Men and Women of quiet strength.

[LAB3]

Rob, I'm just going to leave a quote (Which I'm sure will be corrected by someone) by some old dead white guy and let this one go.

"When you break the rules of a civil society you give up the right to be treated in a civil manner"

[Suzukian]

"The tree that bends in the wind lasts longest", Master Po, "Kung Fu", the T.V. series.

[Sandy]

I had an experience about 50 years ago, yes I'm old, that still sends chills up my spine about when and when not to get involved in a situation .....and being very careful about the conclusions you come to before trying to play the hero by coming to the rescue. I was in a restaurant with friends having breakfast back in my Vancouver days (mid '70s) and it what was not in a really great neighbourhood. I heard some patrons that were looking out the window to the parking lot and gasping "Why doesn't someone do something??". In the parking lot was a guy literally dragging a screaming young girl around the lot as she was trying to break free of him. I went out and grabbed his arm to try and get him to stop and saw a very strange and frightened look on his face as he said "The police are on way ....this is my daughter". I stayed with them just in case and the police showed up moments later, turns out it was him that called the police and it turns out it was his teenage daughter who had run away a few months before and had taken to the streets. He had tracked her down so she could get the help she needed and I still wonder what the would have happened had I been more aggressive and she got away.

[650Skull]

The action of the knife wielding assailant, (as soon as he physically restrained the owners wrist), instigated the physical confrontation. Assault. And then brandished a knife while restraining/assaulting the person your friend became the instigator.

Martial arts of any kind is based on self discipline, especially as one climbs up to the coloured belts the discipline becomes more of a mind body centering force. Often Tao is discussed

IT is taught to, and should only be used defensively. Unless used in competition.

Sorry there i nothing about this situation that is defensive or helps the waitress feel better about herself, in fact she could possibly feel worse because of he violent over reaction against the owner.

[Sandy]

The action of the knife wielding assailant, (as soon as he physically restrained the owners wrist), instigated the physical confrontation. Assault. And then brandished a knife while restraining/assaulting the person your friend became the instigator.

Martial arts of any kind is based on self discipline, especially as one climbs up to the coloured belts the discipline becomes more of a mind body centering force. Often Tao is discussed

IT is taught to, and should only be used defensively. Unless used in competition.

Sorry there i nothing about this situation that is defensive or helps the waitress feel better about herself, in fact she could possibly feel worse because of he violent over reaction against the owner.

Probably the best thing would be to tell the *@%^$*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$ to "Take a hike our server is doing just fine."

[Vmass]

The action of the knife wielding assailant, (as soon as he physically restrained the owners wrist), instigated the physical confrontation. Assault. And then brandished a knife while restraining/assaulting the person your friend became the instigator.

Martial arts of any kind is based on self discipline, especially as one climbs up to the coloured belts the discipline becomes more of a mind body centering force. Often Tao is discussed

IT is taught to, and should only be used defensively. Unless used in competition.

Sorry there i nothing about this situation that is defensive or helps the waitress feel better about herself, in fact she could possibly feel worse because of he violent over reaction against the owner.

I agree with 650Skull. I will add that the actions of Mr. Karate and Argon ( accessory, if for no other reason than handing the weapon back) were criminal and certainly not the teachings of Martial Arts.

[argonsagas]

If a cop were there, and saw a man armed with a knife, arm's length from an unarmed man, and now that knife is moving toward the unarmed man? There's no talking, they shoot the man with the knife. Just last week, it happened here. And the knife wielding man (RIP) was more than 10 feet from anyone else.

The four of you might have stood to leave immediately. And said, "it's not because of her, it's because of him."

Then perhaps given her a $20 (or $50 or $100 - upper class dining, right?)

Then perhaps given her your card, and said, "call if he fires you - we'll help you get a new job. Or buy this dump."

Perhaps. But your party showed, with it's cutlery skills (get it, pun, duh?) that you belong at the Waffle House. Or the Waffen haus.

Argon, you've just been promoted. Adios.

And Len, you surprise me. (But I'll still Praise Bob! )

Rob, I saw the scene from a perspective and mind-set that was readily found, even common, in the abundance of the Canadian populace at the time.

Perhaps I should have anticipated it to be otherwise, but I really I did not expect my post to turn the thread into an expression of the borderline paranoia that seems endemic in today's North American societies, and which is evident in some responses, including yours.


As to my the mentioned Canadian mindset, it was just a few years prior to the scene mentioned that I carried a five-inch hunting knife in a leather sheath hung on my belt.

I rode two different buses each way to get to and from work. The knife was always in plan sight,
.
The job I had required me to use such a knife all day, every day, The disposable versions of knives that are common today did not exist then.
.
Occasionally, ...and it seldom happened.....someone's interest would prompt them to ask about it and I would explain that I used it on my job , where it was used all day long, Invariably, the explanation was accepted.

The only way onto the bus was to pass by, and pay, the driver.. Not even one bus driver ever mentioned it.

Beyond those occasional queries of interest, no one cared at all.

EDIT:

FWIW...
The knife mentioned above was only for the time I had that job.
Carrying a pocket knife, however, was not just an acceptable thing to do, it was almost universally done.
Almost all the boys of my age at school already had one, so, at nine years of age, after much pleading, I got my first pocket knife.
I have carried one ever since then. I have a Swiss Army knife in my pocket at this moment.

An aside:

.TV was still growing and the endless violence portrayed all day, every day, as it is today was then a rarity. The foul language used so often today was never heard on TV or radio. The internet and social media did not exist.

As boys, we all read Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn" so we knew about whittling and we did it.
Many of us inadvertently cut ourselves, I am sure, but I never heard of anyone using a knife to injure anyone at any Toronto school, In fact stabbing incidents of criminal nature were uncommon, and the most incidents were the result of using kitchen knives in incidents of domestic violence.

Translated: from that young age we acted responsibly and given that so very many people had knives in their possession there was nothing to fear. There may have been a few exceptions, but almost no one of any age or sex saw or felt any reason to be afraid

That lies in stark contrast to what we see in this century where both the citizenry and police are taught to live in fear.
.
.


.

[Suzukian]

You can't carry a knife in Connecticut with a 4" or longer cutting edge.. It will get taken from you. I carry a very thick, wide, 4" blade.

[argonsagas]

You can't carry a knife in Connecticut with a 4" or longer cutting edge.. It will get taken from you. I carry a very thick, wide, 4" blade.

That is about the same as we have up here. today,
As mentioned in my previous post, I carry a Swiss Army-type knife. It has a main blade of three inches in length.

[trent]

I've been a fan of Mora knifes last five or so years.

Have lot of knifes for bushcraft/camping , almost fell into designer knifes and or single purpose knifes .
But several models of mora knifes can do all the things I need,
they can do wood chores ,cut cordage, filet fish throw a good spark and very good at retaining edge ,easy to get shape edge if and when needed.

Good dozen or so pocket knifes inherited from grandfather...mostly old timers, sharpefinger is my favorite, it looks like its a hundred years old....sheath looks two hu dred years old.

[Suzukian]

I have a "Buck" "Kalinga" made in 1972 (it has a build code stamped on blade, next to the handle), I even got it with the original scabbard. I got it for $100 bucks front a gun shop. I don't think they really understood what they had, or they needed money, they said "$ 150, I offered $ 100", they accepted The guy worked for "Buck" who sold it to them, he purchased it off the production line. He personally sharpened it. It is as sharp as a razor. It has a cutting edge of 9" inches. The only way I can carry it is if I have a fishing pole with me, and a Fishing Permit, then I am allowed to carry it on my belt. I don't think that would work in a shopping mall or shopping center though. They are still made, but not American made anymore.



Kalinga.jpg