the street (pretending to offer me a good time) were all over me in Prague trying to find my money/phone. I was drunk, but realised what they were doing and a quick loud blast of sweary bad Czech and a firm hand on the wallet shifted them and they disappeared into the shadows as quickly as they appeared..
Jesus Christ! Hahaha, I would crap myself as well if some nutter of a woman did that out of the blue.
Being in the airline Industry Our asset protection team are excellent at updating what areas to avoid when relaxing after flying duties obvious ones are Lagos,Abuja,Buenos Aires but its extending to a lot of places in the Middle East due to the large amount of anti-British sentiment especially Riyadh,Jeddah and Muscat.That's why i have a G-Shock GW3500 that's my flying watch.I know of over 10 instances where Pilots have had their Watches stolen and many Cabin Crew especially the Males who have had their watches stolen,mostly the Older Guys on the Old contract who prefer Rolex Our security dept.,are quite clear avoid certain areas and avoid wearing expensive jewellry.
I have often wondered why some people going abroad seem to insist on wearing expensive jewellery or a watch. Having lived abroad I always know to take off any jewellery or watch when going to the local market or crowded area, take cash and only as much as you need and avoid looking like a lost tourist just begging to be taken down a dark alley and given a good hiding.
I also wouldn't walk down some dodgy part of a city with an expensive watch on for all to see or my several hundred pound ipad/phone/Walkman on full display either as I would rather not walk about looking like a victim of crime waiting to happen.
There are some people who seem to think "I will wear what I like, go where I like, do what I like" Then 2 days later when they wake up in hospital with all their stuff stolen think to themselves "Now how did that happen?"
I grew up in Sarajevo, Bosnia. I've been robbed many times, even had my trousers taken off me (I was fresh out of a stomach operation and I would've done anything not to get punched in the guts). But later on I got tougher and have generally ignored attempts at robbing me.
Had a gun pulled out at me once, but when I flat out refused to give the idiot my money he didn't understand how that was even possible. It was in a busy area and I bet on him not shooting me. He walked away.
I used to carry a dummy grenade with me. No one steals from a crazy person with a grenade.
Once someone put a knife to my throat and demanded money, but a friend of mine saw it happen, ran up and kicked the guy so hard he dropped the knife and fell to the floor and begged us not to beat him.
Another time I was on a bus and felt someone trying to pickpocket me from behind. I elbowed him in the chest so hard he fell out of the moving bus and onto the road. Don't know what happened to him.
The last time someone attempted to rob me and I refused, they recognized my accent, asked me where I was from, and after I told them I was from Bosnia they walked away.
Anyhow, look like a victim and you'll be victimised. Be smart, be aware of your surrounding and always have an exit plan.
Living in Britain is a very relaxing experience.
+1
He can be just as nasty to native speakers.
Very true Sir its just asking for trouble the World is still fun i have seen so many wonderful places but equally dangerous places where if You do not dress down or have expensive items on You displayed openly,You are going to be robbed,beaten up or sadly killed.
A few years back the good lady and myself decamped to Madrid for the weekend with our baby daughter in tow.
We had a beautiful weekend , great food , fab hotel and super sightseeing. This probably led to my guard being let down on the Sunday.
I left the two girls at the Plaza Mayor and headed off to watch the football for a couple of hours.
Turne out it was the day Nited smashed Arsenal ( I think it was the 6-2) so I wasnt in a good mood anyway :)
As I crossed the road just behind the wife , a number of swarthy women pulled inbetween us . One of them draped a map over my wifes backpack and another one pulled out a small knife with which to cut the bag. I was perfectly positioned to see this and gently pushed away the one with the map giving a steely F>>k off !!
The one with the knife took exception to this and came toward me with the blade.
The only time in my life Ive hit a woman but Sweet Baby Jesus, it was a belter and it floored her. They were off on their toes sharpish as I was running up the Coliseum steps like Rocky.
Other than that Ive had a cou[ple of local las in the boozer eyeing up my old PO but they knew that Id clocked them and they didnt follow it up.
I must admit to being a bit more discreet with what I wear and where I go these days.
Never been mugged in spite of wearing 'decent' watches around the world, but I do believe that how you dress and how you act make a big difference to the risk of being confronted.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
I think I will be more discreet when 'watch spotting' in future, there must be loads of people out there thinking I was on the rob...
Cheers..
Jase
Not watch related but ...
In 1997 i was backpacking through Bratislava, Slovakia. I had to withdrew cash from an ATM late at night in the center of town as i was on an early train the following morning headed towards the Tatra mountains. Not 5 meters away from the cash machine with the cash just tucked into my pocket a local "goon" come at me - " give me your money ". At the same time a much bigger "goon" was closing upon me from another angle. I instantly turned towards the big guy and nodded yes to him, took a step forward , put my right hand down towards the pocket i had just put my wallet in and as goon2 stepped into range i landed a jab square on his mouth & quickly followed it up with a flurry of blows (all of which landed on the mouth / chin ). I turned towards the smaller goon ready to follow up & he held his hands up and said "no no no no" as he walked away leaving his mate on the ground.
Even 8 years after stopping, the instincts from amateur boxing in my teenage years kicked in instantly. I will never forget the look on the smaller ones face once he realised the tide had turned. Better still a local pedestrian on the other side of the road gave me a huge grin and a thumbs up after witnessing the action.
ok you'll all scaring the sh*t outta me...
I was debating taking my sub on hol to Portugal next week.... still am....
my better half is from Sao Paulo, she has some very scary stories.....
the don't be a hero ethic rings true.... I think the big problem comes from when you visit somewhere where mugging = murder, they don't threaten they take first your life, then your stuff....
my biggest (sic) problem is that at 1.7ish m tall (5,6") and 10 stone/62kgs I'm about as scary as a twelve year old girl!
I still wanna know how the guy earlier in the thread avoided the Amsterdam mugging ;-)
When I was (much) younger I was involved in a local Judo club and took it quite seriously. I also studied a little of Ju-Jitsu and its history with like minded folk, which is a form of pretty much anything goes dirty tricks fighting. Training in Ju-jitsu is difficult and frustrating sometimes, because much of it is simple but nasty stuff that you really can't practice on other people. Judo is much better in this respect as it is structured that you can go at each other properly. As others have noted here, the central body line of testicles, throat and eyes are very effective targets, provided you really don't care what the outcome is.
Whilst reading up on Ju-Jitsu , it fascinated me that the Ninjas of old not only trained hard as martial artists and hired killers, often starting as children under apprenticeship, but as professional mercenaries they had to take seriously the practice of planning for, spotting and avoiding trouble as they were often targets themselves of counter attacks or revenge.
So they had many rules and set routines, such as always take a slow wide path around a blind corner, never sit with your back to a door, put a wedge against doors when sleeping etc,etc. They often carried an assortment of very small knives and weapons so that if confronted they could just quickly stab someone and leave quickly, to avoid an unnecessary fight.
Yep, this should be your first line of 'defence'. It comes naturally to those of us who grew up in a dodgy area or had a misspent youth.
I have a killer farts and I'm not afraid to use them
Fas est ab hoste doceri
This is an awesome idea.
I've not been targeted since I was about 15 (some 18 years ago) but I've been threatened with a gun before, even though it wasn't to be robbed. He told me he'd shoot me so I told him to ****ing shoot me then. He didn't. For me it's not about the worth of the item. It's just a matter of pride.
Last edited by RAFF; 10th September 2013 at 21:52.
It's rough where I live, even the coppers walk around in pairs and that's in the station.
Its amusing that the thread "ever been robbed" is ever so slowly turning into "I would've been robbed if I wasn't such a hard man".
But it was always going to happen.
Im still waiting to hear how the Mike Tyson double with the knife and the element of surprise didn't manage to get studlys' wallet.
Rape alarm maybe?
It's a little pathetic to start saying people are labeling themselves 'hard men' by saying they wouldn't allow themselves to get robbed. There is nothing 'hard' about sticking up for yourself.
Nothing at all.
But the thread was asking who HAS been robbed, not who hasn't.
For instance, Ive never been robbed but in the last 20 years have been involved in violent situations - generally, not always, with favourable outcomes.
It made me cringe to type the last sentence - because, while true and involving me "sticking up" for myself, I find it a bit cringeworthy at my age to be talking about the good hidings Ive dished out.
Anyone with kids about to attend university please give this advice to your kids. I am sick of seeing these kids walking around town looking like rejects from one direction (You can spot they are from out of town a mile off. Skinny jeans, stupid hair cut etc....) Usually with an expensive phone on full display or walking away from an ATM counting large amounts of cash talking very loud in that typical no descript student accent. Its like watching a zebra in the wild getting followed by a pack of hyenas.
Wise up, know your area and don't be a victim waiting to happen.
This is very true. Students really are the least aware and most vulnerable of our kind.
Full of intelligence but empty of common sense.
And parents so proud and trusting that they actually believe theyre ready to think for themselves.
Fair enough. I thought all guys like talking about this sort of thing :D
To be fair I'd like to punch Bernie Ecclestone just for the pleasure of it
Quite so!
Self-defence is often misunderstood and indeed misrepresented. Many wrongly believe that it always requires the use of force or violence. What it does require is awareness of your surroundings coupled with the intelligent and efficient use of your abilities and available resources to keep yourself safe.
This may be something as simple as assessing where you park your car, how you walk along the street, or not walking around with your hands in your pockets or engrossed in your phone/walkman etc. At the other extreme it's knowing where and how to strike to incapacitate or distract someone, or what everyday items make effective weapons. Awareness is the key attribute. No matter who you are or what you know, you cannot defend or prepare for what you don't see coming.
Ultimately, If your safety/life is being threatened and you can remove that threat by handing over a replaceable material object, then do so.
There's no shame in handing over your valuables if that's the most effective way to deal with a situation. Simply put, what is your health and life worth? Yes your ego may take a bruising but that will heal. Even inept assailants can get lucky, especially if a weapon is involved.
The way in which you project yourself is important. In my experience, a quiet confidence and a smile can be remarkably effective. I'm positive that it's helped me out of some potentially sticky situations. Of course nothing is foolproof and despite everything, you may find yourself with no option other than to have to defend yourself in more conventional terms. Whether, and how you choose to prepare yourself for this eventuality is entirely a matter of personal choice. Not everyone has the opportunity or the attitude and aptitude to develop a high level of practical ability, but any and all can learn and employ the many other facets that make up 'self-defence.'
jeff
I think the trick is to look confident, never look like you don't know where you're going and minimise risk by keeping valuables out of sight whenever possible. I've got off trains in occasion because I sensed trouble, same with pubs. Like lions looking for the sick and weak in a herd, potential muggers do the same. All this hard man stuff is a bit daft in the face of a gang - best to avoid trouble if you can in the first place!
I've not seen this for a while but I'd love a download for my iPhone.
That's a cracker. This one's great too!
'Like a lot of beginners... you attacked me wrong!'
Love the Kiai too!
jeff
No, but on many occasions I took ''advice'' not to wear any of my Rolex, Omega , Breitling & IWC watches,to for example Rio, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Bangkok etc only to find out, once I got to my destination,that a lot of people where wearing expensive watches and I ended up with a cheap piece of plastic junk on my wrist .....
I am sorry Jeff, but I can't let your last post go without commending it.
Thanks for providing a balenced perspective and sharing your wisdom which I am sure many of the intimidated majority will find both helpful and reassuring.
I have had my fair share of near misses, managing to avoid the force and violence of others only I believe, by maintaining the very tactics and attitudes you describe.
Forpetesake.
Last edited by forpetesake; 11th September 2013 at 13:55.
Its quite safe wearing a Rolex in Bangkok as there are so many fakes about, if anyone asks about your watch just say its a fake, that's what I do when over there. Even the Tuk Tuk drivers are wearing Subs (fakes) so it looks like an everyday watch
Isn't the Coliseum in Rome???
I was mugged a number of years ago when I lived in Bristol. Leaving the pub and on my way home. I heard the aforementioned "have you got the time" line from someone behind me, turned round and was met with a hand round my throat and 3 guys about my age, but bigger than me. No running possible at that point.
I gave them my work phone and my cash but refused to give them my wallet, cards or anything else. Then after calling me a few names they just walked off. I'm still amazed to this day that I didn't get the shoe-ing that usually comes with these sort of things.
Not one Kung Fu or any other Steve Seagal death touch move was pulled..... by me.
Holmes was a hardcore street hustler who knew what he was doing. He stuck the knife in my left side while grabbing the sleeve of my jacket on my left side with his other arm to keep me off balance and control me. he whispered in my ear " I have a knife give me your wallet"
Now there was no way i was giving him my wallet which was in the inside pocket of my jacket. I started babbling that i was tourist and i had no money or a wallet. I could feel the sharp knife in my side.
Now unknown to holmes, my wife was in a Coffee shop and i was waiting for her wasting time when he tried to mug me. She came out of the coffee shop, heard me protesting and she walked straight up to him and said "Get off my BF you ****!", she is a Judo black belt who has been doing it since she was five, she is the type of woman who jumps in first and thinks about it later...anyway she grabbed his left arm and went to sweep him. As soon as she grabbed him he let go off me and ran away.
I was lucky as she never knew or seen that he had a knife at my side. 20 mins later we were in a bar and had forgotten about it.
Last edited by studly; 11th September 2013 at 17:25.
Fas est ab hoste doceri
This.
I'm fortunate enough not to have been mugged, but I train in krav maga and the idea of being mugged with a knife scares me somewhat, because we train for it extensively. It's all good and well stabbing someone in the neck with a pen, but I'm sure that story is missing a few details. I don't think anyone should attempt that kind of thing without the martial arts training to follow through.
What typically happens in that situation? In most cases you don't hit the target (the vulnerable area of the neck is a small target and it only takes a small flinch to successfully avoid such an attack). You never know if the other person has any training: try this on someone who's done a bit of boxing and see how far you get.
Even on contact, it's not going to immediately cripple the opponent unless you get unbelievably lucky (although this kind of "luck" could leave you facing a murder charge, depending on the country).
So then what? Now you have a very angry attacker with a knife, who perceives you as a possible threat to their own life. Also, you have put zero distance between the blade and your soft fleshy parts. You do not want that.
The thing most people without any martial arts traing (and even some with) don't realise is that in any knife fight, one or both involved are going to get cut in all but the rarest of cases. Often multiple times. Clean disarms seen in movies are far from the norm. The primary purpose of a knife defence is not to avoid being cut entirely, but to avoid a critical injury long enough to get away.
I train with some people that have been in those situations for real, in the police, prisons and military. What I think surprises people most is how random the effects of knife wound can be. At one extreme you can have someone get stabbed 17 times in the abdomen and keep coming back fighting as if nothing happened, but at the other, it only takes one cut in the wrong place to kill.
Also, the correct response to a knife is not to attack gung-ho with shock and awe, it's to get the knife the hell away from yourself! In krav maga you defend and attack simultaneously, but under no circumstances would you just attack without controlling the knife. Do that and there's a good chance of ending up dead.
This of course doesn't even account for the other issue (that sports martial arts like Judo are especially poorly-equipped for), which is the idea that if you do somehow overcome an attacker, he might well have mates waiting close by. That's where observation and a keen sense of GTFO are needed.
So, as has been said elsewhere, if someone has a knife and asks for your wallet, if you can't safely run away or call for help, give them your wallet. In a foreign country, carrying a decoy wallet with a few dollars/euros and a spare card is a good idea so you don't need to worry about losing anything important. Don't wear a watch you can't afford to lose.
Great advice, robt.
About the choice of travel watch, I'm increasingly inclined to pick those which are less likely to make me hesitate in handing over pronto.
yep, In panama city a few years ago in a neighborhood I shouldn't have been in.
Two twenty somethings walking behind me and pretty kiwi i was travelling with - I should've hit an run, instead I stood to fight them off, a third guy turned up with a big silver pistol at which point we gave up what we had - a camera and 5 us dollars, and a handbag from her...
Looking back it could have been quite different - certainly changed a certain part of my character as a result!
A great post.
Through my life ive dabbled in a couple of martial arts and then gone through the teenage to early twenties boxing phase and then discovered more important things, like alcohol ,drugs and sex!
Nearly a decade on, my wife and I attended a few krav maga sessions and I was, by and large impressed by the no b*llsh*t approach of the instructors and the economy of movement that krav maga employs.
The thing that really struck me though, as you say, is that the thing people don't understand is that a determined and capable half-decent boxer (for instance) sees a regular attack/counter attack virtually in slow motion. All this "id convert my eyelash into a deadly weapon" talk is irrelevant.
The reflexes of a regular pub fighter, in reality, tend to win vs Mr Karate Club.
Always best to realise that "self defence" isn't in any way related to attack 99% of the time.
No offense RobT but you cannot train defense against a knife, especially against someone who knows how to use one. I would bet that all your knife scenarios begin with the attacker leading with the knife? What if i pull a knife on you and don't lead with it? Instead i lunge at you with a left jab to close the distance and as you go to defend my attack with the left jab i stab you with the knife that i have in my right hand? It is impossible to defend against an attack like this. And once someone gets in close you are screwed.
It is like the guy who grabbed me, he was well versed in using a knife and how to control someone while holding a knife. If i had tried to struggle or fight him he would have pulled down on my jacket holding me off balance as he stabbed me in my left side as many times as he wanted, i would not even be able to punch him due to the angle, he could murder me on the spot and there is nothing i could do even if i had the skills of Anderson Silva. A lot of these guys who work the street will pull shit that you will never see coming.
They will innocently ask you the time and you will look at your wrist and when you look back up there is a knife in your face. Too late for some Krav Maga when there is a knife in your face and you are hit with an adrenaline dump.
If you are really worried about getting robbed then carry a dummy wallet with a tenner in it and some old bank cards. Chuck it on the ground if you are ever confronted and as they go to pick it up run like hell.
The same goes for your house, leave a replica Rolex on the kitchen table along with a bundle of paper cut into the same size as a twenty pound note, put a real twenty on the outside and roll it up and put an elastic band on it. A robber will think they hit the jackpot and grab the watch and roll of money and be gone.
I suggest you try reading what I posted again. It sounds like you scanned, saw the words krav maga and then got very upset about the whole thing.
Also, you clearly don't have any experience with krav maga, but somehow you have assumed it doesn't work and we don't know how knife attacks work, or how, for example, someone with military experience is likely to wield a knife differently from the average pleb. Hint: we do. However, I'm not going to get into the details. Nobody is going to learn much self defence from an Internet forum, and one of the worst dangers is overconfidence in your own ability to fend off an attacker. I don't think we should be encouraging things like carrying a pen for defensive purposes (unless you really know what you are doing).
Indeed so. Several years ago, in the bad old days when gangs roamed unchecked around London's streets, a neighbour on my road (a weathered 6'4" builder, as big and manly as you can imagine someone to be who isn't a professional boxer, bouncer or full-time street fighter) was cornered by a large gang of louts in Enfield. He was robbed, fled, chased down and had his face cut open by one of them with a boxcutter. There was nerve damage to his hands, too, as he tried to deflect the blade. Unless you're on a Hollywood set with actors who take orderly turns in trying to kill you, it not possible to take on 8 or 10 seasoned thugs simultaneously - unless you have a gun, but that's a whole other debate!
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
Spot on post, most sensible thing I have read on this thread so far
I am not going to start an argument and this is my last post on the subject, but the guy who is going to pull a knife on you to rob you is not likely to have been in the military and even if he was he still won't know how to use a knife properly, just like the average guy on the street won't. A guy who has been incarcerated in prison will highly likely know how to use one, and he is the kinda guy who you will find on the street trying to mug you.
The guy who is not a hardcore street hustler and who doesn't have the skills to take your life will not be on his own, he will be with his friend who will also have a knife and be blindsiding you.
At the same time you really are crazy if you think you could even stop your wife from stabbing the hell out of you by using your Krav Maga skills. I know what they train and it is not realistic. The only thing you can do in a knife confrontation is run, die or get maimed. There will be no Jason Bourne type action of taking out the guy with a block, pen or a rolled up newspaper.
Krav Maga if taught properly is great for self defence but like every other martial art it is useless against a knife. But believe what you will, i just hope if someone ever pulls one on you that you don't try to pull any Krav Maga moves on them.
Remember this post is about mugging/robbing. The people who are into this game are not your average punk who carries a knife for self protection.
Anyway i am outta here and isn't this the wrong section for this type of thread?
edit: If you have a strong stomach and want to see the reality of a knife attack and how fast a knife can kill a man, take a look for the video of the guy in Nicaragua, who is armed with a knife and kills something like 4 police officers (who are all armed, one with an AK-47). (The police were partly to blame because they took too long to shoot him)
Last edited by studly; 12th September 2013 at 10:35.
I don't wish to drag the thread too much more off line and I largely agree with most of your points. However, I would like to briefly comment on this part.
I agree totally that it's a graphic illustration of just how dangerous a knife can be. However, it is I would contend, more of a indictment of the extremely poor tactical response shown by the officers. For balance, compare it with the actions of armed response in the recent Woolwich incident!
There is also a very clear distinction that needs to be drawn between someone using a knife to reinforce a threat etc, and someone with a knife who is determined to injure or kill you. However, that's a discussion best kept for another time and place I feel.
regards
jeff
The few times I've been through the red light district, I've always found it a real paradox. It's almost touted as a 'must visit' sight for tourists and indeed you see groups of them there.. yet you look down alleys and stuff and can see gangs of very suspicious people indeed. I always avoid it like the plague whenever I've over there!
Again, spot on.
And, as you say, if you are going to insist on carrying any form of weapon, make sure youre very proficient with it or theres every chance you will have it removed from you and used against you.
More heroes than zeroes on this forum! If a man threathens you with a knife... give him what he wants.
If we are in this robbery topic, would be "interesting" to hear ppl who were offered "cheap" watches withn "unknown" origin... I heard that stolen watches/jewellry often trade at 10% of their original prices.
Given the number of hold-ups in France this summer, this market should be flooded...
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