Jarhead Confidence

[Greybeard]

Had another student that I respected in LTC class yesterday. USMC for around 20 years and cop for 6. Around 6 ft. 3", 225. He had been fairly quiet though the normal coverage of situational awareness, non-violent dispute resolution, body language, etc.

Then, near end of class, he briefly shared his story about an incident in a Walmart parking lot. As he, wife and daughter exited store, some dude was just outside, operating a switchblade. He said the dude started following them through the parking lot, still manipulating the blade. As they got close to his car, he handed wife his keys and said "Y'all get in the car and lock it. I will be there in a minute."

He said he then turned to face the dude in a "Command Presence" position, arms folded across chest and said something to the effect of "Ok, it's just you and me now. What do you want to do?" He said the guy promptly turned and walked away.

I asked "Did you have a gun on you?".

His reply, "No, I was just gonna kill him with my hands."

[OneGun]

Semper Fi!!

[jb2012]

gold medal response lol

[The Annoyed Man]

You gotta love a marine.

[KLB]

Semper Fi.

[oljames3]

"No, I was just gonna kill him with my hands."

This is the way I want my Devil Dogs to think. My younger brother graduated from Annapolis in 1978 and retired from the Corps. I worked with Marine officers at the US Army Field Artillery School. They do, indeed, think differently.

[J Wilson]

Semper Fi

[oohrah]

Ooooh-rah!

[stash]

Sounds about right. Glad he is getting his LTC, although he probably could have handled the situation with his hands.

[OldCurlyWolf]

Have never been a Marine. I have been a Leo.

I found out my attitude about someone pulling a knife on me at age 16.
It REALLY TICKS ME OFF.

It pretty much matches this marine's attitude.

If unarmed (never happens, I always have hands, feet, teeth, etc., not to mention about 4-6 knives) I would be planning how to rip off his head and defecate down his throat.

[RogueUSMC]

Y'all sound surprised...lol

[oljames3]

Y'all sound surprised...lol

Surprised? Not I. I expect certain behaviors from those who have earned the privilege of wearing the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. Always appreciative, never surprised. Thanks for making the beaches safe for us.

[mrvmax]

I don’t want to offend any Marines and this is a good story but I want to add a comment to consider. I understand the hand to hand combat training Marines go through and for a combat situation when someone is trying to kill you that is fine and necessary. Knife fights are not what we see on tv, someone with basic knife fighting skills can inflict injuries within seconds that will lead to death in minutes. Willing confronting an armed assailant with bare hands sounds like a good story line but it’s not close to the best self defense option. I doubt this perp had any knife fighting skills but what if he did? What if he went bare handed and the attacker sliced both carotid arteries with two quick swipes? He would have most likely bled to death in front of his family. I get the feel good stories and feelings of machismo but let’s consider reality here when considering self defense scenarios.
The best choice being unarmed was to get inside the car ensuring the family was safe, drive off and call 911. I doubt anyone unarmed with real world knife fighting experience would have approached an armed attacker willingly when there were better options. They know what damage a knife can inflict. Years ago I was listening to a knife fighting instructor talk about knife fighting. One thing that stick in my head was that he said there was one certainty about knife fighting. He said no matter how good you were that you were going to get cut. I also recall hearing an Army special forces guy talk about being in a firefight and thinking about running out in the hail of bullets until he thought about it and realized his training didn’t make him invisible to bullets. Confidence is fine but don’t let it overcome common sense.

[Ruark]

mrvmax may have made a point. A nasty prosecutor could fixate on the fact that the Marine had the opportunity to get in the car with the rest of his family and avoid the threat, but instead he chose to be confrontational. It might not end well.

[howdy]

I was always told "don"t let your alligator mouth get your hummingbird rear end in trouble" (I cleaned it up for the forum)