a time when I was very glad to have studied martial arts for all these years
Adventures Of A Black Belt Sommelier
A real-world application of my martial arts studies
and what is it really mean to be a black belt and one martial art or another, what is the advantage being a black belt, is one martial art or another, and I have a story to tell but I think it illustrates that clearly, I've told this story in an episode previously but kind of in a different context that I would share it again because it really perfectly illustrates what the study of martial arts eventually seemed to life. In about five years ago, I guess, when COVID started to be really serious, while we realized it was going to be really serious, I was working at a combination white store in Delhi that we were required by law to wear masks and the customers were required by law to wear masks. One day too, very large, I would say they were both the best to explore by 280 pounds and almost nobody fat wearing white beater t-shirts with veins bolting out of their necks, muscles bolting out of their sleeves and everything else. You can envision the kind of diet talking about came in without masks and it wasn't really my position to do this, I was just working there, I wasn't the manager, but I went over and very, very calmly and politely asked them to put on masks because it took the health department a minute, they weren't wearing masks, we would be shut down, which would endanger all the jobs that are going to work I was at the Elizabeth confrontation all the more, but she and I just very, very calmly politely asked them to either put on their masks or leave, we would be glad to provide them with masks if they didn't have one, and one of these very, very large, I'm sure steroid-raging persons, people said, I can't wear masks for health reasons, which is just complete BS of force, but I said, well, in that case, would you please wait in the car of your car while you're friend of it, whatever shopping you need to do, because you're being in here without a mask and dangerous the jobs of everyone of course here, and the other guy said, well, are you pissed off at us, I said, I'm not the least pissed off at you, and I haven't done anything to give you any reason to believe that I could stop at you, I haven't raised my voice, I haven't, and all it does, very politely asked me to either put on a mask, which is required by a lot of wear, or to leave you to go outside and wear you in your car, and one of the guys said, well, I'm going to snap your neck, you need a lot of profanity, and then the other guys, they said, you know, I'm going to feel you, we're going to feel you, we're just regret killing you, snap your neck is a very specific threat, it's not just, you know, I'm going to keep your ass about for something like that, it's a very specific, very vile threat, I'm going to snap your neck, snap it, that means death, you know, so how do you react to that? At this point, I'm 67 years old, I was badly in need of a bit replacement, these guys were almost twice my size, and, well, not twice my size, that's 50% larger than me, probably less than half my age, and much bigger, much stronger than I was, or am, what do you do? So I go back at them, I'm going to kick your ass here, find anybody, find my wife, when you can follow up to this, take a swing at them, what do you do? Well, what I did was keep one of them between me and the other one, and I only had to deal with one person a time or two, and I put my open hand, not my fist, I opened the hand in the face of the guy in front, and repeated calmly and quietly, please just leave, and, and backed up, when he took a step forward, I took a step back, with my open hand in his face, when he took a step forward, I took a step back, when he said something threatening, I did respond. I took a step back, I took a step back, I took a step back, there's no telling how many times I stepped back, as he came forward, threatening me, physically then, working for me, and I kept him between me and him, and the guy finally never had to deal with something actually happened, now we had to deal with one person at a time. Following up my fist, accelerates the situation, keeping my hands open, accelerates the situation. Here's the real thing, it's not the fact that it's the calmness, you know, I've fought with people a lot scarier than those two guys, I've fought with a lot more people than those two guys. In a more controlled environment, yes, but with people that were much more capable of doing the car, you know, I trained in IKEA, the guy who was an ex-special forces soldier, and National Champion Weightlifter, and probably the IKEA student in the United States who, yes, it's the most painful, it's like painful, it's good, but it's a pain, but it takes it so seriously, the brain is so serious, brain is so physical, and it's so strong, so many. Those guys aren't nearly thinkers, it's that guy who's better or bigger, a lot bigger, but they're not as major. What am I going to prove by getting in a physical confrontation with those two guys? What is it? What am I going to prove? If they'd been to crap out of me, I'm 67 years old and I need a hypocrite. I mean, what were they hoping to prove to the world or to themselves or to whoever by being the crap out of me or filling it out? Who knows what they were building? Don't think it was a random thing, but looking back, it doesn't seem random. Maybe it was, but it doesn't seem random, because you know, I'm going to snap you to the next thing, it's such a specific threat. But the advantage that I've studied martial arts for as long as I have, is that my partner's friends, my adrenaline, I get it at a very little trustworthy. I'm not a complete idiot, but I'm not panicked. I'm not afraid. I'm not out of control. I was always, I was under control. I always controlled the situation by backing with my hand open, my voice called my wife. That is the advantage the training martial arts for all the years gives me. I feel no need to prove my advantage by getting a physical compensation with those two guys, no matter how desperately they want to have one of me. Back up, open fists, stay calm, and don't threaten, don't threaten to retaliate. Just open hands, back up, stay calm, stay quiet. That's the real, that's the real advantage for having studied martial arts for as long as I have, and the level that I have. If I studied martial arts all these years, but wrestling, boxing, and boxing, it's studied like ketones, studied brazilians and gyms, studied capoeira and brazil, and all the things I've done, all this time, all these bumps and birds, legs and things, I give us just to prepare for that moment. Thanks for tuning in, thank you so much for joining me. I hope you've heard of it from this conversation today, I hope you practice it in the lesson with your wife, I hope you never have to deal with something like I did that day. But if you do remember, thanks all, don't make the situation worse, open hands, back up, be quiet, don't threaten, don't fight, back up, open hands, be quiet, stay calm. Thanks for tuning in to Adventures of Black Wall - Absolutely.