So...I'm walking into Safeway up here in Portland OR and this big black truck seems to speed up to the crosswalk and brakes right in front of me. So I flash him a, "what the F are you doing," look. He does a head motion towards me and I then walk inside thinking nothing of it. Next thing I know this guy is stalking me inside the store and menacingly starts coming towards me. This guy was huge! He had tattoos of some Chinese kanji on his huge arms suggesting he was a martial artist or some MMA bonehead. He says something like, "I let you walk and you flash me a f***ing look!! Fu*k you!!" After finding myself backed up against a fruit stand and repeatedly telling him to, "get the fu*k away from me man," and him getting right up in my face, I pushed him. He tried to shoot in and take me down but I managed to stay just out of reach. He tried jabbing but I was still sidestepping and backing up, parrying his arm. Thankfully, that and me putting up my guard fully expecting I would soon be brawling in Safeway, made him back down (after some expletives and feinting like he was going to attack again).
I guess I need to get this off my chest because I'm still wondering if I was slightly in the wrong for initially pushing the guy. My martial arts is for defense! But I still can't help feeling I was justified because this guy was flexing right up on me. I try to make it my philosophy to never strike first but in that moment I was in danger of either getting punched or kneed in the balls, having my crown knocked out, or worse!! It was definitely a self-defense situation. When someone is that out for blood and there's absolutely no reasoning with them, hitting first and asking questions later seems justified.
I guess I made up for initiating the physical part of our conflict by avoiding him and his friend waiting for me in their truck out in the parking lot. Luckily I saw them first and I walked the other way going down a side street back to the house. A guy like that is not to be taken lightly. He could have been some ex-military tweeker with a gun (he had a crazy look in his eye) or some kind of Nazi. This sucks, I guess I'm making enemies up here in Portland.