How to get into a brawl while rekeying a clients house!

[sandman]

Today, I showed up to a clients house here in Colorado. I was in company with another locksmith, due to the fact that im still apprenticing. We show up to this woman's house, shes in her Mid to late 40's, to do a simple 8 cylinder kwikset rekey job. Now the whole time im in there with my other locksmith, the phone is ringing off the hook, and going to voice mail. then a voice starts screaming on the machine, its the exboyfriend of the 40 year old woman demanding her to pick up the phone. The woman's mother, and elderly woman was there and in town to obviously help control the situation and walk her daughter through this break up.
so anyways, im just trying to mind my own business but this is all happening around me and so im just taking note of it.
Then the ex boyfriend shows up!
He starts yelling and screaming, and crying and cussing in the driveway at the 40 yr old woman, my locksmith is in the van doing the rekey, i said to him...
"hey man, i dont know about you, but im gonna stand inside the house to keep an eye on this." he didnt reply back to me, just gave me a look that said, 'do what you got to do'.
So i walk up beside the man to let my presence be known, Im 6'3, 265lbs, and have a shaved head, im intimidating, but this guy was about the same height, and had at least 30-40lbs on me. He saw me and eventualy decided to get in his truck and leave. Situation over right? wrong,
So im now fucking with this kwikset knob on the back door, and i hear the Grandmother screem "get outta here! im calling the cops!" i turn around and the guy was standing in the kitchen behind me and was yelling at the grandmother, the daughter was presumably hidding in the bedroom. He wouldnt leave, then the grandmother looked at me and said,
"sir, will you please help me? will you get this man out of here?"

Boys and girls, Im a Texan first, a Marine second, an Iraq War Veteran third, then an American by the grace of God! i dont step down, and i DO NOT let men harass women, not while im still breathing. And on top of all of this, I used to box and wrestle for the Marine Corps, Im a tough cookie to boot, and happily walked over to this prick and proceeded to ask him to leave. He refused, well i decided to help him move towards the door, he didnt like that one bit, he shoved me almost clear into the kitchen again from the hallway, then out came my DUKES! I boxed that boy up like he had never been boxed before, but that big son of a bitch would not go down. Im a head hunter by nature, and used to spend hours on the speed bag a while back, and every punch i threw at him landed squar on his jaw and on the button of his nose...he did not go down! He punched and kicked and clawed his way at me, we were TEARING UP THIS POOR WOMAN'S HOUSE! Then the daughter steped out of her room and got in between us (like all women do when the boys start to brawl) and seperated us, crying begging us to stop, then..the fucker swung over her and hit me square in the face, and i mean my whole face! this guys fist was about the size of my head! lifted me off the ground by about a foot, and i flew back about 3 feet into the living room. on the floor looking up at him.. i was god damned astonished and looked up at this baby huey and relized i just might get my butt whooped today! But i got back up, and started hitting him, every punch, very presice and to the point, i hit him about 3 or 4 times for every step i could manage to force him out the front door, all the while the 40 year old daughter was standing in between us screeming for dear life,

and through all of this, i happened to look over and see if my other locksmith was going to step in and have my back should i end up on the floor again, guess what? he was standing 10 feet away in the kitchen just watching with a blank look on his face. fucking pussy!

finaly, a few more punches in on this guys chin and nose and he was finaly out the front door so i could lock it. he was spitten blood and had a possible broken nose with as much blood that was commin out of it. I had a town work shirt, my glasses were completely broken, his blood was on me, but i wasnt bleeding or injured. aside from the scratch on my face, probly from a ring he was wearing when he heas hitting me, i was fine, my knuckles were fine, my jaw is fine, 10 years of martial arts and being a little scrapper in the Marine Corps finaly paid off!

The cops came, saw that it was all in self defense and i was protecting the women. I filed a report, and decided to press charges because the daughter refused to press charges, the police said if i did, that they would then have reason to hunt him down and put him in a jail cell for 24 hours and keep an eye on it from then on. So i pressed charges to keep the women safe, not because im a prick.

I go back to the lock shop and explain this and what all happened to my bosses, there reply was this..
"the next time you see a man hitting a woman, or if you ever came across a person dying in the street, just walk away, its not your job to interviene. we could have been sued for what you did."

guess what, im not even getting paid to be an apprentice under these hippies!!!! typical coloradoans! always to scared to lose their money over doing what is right!

i shouldve just said "well sir, im a Texan and i dont back down when i see a grown ass man threatening and harassing a woman. Im a Marine and i was not taught to run away when people are in destress and danger!"


What did i learn from all of this?

Ive been doing martial arts for 10 years and teaching self defense and jiujitsu for the past 4 years. Aikido, tae kwon do, jiujitsu, kung fu, tai chi, none of that crap will work when your forced to fight a man almost 300lbs, crazy, and your fighting in a hallway or a living room about the size of pig pen. what wins a fight is Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, and thick determination to be the victor, not the victim, in a fight. Especialy when your fighting for the safety of women. Dont wast your time with a martial art that you cant prove in a cage, in a ring, or on the street. Do only what works and what has been proven, and what comes natural.

lastly, I dont like working for hippies that dont want to pay me for working for them, and dont have my back when i step in to protect a woman from a crazed ex boyfriend, fuck them, ill take my services elsewhere.

But the truth of the matter is, i dont belong here. i dont belong in colorado, i dont belong here in america as a civilian. I belong in the military, serving my country, and sticking up for people and fighting for them because its plain to see that the majority of americans just wont do it. So i need to lose some damn weight, and get my ass back into the real fight!

[xeo]

intense story.... get a license to carry. quick problem solver...

moral of story is.. america (and the world) is filled with a bunch of greedy exploitative capitalists who would rather do evil for profit than otherwise.

[xeo]

it DOES sound bad, but "not getting involved" is the safest way to be in this kind of society. i'm an exceptionally cautious fellow and probably would have stayed inside the van until the guy left, or i would have just quietly called the police and let them handle it.

[magician59]

True: If you had been the original aggressor (even here in Texas), you and the company could be named in a lawsuit (Stupid American traditions). I'm a 50-year-old, fat, outta shape (haven't done martial arts for a couple decades), wimp. Nonetheless, I will do everything in my power to stop an abuser or aggressor of women, children, or weakling.

You did the right thing.

[Port80]

Good on ya. Any company thats not willing to go above an beyond to help out a customer, especially in the case of domestic abuse, is not a company I'd want to work for either. Given the circumstances as presented they are no better than the cowardly boyfriend. I'd tell them to suck it and find better employment elsewhere.

Good luck in the future.

[LocksmithArmy]

well i wouldnt quit over it but i wouldnt hold back next time either... nice going bro

[Swampy459]

I would have dialed the cops the minute I realized something was up, that way even if you can't explain something to them and are busy telling the guy to leave at least they have cops on the way and they have a recording of you telling the guy to leave and him refusing. That could be good evidence later. I wouldn't be so quick to get physical. You never know who is carrying a gun or a knife. I don't care how much time you have on a punching bag, you don't punch as hard as a hollow point. If you see anything resembling a weapon, yell "drop the knife" or "drop the gun" loud and clear

I hope it never happens, but in the event that he drew a gun or knife and I was in fear of my life, or in fear of someone else's life, then I would meet force with force, including deadly force.

[the lockpickkid]

these days you can't predict what somebody is going to do, when my father was my age, you could get in a fist fight and thats all it was a fist fight, but nowadays, you get in a fight and you get stabbed or shot, and 9 times out of ten, you get an assault charge. You do what you feel is right, but I think it is always best to call the cops and only use force if you are pushed into a corner and have to defend your life or somebodys elses. BUT.... what you did isn't so bad, but I really do hope that the guy doesn't get a lawyer and sue the crap out of you, because thats what happens these days.

[HallisChalmers]

these days you can't predict what somebody is going to do, when my father was my age, you could get in a fist fight and thats all it was a fist fight, but nowadays, you get in a fight and you get stabbed or shot, and 9 times out of ten, you get an assault charge. You do what you feel is right, but I think it is always best to call the cops and only use force if you are pushed into a corner and have to defend your life or somebodys elses. BUT.... what you did isn't so bad, but I really do hope that the guy doesn't get a lawyer and sue the crap out of you, because thats what happens these days.

True. You squared off and shook hands after it was over.

But like you said - nowadays you never know. Some little 14 yr old rap gangsta thug will shoot you in the back for shits and giggles.

Another thing to consider is that a lot of employers WILL NOT allow you to carry a firearm, even if you have a permit. If you work for any sizable corporation, they won't let you even have a firearm in YOUR vehicle on THEIR property.

Lawyers put the fear of God into everybody - even if it trumps common-sense.

[thelockoutguys]

did he put his hands on anyone before you decided to help him out the door? I didnt see that in your post or i missed it. I see the domestic side of stuff all the time. If it sounds like domestic problems when talking with them on phone we dont go. or if it gets crazy when we are there we leave. I have ccw and pack but im not a cop. They can deal with it. You did right if the guy was hitting the females.

[14 levers]

As the Lockout Guy said, "You did right if the guy was hitting the females" or children, only if he was striking them.
You are a locksmith, you are doing a re-key, you are essentially locking people out of their homes, what do you think someone's reaction is going to be? "Oh, uh, cool. I guess I'll just forfeit anything I had in there"
Two things you need to remember as a locksmith, one, you are not Captain America, you are a locksmith doing your job, stay out of other people's business, mixing it up as you did you put yourself in jeopardy, the company that employs you in jeopardy, and quite possibly those ladies in jeopardy, who knows what Mr. Angry is going to do now that his ego was bruised, are you going to 'protect' those women from here on out?
And two, as a locksmith you only know 50% of the story in these situations, you were hired to do a re-key, change a combination, etc. do your job, that's it, leave your cape and tights in the van.
Locksmiths have been used as retaliation for as long as locks have been in use.

[sandman]

thankx guys for all your input.
the man was not hitting the women, just screaming at them and intimidating them.
i put my hand on his shoulder to guid him out the door, then he pushed me into the kitchen, so i kicked his ass.

he does indeed have a broken nose and a staple holding his lip together, he said if i dont drop the charges, he will sue.

we called the officer that attended to the scene, she said she had 2 reports that said i was pushed first, then i threw the first punch, but in the police officer's eyes, based on the history of violence in that home, and the two reports, one from me, the other from the grandmother, I was defending myself, he was the agrivator, if he tries to sue me, then more seveare charge can and will be used against him.

i dont care about pressing charges, i will drop the charges, i just wanted him to be brought in for 24 hours to cool down so he wouldnt hurt that family while he was injured and hyped up.

the girlfriend, in the past 24 hours, has let him back in her life. im sure it will happen again.



this is a good story and all completely true. but there is no right or wrong in this situation. thats why i decided not to repsond to any posts on what i had done. because i would never blame any of you for doing anything different. if a man is a coward, than so be it, if a man is a hero, than so be it. if a man is more calculating and can control the situation better than what i had done, then good on him.
what i did is what i did and is a representation of my character. only the laws and the justice system could ever prove me wrong or right.
but all laws, gun, lawyers aside, if i saw this happen again,.... i wouldnt have changes a thing, except put the fucker down hard, and not let him get back up.
but thats just my character, my morals, and the way i was brought up.
defend the weak, defeat the wreched.
my character and frame of mind tells me i did nothing wrong.
i do not feel there is a right thing to do nor a wrong thing to do.

but just watching something happen, and doing completely nothing about it,... will always be the wrong thing to do. no matter what you decide to do.


they decided they didnt want to commit to paying any time soon so i quit.

i have now been through 17 jobs in the 18 months that ive been out of the Marine Corps, out of Iraq, and in the 'normal' world. let me tell ya, nothing feels normal about this world.

[sandman]

whether im in the right or wrong, doesnt matter. what matters is i did something. and doing something, 9 times out of 10, will always be better than doing nothing. thats what makes us americans. we can sit by and watch the world go to shit, and take care of our selves, but we decide that people dont have to live in fear or tirany. that they can live peacful lives, just like us. only 1 out of 10 posts will agree with this statement and the story that i told. because only 1 out of 10 people would lift a finger when someone is in danger. and only 1 out of 10 americans has, or is willing to serve our country in a time of war or conflict. no body is perfect. but the ones that are closest to perfection are the ones trying to do something for not only themselves, but for others.

[LocksmithArmy]

im usually the guy to sit and not worry about people... but since i joined the military i am willing to stand up and defend anyone who needs anything... the military will instill values that did not exist before. i was never a fighter or a person to give a shit if someone else was being abused (excluding animals and children, that aloways pissed me off) but now i dont even hesitate to stand up and fight for anyone. i think the world would be a better place if everyone would defend their neighbors in such a manner, there would would be more peacful if we just kicked a bullys ass every time they started shit.

[thelockoutguys]

whether im in the right or wrong, doesnt matter. what matters is i did something. and doing something, 9 times out of 10, will always be better than doing nothing. thats what makes us americans. we can sit by and watch the world go to shit, and take care of our selves, but we decide that people dont have to live in fear or tirany. that they can live peacful lives, just like us. only 1 out of 10 posts will agree with this statement and the story that i told. because only 1 out of 10 people would lift a finger when someone is in danger. and only 1 out of 10 americans has, or is willing to serve our country in a time of war or conflict. no body is perfect. but the ones that are closest to perfection are the ones trying to do something for not only themselves, but for others.

I can respect this %100. on my other comment i was not thinking what you did was wrong. But as an owner we see liabilty and losing the business flash before our eyes if he decides to sue ..like im sure your employer did. Im sure if you did this outside of work your employer would have said good job..But anyways you did what you thought was right and stuck to it..again i can respect what you did.