Convenience store assault.

[JodyH]

Interesting case study for the P-F class.
Convenience store assault
My initial thought is as soon as the guy became animated I'd have backed away, set my purchase down and walked out of the store.
That's easy to say from here, toe to toe with the guy it might be a little harder to disengage.
The guy was looking for a fight and I don't think verbal de-escalation was going to work.
I don't see this being a good OC situation, he's too close and too amped up.
The good thing is, the guy was throwing some crappy punches and leaving himself wide open.
The bad thing is he looked like he had a little roid rage and might be tough to handle on the ground.
One of these days this guy's going to run into a "stand your ground" victim and get himself justifiably shot.

Discuss...

[zacbol]

I don't think I would have had the presence of mind to walk away (sadly), but once that guy threw the first haymaker, it would have been a good opportunity to practice the time I've spent on combatives. I think a few palm strikes and/or elbows to the face would have convinced him he did not *really* want to fight. That said, who the hell knows how it would have turned out? The quote from guy who was assaulted is just sad "I didn't want to fight back because that can get you killed." Okay, well, then you get to have your teeth knocked out. Have fun with that.

[barstoolguru]

once the beating went past a certain point (the first punch with no retaliation) then it can clear that the aggressor is just looking to hurt him and at that point it is OK for the victim to defend himself by more than an equal means (fearing for your life)

[Zhurdan]

Gatoraide ain't worth it. I'd have left after the first "flinch" the guy made towards the assaulted dude.

Unfortunately, I fear that even walking away wouldn't have ended it. The turd was looking for a fight and probably would have followed the other guy out if he went to leave. Assumptions of course, but I've seen similar events down in SLC when fueling up. Luckily it was not to me and I was at a distance, but some kids were either on a dare or just stupid. They started pushing and shoving what appeared to be a random dude. Paid at the pump so I stopped fueling and got the hell outta dodge. Couldn't name a cross street in that stupid city so I just drove on and fueled up the rest of the way elsewhere.

[secondstoryguy]

The attacker was picking on a easy target that he felt he could beat. If it was someone that was bigger, locked on, more verbal, etc. I don't believe the guy would have engaged. The attacker wasnt that great of a fighter...he would have been toast if that guy had had an ounce of training.

[zacbol]

Oh, don't get me wrong. Walking away would have been the right/smart thing to do. I just know myself too well to suggest I would have been able to disengage from the Monkey Dance. I would have been enraged he was yelling at me for no reason and argued back, then when he threw a punch I would have attacked him back as a conditioned response. I wish I had more ability to pull out of it because it's a real problem in these situations. I'm working on it--probably for ever.

[JodyH]

Lucky for me I'm really good at walking away.
If I feel cornered or trapped though I go from 0-100 in an instant and have a hard time disengaging.
I have a very out of control temper but on a loooooong fuse.
That's why I like studying these types of confrontations and trying to find the early out.
Knowing your personal trigger moments helps you avoid or embrace them as appropriate.

[JHC]

This is one of the "gifts" of carrying a firearm. For me at least. I find it easy to walk away and disengage from testosterone contests and don't give a fig for taunts etc. Boy that black T-shirt guy with the mouth seemed incompetent. He couldn't be pulling that schtick off against many willing and able. Must have read that he found his perfect mark. I imagine he bragged that night to somebody about all the a#$ he kicked.

[Al T.]

Two dummies occupying the same space. Fail.

Guy in the yellow shirt should have backed up as soon as the first combative words were spoken. Space and a can of Raid would have been his friend.

[JHC]

Two dummies occupying the same space. Fail.

Guy in the yellow shirt should have backed up as soon as the first combative words were spoken. Space and a can of Raid would have been his friend.

Does that work better than OC?