The day three creeps attacked me
while walking alone in the woods

Blazing Reader,

I've been a student of martial arts since 1992. However, only once in the last three decades have I ever had to do any "kung fu fighting."

I was walking in a wooded area along the creek that runs through my hometown of Brampton, Ontario. I was a teenager. I was alone. Three guys came up from behind — two on either side, one lagging behind. The two upfront started chatting with me. The guy behind, who looked like a sumo wrestler, didn't say anything, just grinned.

At first, I thought they were Mormon missionaries, as their awkward questions seemed like a lead-in to a "come to Jesus" sales pitch.

Instead, all of a sudden, Silent Sumo grabbed me from behind, wrapping his arms around my chest. He was taller than me and probably twice my weight.

Fortunately, the mixed martial arts instructor I studied with had taught us how to escape this grab as a requirement to receive our first stripe on our white belts. Instead of trying to push his arms away, I exhaled all the air out of my lungs, pulled my arms in, and lifted my feet off the ground. Instantly, I slipped out of his grasp, rolled away and was back on my feet.

Most of what happened next is a blur. I didn't try to negotiate. All the techniques I learned flowed automatically, along with a hell of a lot of cortisol. All three of them were coming at me. I responded with a ferocity I didn't expect. It wasn't even a conscious choice.

I'm rather good at kicking, which keeps you at arm's length from your opponent. Most people can't kick back, so it's a big advantage. And a boot to the jaw is pretty damaging — even for well-padded Silent Sumo.

At one point, one of the thinner guys — by now, I figured he wasn't a Mormon missionary — said, "He's not worth it."

That's when I switched to the #1 technique I was taught by every martial arts instructor I ever worked with: "If you have no one else to protect, and you can do so: RUN!"

Surprisingly, I escaped with probably only a bruise or two. The others may have required medical attention. I don't know.

This brings me back to my post from last Friday, where I quoted the United Freedom Party of Alberta's definition of freedom:

If we accept that definition, I would not have had the freedom to do what I did: defend myself at all costs — even to the point of killing someone.

I certainly harmed others. Of course, I only did so because they had violated my freedoms first and were trying to harm me.

But it just proves that the "do no harm" definition of freedom is not sufficient.

My son and I have also concluded that there is another major flaw in their definition of freedom, which I'll talk about in another post.

Until then, if you haven't already, I encourage you to hear why the president of the Freedom Party of Ontario had "absolutely nothing positive to say" about the United Freedom Party of Alberta's views on freedom in episode #846 of Just Right: https://justrightmedia.org/blog/archives/14254

—John C.A. Manley

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona: A Dystopian Love Story, the forthcoming All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of speculative fiction. Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber at: https://blazingpinecone.com/subscribe/