Category: Self-Defense

It was a case of wrong place at the wrong time for an assault suspect accused of punching two people, including a teenager, seemingly at random on a Manhattan street.

That’s because a passerby — who just happens be a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt — chased him down and helped bring him to justice. 

Ro Malabanan was heading to work Wednesday when he saw the suspect sucker-punch a construction worker in SoHo before running away. In an exclusive interview with NBC New York, Malabanan said he was worried the suspect would attack someone else — so he decided to intervene.

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Josh Copson always wanted to be the superhero growing up. When Nelson County teen Alexis Murphy went missing in 2013, that hero impulse returned.

“I’m not that, though,” he said. “What I am is a martial arts instructor. And what I can do is do something to help that not happen to somebody else.”

Copson has taught martial arts in the Nelson and Amherst areas for about 20 years and is the sensei of Blue Dragon Dojang on Front Street in Lovingston. He didn’t know Murphy personally, but something about her disappearance — in his hometown — was a call to action.

The Shipman 17-year-old was a rising senior at Nelson County High School when she went missing from a Lovingston gas station in August 2013. Murphy’s remains were located in December 2021, seven years after her disappearance. Randy Taylor, 56, is serving two life sentences for her abduction and murder after DNA evidence and video surveillance linked him to Murphy.

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A Russian airline flipping out about violent passengers is taking matters into its own hands — by teaching martial arts to its staff.

Low-cost carrier Pobeda Airlines says it plans to teach its ground staffers judo and sambo, a martial art developed by the Soviet Red Army in the 1920s, the UK’s Daily Mail reported.

The decision comes after an irate passenger who missed his flight from Moscow was caught on video as he attacked a Pobeda manager who refused to issue him a refund. The man was later arrested.

The airline initially considered hiring private security guards to help protect its employees, but then dropped the plan because it would have increased the cost of plane tickets by up to 2 percent.

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I learned a lot of things in karate. I attend Action Karate Nazareth. I made new friends at karate. Over the past three years, I learned how to defend myself. I learned about confidence, discipline, self-control and perseverance.

Karate gave me something to do while COVID-19 was happening. We had it virtually but soon we were back in person.

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From https://www.foxnews.com

When a would-be kidnapper attacked 10-year-old Georgia boy Sebastian Solache, the child put his karate knowledge to the test.

An intruder approached the Solache home in Hall County late Tuesday afternoon, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. Solache was in the driveway when a man grabbed him from behind and attempted to drag him toward the back of a neighboring house.

The young boy decided to use his understanding of karate to protect himself from the stranger.

“He drags me and I elbow him in the ribs,” Solache told Fox 5. “From there he slammed me on the floor and ran.”

That’s when Solache ran into his home, where his mom discovered him frightened.

“I was fixing them something to eat when I heard him slam the door and lock it. He was just crying, having a panic attack. He told me, ‘somebody tried to take me, mommy,’” Flor Solache said, before noting she saw the man running away when she looked out the window.

“I just felt proud of myself that I was able to escape,” Sebastian said.

Hall County Sheriff’s Deputy Stephen Wilbanks told Fox 5 that Sebastian did everything right during the encounter — screamed and fought back.

“Criminals and predators such as this are looking for easy prey. Our advice is, don’t be that victim, fight with everything you have,” Wilbanks said.

Investigators described the unknown man as white, with dark pants and a white shirt, with a black cloth covering his face.

To read in this blog post in it’s original format:  https://www.foxnews.com/us/karate-kid-georgia-boy-fights-off-attempted-kidnapper-with-martial-arts

A New Yorker put his martial arts skills to use and thwarted an attempted baby-snatching in a Big Apple park last week, pinning the perp down for 15 minutes until authorities arrived, he said Monday.

Brian Kemsley, a 33-year-old Muay Thai coach, stepped in when he saw a man trying to grab a baby inside a stroller from a woman who was also holding another child in her arms last Monday in Madison Square Park.

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When a would-be kidnapper attacked 10-year-old Georgia boy Sebastian Solache, the child put his karate knowledge to the test.

An intruder approached the Solache home in Hall County late Tuesday afternoon, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. Solache was in the driveway when a man grabbed him from behind and attempted to drag him toward the back of a neighboring house.

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