Unfortunate reminder of safety in the field

[John Morton]

The MAE could have put him out without any trouble but instead he quietly talked the bully out of it.

Traditionally, in the martial arts, students were expected to learn how to treat and heal injuries before they were taught how to inflict them. Martial artists were obligated to do their utmost after a fight was over to heal any injuries they had inflicted upon an opponent. In addition, there is a martial code of conduct which expects those trained in the martial arts to always default to using the lowest level of force practical in confrontation: actual strikes to organ cavities and acupuncture points are not used if a joint lock (tearing muscle and displacing bone) will suffice; joint locks are not used if knocking an assailant down will suffice; and downing the enemy (not a trivial matter, by the way: there are only so many times anyone can hit the ground without injury) is not used if simply walking away from the conflict will suffice to diffuse the situation.

One of my early Qigong teachers (Dayan or 'Wild Goose' Chi Kung - "Wild geese always come back") was trained as a traditional acupuncturist and herbalist:



Here is my Baghuazhang instructor, Dr. John Painter, leading a workshop on Tibetan Healing (Singing) Bowls (before the workshops on martial arts technique):



Other forms of martial arts, maybe, not so much emphasis on healing; here is a friend of mine who is a kick boxing instructor landing a punch during a match:

[rpcrowe]

Try this for safety...

http://animal.discovery.com/breed-se...-shepherd.html

[terrib]

Richard, I just told my husband the other day that if I ever don't have him I'm going to replace him with a very large dog for my protection. I'm not sure he appreciated the comment.

[Trina]

Try this for safety...

http://animal.discovery.com/breed-se...-shepherd.html

Richard, I like this thought...I dont have an Anatolian (Beautiful dog BTW) but Gus is big, and sounds bad even if he is a marshmallow. His happy, I'm glad to see you bark sounds vicious, and most folks make a wide berth around him even though he is just saying hi. He has a very laid back nature, I suspect he could be protective, if the situation warranted it. If I ever get his knees heeled up I will start taking him with me..at least I will "feel" safer:> Its just sad that a person feels they have to have something to protect themselves:< Guy or Gal

[rpcrowe]

Trina and Terri...

I also do not have an Anatolian Shepherd, although I love and respect that giant breed. My big dog is a Goldendoodle (golden retriever + standard poodle) and although she is also a cream-puff, she is a large dog at about 60 pounds and IMO any large dog is a safety factor.



We have a lake, not too far from our home where my wife and I often take our dog for a walk. The lake is very popular with joggers, both male and female, but can be quite lonely during weekdays. I had often mentioned to my wife that if I were a female who wanted to jog there alone, I would bring a large dog for safety.

Unfortunately a short while ago, a female jogger was murdered by a pervert who had previously kidnapped and murdered another famale. I am sure that the presence of a large dog would have saved the joggers life...

I think of this every time I visit an animal shelter and see large dogs who are not being adopted...

[Scott Stephen]

The story of the martial arts expert, a little old man sitting quietly in a train when a large aggressive male started to hit on him. The MAE could have put him out without any trouble but instead he quietly talked the bully out of it. I think this was in Readers Digest thirty or more years ago.

I think that in New Zealand there must be a different meaning for "hitting on" someone. In the U.S., it means to attempt to chat them up in hopes of sex.

Of course the sex angle, if anything, just makes the story more interesting...

[Scott Stephen]

Trina and Terri...

I also do not have an Anatolian Shepherd, although I love and resect that giant breed. My big dog is a Goldendoodle (golden retriever + standard poodle) and although she is also a cream-puff, she is a large dog at about 60 pounds and IMO any large dog is a safety factor.



We have a lake, not too far from our home where my wife and I often take our dog for a walk. The lake is very popular with joggers, both male and famale, but can be quite lonely during weekdays. I had often mentioned to my wife that if I were a female who wanted to jog there alone, I would bring a large dog for safety.

Unfortunately a short while ago, a female jogger was murdered by a pervert who had previously kidnapped and murdered another famale. I am sure that the presence of a large dog would have saved the joggers life...

I think of this every time I visit an animal shelter and see large dogs who are not being adopted...

I couldn't agree with that sentiment more! That is a "win-win" for the dogs and the humans. There are thousands of big lovable dogs in shelters everywhere who would LOVE to have a nice lady owner and would just naturally never let something happen to that lady while there was breath left in their bodies. We have a pretty big dog we adopted from the SPCA, and she is a mutt, not even close to any breed anyone considers "tough" or "scary" or anything, (and she definitely is NOT a fighter). She worships our little girls and patiently lets them do anything they want with her with no complaints and zero aggression. But I have also seen a couple of times what she does when she thinks someone is threatening "her" little girls. It is really touching (and impressive).

[jcuknz]

Richard, I just told my husband the other day that if I ever don't have him I'm going to replace him with a very large dog for my protection. I'm not sure he appreciated the comment.

Good for you Terri

Scott ... I hope and believe it quite likely that though the dog puts up with much from her family it will be quite different if an outsider tries something. I think this has been the case in many occasions in the past.

The EPIRBs I am thinking off measure about four inches by two inches by an inch thick. There is also if you are likely to have cellphone coverage the GPS of similar small size .... though S&R do not consider cellphones a reliable communication system.

[Letrow]

Well, don't be discouraged Terri.
Things like this happen unfortunately, but luckily it was non physical. In Holland we call these guys 'potloodventers' (pencil sellers), and in general they are quite harmless. In most cases the fun for them is in exposing themselves and nothing else. Ignore them, report it and move on.

I live in Europe, so carrying guns or knives or any weapons is out of the question. Actually I am glad about that, because it means that potential attackers are limited in getting weapons easily as well.

Self defense is a great idea, but there will be attackers who are better versed in physical assaults then you will ever be, so paying attention to your surroundings and moving away quickly, when you don't trust situations, works better in a lot of cases.

By the way, I had to laugh about all the guys apologising for their gender. It is not so much a gender, as a psychiatric disorder in this case.

[OldFrank]

My experience was a bit different. While peering through the peek hole of my DSLR composing an image in the desert near my place I stepped on a small round rock. My feet went out from under me and I landed with a splat. What made it interesting to some friends in my group is that I'm 82 yrs and have a pacemaker. I landed with the camera between the ground and my pacer. Fortunately the camera, pacemaker, and me came out of it in good shape, but my dignity was severely injured.

[blakemcguire]

I would like to reiterate the idea of a dog. I'm 6 ft 2, but I've got a slim build, so I'm only 130 pounds. I always had my dog with me when I was doing night shots (even though the little brat bumped my tripod every now and then :P).

[Mr Foreman]

Dogs! A couple of good loyal dogs might dissuade such villianous characters from preforming despicable and lewd acts.

[terrib]

It's so funny that this thread popped back up yesterday because I spent yesterday morning back at that park (with my husband). As we walked back past the "scene of the crime", I noticed that there was actually a really nice shot to be had looking toward the rocks the guy was hiding in. Gee, I wonder why I didn't notice that before. Nevertheless, I couldn't bring myself to take the picture - just didn't need that reminder hanging around on my computer!

[WJT]

I've had the occasional confrontation from time to time but being male it isnt as intimidating. I am a big fan of pepper spray for women out alone as it will do the trick on anyone or any creature. Not only will it stop any attacks but it wont be hard to find the bad guy as he will not be able to see where he's going. If this is not available and handful of salt and pepper sachets can be handy in your pockets. Just crush and throw, the salt has the weight and the pepper does the trick. I just happen to know that this works as I was once required to use it. Dont let the freaks stop you doing what you want.

[Colin Southern]

I am a big fan of pepper spray

Wish it were legal here.

[WJT]

Wish it were legal here.

Salt and pepper ilegal?

[Colin Southern]

Salt and pepper ilegal?

Salt and pepper, no; pepper spray, yes.

[Kdfrank]

Hi Terri, I just read through this entire thread this morning. Sorry about what happened to you. You can take some solace in all of the good ideas and positive posts here. Looking at not only the number of replies, but also the number of views, your plight as certainly struck a chord in the CiC photographic community! Thanks for your courage in sharing.

Best,
Kerry