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Thread: Someone tried to break into my home last night

  1. #1
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    Someone tried to break into my home last night

    I was watching the Simpsons, decompressing after practice, at around 10:30 last night. My wife and kid had gone to bed when I heard this banging in the kitchen. At the time, I thought my wife had got up to get a snack and was openning and closing the refrigerator door. In reality, it was someone trying to pry the screen off of our window. It's funny how your perceptions can mold a stimuli to fit into what your mind thinks should be happening. But it was too loud and incessant - my wife is really quiet and sneaks up on me all the time - so I got up to investigate. Again, my mind was thinking that maybe my wife was mad or something, and that's why she was slamming the refrigerator door, even though that would be so unlikely for her - more like something I would do. As soon as I got up, I knew something was wrong since the bedrooms were undisturbed. I turned on a light, and that alerted the perpetrator, who fled. I saw a shadow cross the window. I dashed back to my room, crossing paths with my wife in the hall, who asked what was going on. I told her to I thought someone was out there and to stay with our child. I got to my weapons rack.

    Now as an aside, one of my shixiong, Robert Daniels, from a long time ago stopped a home intruder. I think Robert may be teaching in Seattle, so if anyone knows him, say 'hi' for me. Anyway, there had been a series of mid-day break-ins at his apartment complex. He was home in the afternoon and his room was right over the door. He heard a noise, looked out the window and saw someone working the door with a screwdriver. He ran to his weapons rack. Now, this is why I bring this up - he couldn't decide quickly. When he did decide, his chose a wushu broadsword, which probably wasn't the best choice, practically speaking. But he managed to be coming downstairs right when the guy got in the door. Imagine, you break into a house to see this big dude charging you with a broadsword. He turned tail and ran. Later, the cops commented after seeing the broadsword "too bad you didn't catch him".

    For many years, I keep the equivalent of a pillow sword by my bedside. My wife always commented that it was a "guy thing." Perhaps it is. After Robert's experience, I had given it a lot of thought and figured that a bokken was the best home defense weapon for me. I specialized in sword for years, CMA, fencing and kendo, so a bokken is very versatile for me. For a long time, I kept a bokken by my bed, however, in the last few years, I lost the affectation.

    So there I was at my weapons rack, with all this is flashing through my mind. It's dark, so I have to feel my way. Over years of neglect, my bokken is buried under a bunch of stuff - I couldn't find it anyway. So I grab my heavy dragon-head cane, the one I competed with for years; I even took it to China when I was on the US AAU national team. I also grab my 4-D maglite. I worked my way through college at a sleazy discount movie theater and we all got really proficient with maglites. Of course, by the time I've retreived all of this, the perpetrator is gone.

    The cops were there in about five minutes. They said that they had a similar break-in in the neighborhood a few minutes earlier. They sent a CSI guy out to take prints. The would-be intruder had unscrewed the yard lights so they wouldn't turn on. Given the smudges left on my broken screen and the window, the CSI cop thought the intruder was wearing gloves.

    It was all over in an hour. My wife and I moved our kid to our bed to sleep between us. We watched Letterman to unwind a bit. I finished off a bottle of Jack Daniels, then broke into a bottle of Talisker.

    Now, the morning after, I'm still buzzing from the experience. This weekend will be devoted to installing some more motion detector lights outside and re-evaluating my home defense weapons. Martially speaking, it has my reflecting on my practice. I've let my weapons practice slide a bit in the last year or so - that needs to be remedied. Also, I've gained new respect for the kung fu uniform. When people ask me how to get to a local CMA tournament, I often reply, "look for a bunch of people in their pajamas". Standing in my yard with my cane, maglite and pajamas, I'm more appreciative of our practice garb.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  2. #2
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    Glad your okay. Not happy the guy got away.

    Last year my car got broken into. My wife was awake, and I think alerted the punks by accident. I came flying out of the house with a combat steel Jing (purchased at martial arts mart)...but they were gone. My first choice was an oak staff - for the reach - but was concerned I might get caught in the trellis.

    Funny stuff, eh.

    Now I'm just shopping for a Glock. More efficient and safer, especially with a kid around who might be in danger while daddy is fighting.
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  3. #3
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    Very glad to hear you and your family are alright!

    Too bad about the one casualty though.

    Poor, poor Jack.
    All my fight strategy is based on deliberately injuring my opponents. -
    Crippled Avenger

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    First you get good, then you get fast, then you get good and fast.

  4. #4
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    That's some scary $hit. Glad everyone is all right, Gene.

    You raise a good point about traditional weaponry. We might not use it in the "street," but we probably could find some use for it in home security.

    Again, glad everyone's all right.
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  5. #5
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    ouch, glad to hear things turned out alright.

    I keep two knives by my bed. My wife thinks it's a guy thing too but when I was young and taking karate, a friend of mine had his house broken into twice while I was there! All we had were his sai and his katana and bokken, which we grabbed and effectively chased the intruders out with (probably more just heard the noise, only one guy saw us and that was on his way out). So now it's just habit.
    _______________
    I'd tell you to go to hell, but I work there and don't want to see you everyday.

  6. #6
    hi gene glad you're okay and your family is safe , that's the important thing.
    i know this might sound like blasphemy coming from a kung fu guy
    but what about guns?
    ever considered getting one, or that the intruder might have one?

    how about a taser? that wouldn't really conflict too much with martial ethics would it?

    blessed.

  7. #7
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    Dang Gene... that blows. I'm glad to hear everything is ok. I'd get the motion detectors set up on your outdoor lights around waist high on you.

    On the gun issue, that's an emotionally charged topic. I'll say this. I have one for home/personal protection & find no conflict with any martial ethics. Ethics be ****ed when it comes to protecting my family. Property can be replaced, family can't.

    On the counter to that, if you unload a mag into a guy who's just doing a B&E with no weapons, you're on the line & chances are you will loose unless things are very extreme or the laws are such in your state to allow for such extreme measures with no idea of what is really going on with the person.

    Judge Pen.... Paging Judge Pen.... time for a professional non-commital answer about this...
    Message: Due to the ongoing Recession, God has decided the light at the end of the tunnel will be shut off due to power costs. That is all.

  8. #8
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    Funny I keep a bokken, a couple of knives, and a .380 automatic all within reach. Fortunately no one has tried to breal into my place.
    Quote Originally Posted by Oso View Post
    AND, yea, a good bit of it is about whether you can fight with what you know...kinda all of it is about that.

  9. #9
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    In Tennessee (and I would assume most southern states) when someone is advancing into your home then there's a presumption that one has a reasonable beleif that their life or the life of their family is in jeopardy which could justify the use of deadly force in your home. However, that presumption can be rebutted by the circumstances: i.e. you shoot him in the back as he is fleeing your property etc.
    Last edited by Judge Pen; 05-25-2004 at 10:56 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Oso View Post
    AND, yea, a good bit of it is about whether you can fight with what you know...kinda all of it is about that.

  10. #10
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    lol @ having too many weapons to choose from...funnily enough i keep a bokken and a pair of escrima sticks next to my bed
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    Last edited by stubbs; 03-18-2011 at 01:26 PM.

  11. #11
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    i just thought..bubble wrap would be a great early warning thing to have near the entrances...no body can resist playing with bubble wrap!
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    Last edited by stubbs; 03-18-2011 at 01:26 PM.

  12. #12
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    I keep my dog at the foot of the bed, and a jian in the bedroom...




    Gene,

    Glad to here you and your family are all OK.
    practice wu de


    Actually I bored everyone to death. Even Buddhist and Taoist monks fell asleep.....SPJ

    Forums are no fun if I can't mess with your head. Or your colon...
    uh-oh, I hope no one quotes me on that....Gene Ching

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  13. #13
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    good to hear you and the family are ok.

    It's time to install the sharks with the lasers on their heads I think.

    That kind of experience is trippy to say the least. Would be interesting to read a distilled retrospective beyond what you've already written here Gene.

    cheers and good luck!
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  14. #14
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    Glad it turned out the way it did. You get to look like the hero chasing the guy away and no blood or sweat spilled ..... good karma.

  15. #15

    Dogs

    It's all about having the wild animals inside your house to keep away the wild animals outsider your house. Of course, they do have to get off the bed or out from underneath the covers, but they will be there for you. Now, you just need to get them to differentiate from the real threats and the ones only they can see. For instance the pesky dogs that park in the neighbor's yard should be classified in the nusiance category and not a real threat.
    Glad to hear everything went okay despite the fact you did not have a chance to demonstrate your martial prowess. It's probably better that way.
    ~The table saw is my weapon of
    choice

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