The worse the global economy gets, the more we are going to hear stories like this. At first glance, a martial artist might think "Hey, I can't use lethal force against these guys, they're just kids". But the bottom line is, they almost killed him. I also think this is a clear example of why you can NOT rely on submission wrestling/grappling techniques as your primary self-defense art. There's just too many attackers. I've been in two different gang-type fights with multiple attackers; has anybody else? How would you handle this?
Beaten to pulp by kids over smokes
REBEKAH CAVANAGH
May 7th, 2009
BASHED: Glenn Lambourn bears the scars of the attack. Picture: CLIVE HYDE
A TERRITORY man was beaten to a pulp by a gang of more than 20 teenage bike bandits - some as young as eight - because he had no cigarettes to give them.
Heavily bruised and suffering a fractured eye socket, broken jaw and shattered teeth, Glenn Lambourn was still shaken when talking to the Northern Territory News about the vicious street attack.
"I thought I was going to die," he said, his voice trembling. "They just kept smashing me over the head - I was on all fours and they surrounded me and kept laying the boot in flat out.
"They just did not stop - I felt my teeth go.
"All I could do was try and run but I kept falling."
Mr Lambourn, 35, said he had been drinking with friends at the Palmerston Tavern in Palmerston CBD when he left and walked towards University Ave to catch a cab about 9.30-10pm on Sunday.
He said the kids - all of Aboriginal appearance and believed to be aged between eight and 14-years-old - approached him on their bikes near the skate park and asked for a cigarette.
Shortly after he said he did not have any, he said he was whacked over the head from behind with a lump of wood "thicker than a stubby", knocking him, face-first, to the ground.
The gang then piled on top of him and repeatedly kicked him in the head, he said.
The truck driver said he managed to get to his feet and tried running, but they chased him - and when he ran through a tunnel that goes under University Ave they pounced on him again, this time picking up one of their bikes and smashing it into the side of his face.
The father-of-one finally managed to escape and was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital in an ambulance.
He said he will undergo surgery to his face where steel plates will be inserted to repair the fractures later this week.
"I'm going to end up with a big bloody scar down my face," he said. "And my teeth are f.....! I can feel them rattling around my mouth."
Mr Lambourn said he would like to see the thugs, who he described as "gutless and callous" locked up,
"But I know that is not going to happen," he said.
He said he lost all faith in the court system after his younger brother was beaten to within an inch of his life interstate and the offender, who was initially charged with attempted manslaughter, ended up walking free.
Mr Lambourn appealed to anyone who witnessed the assault in the Palmerston area on Sunday night to call police on 131 444.
LINK
6 comments:
How would I handle that?
Mercy. I'd like to say that I could have maneuvered myself so as to not let anyone get behind me, but 14 people...
Sooner or later, too many to fight is too many to fight.
Let me begin by saying "hindsight" does not mean that it would have turned out any different just because we can extrapolate possible ways of handling this situation after the fact. We all can say what we want but until we are actually in this type of situation and have survived it we can not TRULY say. All we can do is provide a possibility:
Mr Lambourn, 35, said he had been drinking with friends at the Palmerston Tavern in Palmerston CBD when he left and walked towards University Ave to catch a cab about 9.30-10pm on Sunday.Let me begin by saying "I" use to be a drinker of alcoholic beverages. I will also say that anytime I did imbibe I would usually end up having something happen I would rather avoid happen when I did this. I also know that to walk late at night down a blvd named, "University" that it is usually a dark and somewhat deserted street so that in itself was a warning.
What would I have done? I no longer drink so that in itself would give me one up on staying safe. I would not go out and walk in that type of environment late at night regardless of my expertise in the fighting arts or what ever. I would have called a cab, a friend, or relative to come and pick me up at the front door.The kids approached him on their bikes near the skate park and asked for a cigarette.This one is even easier as a bunch of kids on bikes late at night running like a pack of dogs...ops, alarms going off in my head. If the street had any homes on it at all the minute I say a pack of kids I would have gone to someone door and started banging on it loudly. I would have made noise to get attention. I would have avoided the park and gone another direction since I know to avoid dark and lonely places.
Also, if I were not already inebriated which I am sure the kids first noticed in the way I walked that I was a target then maybe they would have gone after an easier target. If I were not already inebriated I might not have walked that way. I might have taken that other direction and avoided the confrontation. The kids were using the park to hide and watch so when someone who appeared alone and vulnerable came by I could attack.Shortly after he said he did not have any, he said he was whacked over the head from behind with a lump of wood "thicker than a stubby", knocking him, face-first, to the ground. The gang then piled on top of him and repeatedly kicked him in the head...Let me say that all the other comments above would have possibly avoided this possibility. After all if I were not inebriated I might have noticed as they approached that one of them was holding a piece of wood thicker than a stubby. Alarms going off here if I were not inebriated.when he ran through a tunnel that goes under University Ave they pounced on him again...Hello, running into a dark or even lighted tunnel. Oh yea, talk about reducing your chances of escape. Since on this statement I am assuming that I wasn't smart enough to avoid this situation why on earth would I try for a tunnel where they could do more harm and keep anyone who could have called for help even "seeing" what was going on. Oh yea, if he was drinking at an establishment where was his friends provided he was not drinking alone?Anyway, like I said "hindsight" is hindsight and we all never truly know what we are going to do until we get into that situation. I have been there to a degree in my past as a Marine yet when I decided to stop doing stupid stuff I found that I no longer exposed myself to such dangers.
In the fighting arts if you fail to train in defending yourself "before" you enter into dangerous situations you are just asking to test your abilities. I would rather avoid it all so I don't have to test my fighting arts.
Anyway, my hindsight!
Yes, to be fair, he was hit in the back of the head with a chunk of wood. That could have ended his life right there.
With that said, I think I would have tried to hurt one or two of the kids real bad. I guarantee the rest would have second thoughts.
--I can appreciate your measured reply Charles, and well thought out. However, every time I had something go bad like this, it came completely out of the blue with no indication. Often in the defense of others also.
-Now, I also realize that hurting a couple of the kids bad puts you in a huge legal dilema, but look at the alternative...
Obviously, this guy did not have the skills to deal with it in any respect.
DR,
Teen wolf packs are nothing new, but you're right - we'll probably see more of them in the coming years.
Groundfighting should not be the end-all be-all of self defense. My introduction to jujitsu came from my old boxing coach. He believed that the combination of the two arts was the best of all combinations. He cross-trained in other arts, but those were his core arts and he was one of the best street fighters I knew.
I also like your suggestion that you should try to hurt one or two of the kids really bad. I would only add that if you can identify the leader, do your best to take him out. If not the leader, then the biggest, baddest looking motherfucker of the group. Make the others think twice.
A friend of mine, an extremely sharp pistol-packing senior citizen, would advise you to approach a situation like that like bird hunting.
If you try to take out the whole flock, you won't get any of them. Instead, focus on one bird, concentrate your efforts on taking that one out. With that approach, you're more likely to get something and the other birds will scatter.
This woman used that method in self-defense situations. She also used it for getting sales help at the local Lowe's store, noting that employees tend to congregate together, but when you need assistance, they all scatter. (LOL).
And Charles, I like your post. It's really the main reason I don't drink anymore. It's not that I don't like beer, or that I'm some kind of health nut, or any kind of religious reasons. It's simply that when you're drunk, you're not in control of yourself and you're vulnerable to whatever the bad guys of the world want to do to you.
That, and there are a lot of instant assholes out there - just add beer.
Relying on grappling is not going to help? Doesn't look like relying on striking helped much either.
JAB
Hey JAB;
I would say that hitting and moving would definately be a better strategy than going to the ground with this many attackers.
Now, I could see a few snapped fingers and dislocations would help. This guy was obviously not fight-trained and did nothing but try to flee, which wasn't good enough to keep him from Harm, and he got hurt worse when they got him on the ground. I would say with this group of teen thugs, if you smashed a few noses bringing lots of blood, perhaps take some fingers and elbows, the rest might think twice. Bottom line, even though they were kids, there was too many for this guy.
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