I think you made the best of a no-win scenario. Being confronted with stranger violence within your own home is shocking and many people wouldn’t have done the right thing; and that is to get the professional help in quickly, and before someone dies.
No one comes out of situations like this feeling great. And if it helps you getting rid of a distorted self-perception of defining yourself as an action hero - even better. People die because of that.
One more note though - I would seriously question the judgement of my flatmates who bring in drunken strangers into the house like this. Moving out may be an option.
Again - you did the right thing. Don’t beat yourself up for it.
Makkun[/quote]
they werent drunken strangers. they were his mates… a couple of them i knew. they werent hammered drunk, just back from a dinner party sort of drunk. coming back to ours to have another drink, eat some take away and get a taxi or watever…
the ones that entered the flat where outside on the street… apparently someone threw a bottle at them, then they got into the hall way, which my flat mates didnt notice. some of the girls at the party went out for a smoke and the barged there way into the room. and shit kicked off. the funny thing is that the bottle they accused us of throwing, was undamaged. we are on the first floor, but its one of those old georgian tenaments. it would have been a good 10 metres fall for the bottle. police took it away to get prints of it.
[quote]Addiction wrote:
Yeah well you would not have been able to call emergency services for the injured and help them out after the attackers left if you were lying on the floor with blood pissing out the back of your head. [/quote]
This.
I think you did the right thing by calling the cops and EMS. I hope you and all your friends are all right/get better soon.
Also, attached is a picture of John S. and his crew.
A ripped off pole from the railing is going to have a sharp end too.
People here don’t realise what it is like - unless you have massive, massive intimidation on your side (a lot of guys, a gun etc…) then any fight with them has to end in you taking them all out - kill, disable, knock out, whatever. Because 4 guys who break into a place and beat people up with makeshift weapons are going to fight to the F@#cking end if you start beating them up.
Now if they killed one of you, they might run off in fear (of getting caught).
If you pulled a gun and they don’t have one, and don’t have a knife, and don’t have a hostage already, and you can keep distance and know how to stop and diffuse situation, that can stop it. Maybe, sometimes people are damned stupid and sometimes they are literally insane.
They left, because they’d bashed a few, calmed down a bit, realised they were being idiots (only slight realisation, enough to realise they better get out of there) and p1ssed off.
Jackie Chan is a good fighter but you know, he gets injured MAKING his movies, which he rehearses.
Dude, for sure. You did the right thing. Funny how there’s only one or two idiots running around saying that you didn’t do it right. To throw yourself into a fight with four large, weaponed men would be irrational and unsafe for you and everyone else. If someone would’ve started something further, even more adrenaline could’ve got going, and someone could’ve been hurt worse.
Still, looks like it’s time to keep a few extra katanas stowed away.
Gotta agree with the logical folks, you did the right thing. The best that could have happened had you thrown down was you’d have gotten a in a few good licks yet still been on the receiving end of a beat down.
Don’t be so hard on yourself, they got the guys and justice will be served.
[quote]John S. wrote:
Vegg wrote:
John S. wrote:
Vegg wrote:
John S. wrote:
Wtf man. I would be surprised if you had any “mates” after that.
I doubt you’ve ever been in a similar situation.
Don’t assume to know anything about me how about that.
So let me get this straight. You’ve defended people with your bare hands against multiple opponents carrying weapons? If you have, I commend you.
Ive been in fights where me and a few friends have gotten into fights with a group of people, some had weapons some didn’t.
I’m also smart enough to know that if there close enough to punch me in the face that I can tackle there ass there weapon is pretty much useless. from the sounds of his story it was 2-3 of his friends besides him. that more then enough to hand these guys the beating they needed.
And who goes out into the hallway if they think there is a fight going on without at least having a knife on hand. Then again I don’t know the laws there, he does live in a country where its virtually illegal to defend yourself.[/quote]
Illegal to defend yourself???
Well let me just say I’d rather be judged by 12 than carried by six.
Okay, so you didn’t help your mates right away. Points off there. But as far as going after the thugs, you can’t always be a hero. Sometimes it’s not practical, especially with those odds. You’ll be forever beating yourself up over what you could have done, and that’s just self-pity. Move forward.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
You did the right thing, Bananas.
You were outnumbered
They had weapons
You made the call
You helped when the medics arrived
Okay, so you didn’t help your mates right away. Points off there. But as far as going after the thugs, you can’t always be a hero. Sometimes it’s not practical, especially with those odds. You’ll be forever beating yourself up over what you could have done, and that’s just self-pity. Move forward.[/quote]
Agreed. I think the dude acted well in the given situation. Especially since the guys ended up getting caught anyways, he made a good move. Personally, I think if he tried to take things into his own hands he would have gotten his ass beat (no offense) but the guys didn’t refrain from knocking his buddies out, he would have been goin down too.
Anyways, he should stop feeling sorry for himself. He did nothing wrong in my eyes.
Sword is a bad idea especially katana - never looks good in court. Especially if you are not practicing it somewhere with a group. Also, surprised you can get one into Glasgow since they banned all curved blades that are not traditionally made.
Just a bokken can be good, although, does not have the intimidation factor.
None of your friends would be happier if you had started something that ended very badly.
Wherever you are, live, holiday, sleep, you should have in advance a plan of what you would do when your home is invaded, and everyone who is there should know what it is.
Lets be realistic…You walk out of you room and run into 4 big guys with weapons…hundreds of people walk by people getting mugged and dont even bother calling 911, people stand by in store lines watching people get the shit beaten out of them when they said something when the person cut in line and they do nothing.for fuckin sake people get raped in hotels screaming at the top of their lungs and no one calls 911 because its someone elses responsibility.
At least you bothered to call 911. The only thing you would of accomplished by fighting them was getting yourself really fucked up…and not being able to call 911 for a while.
It looks like this will be my first post on T-Nation after years of lurking.
I’d tend to agree with the others in this thread, that you may well have been best served by avoiding getting into a fight and simply call the authorities.
I have been in more than my share of street fights. Mostly because my friends and I have a lot enemies, and because some people just love to fight when they’ve been drinking. At one time I actually stepped in unarmed and protected my friends against a numerically superiour, armed(pipes and brass knuckles) contingent of street trash. And things went over extremely well that day and I was dubbed the hero of the day that everybody wanted to buy a drink. But a month later, I got into a similar situation(except none of my friends were there), and that time I was not the hero, but rather the loser ending up with a concussion keeping me out of the gym for weeks as well as a steep bill from the dentist.
What I mean to say is that it is definitely a gamble to get in fights like. What I can say is that you will discover that you’re not made of glass, and it probably wouldn’t have killed you to help your friends, but know that it could have. So with that in mind it’s your decision to make.
The strange thing is that only four people attacked the entire party, and no one did anything to stop them? If that had happened at any party I’ve ever hosted in my adult life, these four would have been beaten to a pulp by all the guests within minutes if they carried anything less than an assult rifle.
[quote]Leif wrote:
It looks like this will be my first post on T-Nation after years of lurking.
I’d tend to agree with the others in this thread, that you may well have been best served by avoiding getting into a fight and simply call the authorities.
I have been in more than my share of street fights. Mostly because my friends and I have a lot enemies, and because some people just love to fight when they’ve been drinking. At one time I actually stepped in unarmed and protected my friends against a numerically superiour, armed(pipes and brass knuckles) contingent of street trash. And things went over extremely well that day and I was dubbed the hero of the day that everybody wanted to buy a drink. But a month later, I got into a similar situation(except none of my friends were there), and that time I was not the hero, but rather the loser ending up with a concussion keeping me out of the gym for weeks as well as a steep bill from the dentist.
What I mean to say is that it is definitely a gamble to get in fights like. What I can say is that you will discover that you’re not made of glass, and it probably wouldn’t have killed you to help your friends, but know that it could have. So with that in mind it’s your decision to make.
The strange thing is that only four people attacked the entire party, and no one did anything to stop them? If that had happened at any party I’ve ever hosted in my adult life, these four would have been beaten to a pulp by all the guests within minutes if they carried anything less than an assult rifle.[/quote]
when they intiatly entered to my flat mates room the “party” was only 3 girls, and 4 guys. when we finally came onto the scene, 2 of the guys were in no fit state to stand. the girls where all crying and panicking. so it was pretty much 4 on 4 during the whole thing even know we outnumbered them… if that makes sense…
on the street i would have acted completly differently. being from northern ireland etc, im used to a bit of violence here and there. but in my own house is scary as fuck. no time to get an adrenaline rush either. if i had of walked out and seen a few punchs getting thrown or some shoutng or something, then adrenaline may have stepped in. but i opned the door and see 4 guys standing in my flat, one with blood down his shirt… i didnt panic or react, just rang the police. i felt numb
they werent drunken strangers. they were his mates… a couple of them i knew. they werent hammered drunk, just back from a dinner party sort of drunk. coming back to ours to have another drink, eat some take away and get a taxi or watever…
the ones that entered the flat where outside on the street… apparently someone threw a bottle at them, then they got into the hall way, which my flat mates didnt notice. some of the girls at the party went out for a smoke and the barged there way into the room. and shit kicked off. the funny thing is that the bottle they accused us of throwing, was undamaged. we are on the first floor, but its one of those old georgian tenaments. it would have been a good 10 metres fall for the bottle. police took it away to get prints of it.[/quote]
I take your point, but if you’re not living in a gated community, I think you and your flatmates should have a serious discussion about security. I lived in flatshares in really rough areas and still live on the wrong side of town - and open doors late at night with people coming in and out of the house in an uncontrolled fashion leaves you vulnerable to incidents like this. It was their party, and therefore their responsibility.
By how you describe it now, your actions were even more prudent than I had already thought. You’re unhurt not in spite of being the biggest guy in the flat, but because you were the most level-headed; and because you were lucky to be in the other room. You did the right thing - and you should stop agonising over it imho.
[quote]makkun wrote:
I take your point, but if you’re not living in a gated community, I think you and your flatmates should have a serious discussion about security. I lived in flatshares in really rough areas and still live on the wrong side of town - and open doors late at night with people coming in and out of the house in an uncontrolled fashion leaves you vulnerable to incidents like this. It was their party, and therefore their responsibility.
By how you describe it now, your actions were even more prudent than I had already thought. You’re unhurt not in spite of being the biggest guy in the flat, but because you were the most level-headed; and because you were lucky to be in the other room. You did the right thing - and you should stop agonising over it imho.
Makkun[/quote]
prudent??
they way it works is there is a main door at the bottom of the building for the 6 flats inside. they all have a buzzer and you need to buzzed in or have keys. then there are 2 flats on each floor. old tenament block style. the door at the bottom is sometimes sticky and doesnt close right and it feels like it could be forced easily.
my flat mate is talking about seeing if we have a claim against the landlord because of the door at the bottom of the building being faulty. im not sure if we should even bother?
I find myself agreeing with most others that you did the best thing. Your options are pretty limited in those sort of situations. Bad odds, hell, injuring one of them could have made matters worse if they were completely hammered, so calling the emergancy services was the better option. Hell, even if you had of fought, ignoring legal problems, in a panic situation, even a strong hook can become a weak flailing motion.
So, while it may hurt the pride somewhat to have been the one who is uninjured and didn’t intervene, it was the best thing you could have done. Maybe get some self defence and martial arts training done though, to be safe ;). Maybe a spot of Krav Maga?
