Foot in Butt Syndrome

I had a talk with the San Shou class about dealing with difficult situations. The class leading up to this talk was knife offense and the theory of attacking with a knife. Where to strike, what targets will yield the most damage, what will stop the attack cold, ect.

Of course I felt obligated to give the disclaimer chat regarding our view points on weapon use. Learn it so you can defend against it. Respect the power and increase your ability to survive an attack. Weapons are not something we use, but they are something that can be used against us. Knowledge is protection, bla, bla, bla.

Then my mind wandered and I told the students of an experience I had a few months back about a bad situation. I was at a social event with a group of friends. Everyone there was a friend or someone I know. We are a big group and we all stick together.

Usually.

One of the people I know got a little stupid with me. He wouldn't leave me alone, and I made it quite clear that I was uninterested. I walked away, he followed. I moved to another group, and sure enough, Scrungo was there shortly after. Needless to say, I was rapidly losing a battle with my temper. He was about 10 seconds from becoming a nasty injury in an ugly shirt.

Then the inevitable happened. Nature called. This meant leaving the main group and walking in the dark, alone to another area. Usually not a big deal, but when you have someone trying to corner you, it can be interesting.

So I was faced with a choice, go by myself, get confronted by Scrungo, lay him out in the parking lot, and try to deal with the aftermath (legal and social) afterward. OR grab a friend and have them escort me to and from the facilities, and then to my truck when I was ready to go home.

I wanted to choose option A really really badly, but I instead chose option B. I grabbed my buddy, and drug him off to the bathroom with me. He naturally wanted an explanation, so I filled him in on the situation. He was confused and asked me what the big deal was as I could take care of myself. He felt I should have chosen option A as well. I told him that part of taking care of yourself was removing yourself from a potentially bad situation. Seeking help when needed, and keeping alert for dangers.

What I didn't tell him was knowing yourself and what motivates you is also part of taking care of yourself. I was angry, very very angry. In some ways I was hoping Scrungo would have a fourth go around. I was looking for an excuse to release an emotional frenzy on him, punctuated with elbows, knees, and high pitched screeching. I haven't been that close to looking for a fight, Well Ever. But I was that angry. I had walked away from just wanting to defend myself, only to embrace wanting to feed my temper and justify it any way I could. Not a good place to be.

I realized this, and chose to defuse the situation. Man was that hard. But I was able to remove myself from my ego and anger to find a positive out come. I glued myself to my friend, and when it was time to leave the main area for any reason, I dragged him along. When I was ready to go home for the night, you guessed it, he became my escort to my vehicle.

I could have chosen to allow my emotions to control me. That is exactly what it would have been, a choice. I chose to control my emotions instead. I made the decision to walk away, and be safe. The decision to not sink into an abyss of anger and vengeance.

So yah, the temper still needs work. But on the up shot, the control is still in place.