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When You Come Open Armed To A Knife Fight
How to disarm your attacker
Twenty years of studying Aikido finally came in handy. Luckily, some of that study trained me to defend against a knife. Knife attacks up close are, in many ways, scarier than guns. They can also be more dangerous and as fatal. Ask any police officer.
I was standing outside the Recreation Center where my screenwriting group meets. Some of us hang out and talk shop or shit after the meeting. Sometimes we are a little loud. At least, my laughter is. Four of the men were in a semi-circle in front of me. My back was to the steps to the Center, as if I was holding court, which I probably was. I’m an extrovert like that.
None of us noticed the apparently homeless man approach behind me. We became aware of him when he asked a question in a guttural growl. None of the men responded, and I didn’t understand what he said, although I could tell it was a question. I turned to him and asked kindly, “What do you need sweetheart?”
