How close is too close?

[SanHeChuan]

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.

You needed some verbal kung fu. Your words were a challenge to him.

Verbal De-Escalation Techniques for Defusing or Talking Down an Explosive Situation

Since you reasonably believed this dude was going to attack you, you were within your right to defend yourself, and your defensive actions were well within the law. Since he was bigger you could have got away with more than you did. At least until your martial arts background came to light, in which case you would have been expected to stand in front of him deflecting all punches for five minutes before flying over the shelves to safety.

1. When do you have to yield the right of way to pedestrians in Oregon?

-When a pedestrian is crossing with a green light or WALK signal, or when the pedestrian has not cleared the crosswalk. You must give pedestrians the right away as soon as they step off of the curb.

-In a marked or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection with no traffic control devices, when the pedestrian is on your half of the road or so close that he or she is in a dangerous position

-When you cross a sidewalk, like when entering or leaving an alley, driveway or private road

-When you are making a left or right turn at any intersection, as soon as pedestrians step off of the curb

-When you are at a school crossing where there is a traffic patrol

[mooyingmantis]

You feel guilty for pushing him? I would have knocked him out and walked away as if nothing had happened. You sir are a kind soul.

[Yum Cha]

Throw yourself backward onto the table, like a soccer player in the penalty box, while he's saying to himself, "hey, I didn't touch the little wuss?! and all the people watching are saying 'what did that guy do to him?"

Then you come back with the goods, and end it.

I've pushed people a couple of times, not one big clearing push, but moving and pushing them along until they fall over or try to square up.

They either run away, or square up, in which case, its better than copping a sucker punch, and when the hands go up, you're green lit...

Its also a rather benign application of forcen in defense, should there be further ramifications down the track. You tried! Once again, it was he who escalated...

[Hebrew Hammer]

I wouldn't normally offer this advice, but seeing as I'm a closed door disciple of Bawang, I think it will be alright.

Should you find yourself in a similar situation again in a public place, try this Hebrew Hammer technique:

1) Pull your pants down
2) Start crying
3) Scream at the top of your lungs "Stop touching me Daddy!"

Its a crowd pleaser and guaranteed to make him rethink touching you in public.

It's never failed me, I'm undefeated in three states.

[Lucas]

but what is your counter if the aggressor likes it? do you go into a rape prevention state at that point?

[David Jamieson]

I wouldn't normally offer this advice, but seeing as I'm a closed door disciple of Bawang, I think it will be alright.

Should you find yourself in a similar situation again in a public place, try this Hebrew Hammer technique:

1) Pull your pants down
2) Start crying
3) Scream at the top of your lungs "Stop touching me Daddy!"

Its a crowd pleaser and guaranteed to make him rethink touching you in public.

It's never failed me, I'm undefeated in three states.

Wow! Bawang has trained you well!

[Yum Cha]

but what is your counter if the aggressor likes it? do you go into a rape prevention state at that point?

Hey, maybe you get lucky!

[ZenMindT]

Pushing him was the best thing you could have done. If some one is being agressive and they are within striking range how do know that is not there intention (to hit you that is). I for one am not going to wait and see what happens and hope I'm fast enough to stop his attack with my hands dangling by my side. You never know if someone has training or if there naturaly fast. Never under estimate anyone!!! You have no way of knowing if he was trying to get close enough to head butt you or knee you in the balls or somthing.

As if we all already didn't know, the world has alot of crazy people, so why would ever make the assumption that a man who follows you and yelling and screaming in public place won't do somthing when given the chance. I definatly wouldn't have turned my back on him.

If you want to walk a higher path, then yes, be like sheep. But the point of studying martial arts is so you can be a LION when you need to.

[Drake]

What does pushing do EXCEPT provoke?

[ShaolinDan]

Well, a push could create distance, buy time, and even put the aggressor out of striking range...
In theory anyway.

[Siu Lum Fighter]

I think I'm going to go with what ZenMindT and ShaolinDan said. Pushing him was like checking him and the rules of Shaolin dictate that one should check before hurting (which was something I considered), hurt before maim, maim before kill. In California the law says that the slightest mark on someone can justify battery. I don't think the laws up here are as stringent (you can own a machine gun in OR) but I'd still rather not find out what they are and follow my own personal rules. Besides, I've trained in Tai Chi quite extensively and my push probably wasn't just any "push". I pushed him with a great deal of force and made him fly back about five feet. He was pretty big and he had a lot of weight behind him so I was actually surprised I could push him back that much!

[Lucas]

look at it like this. you had your zone, he was in it, you used words to express where you were at and that he was in your space. words werent working. you had a threat in your face, so you shoved him, created space and readied for retaliation.

now you could have gone and beat his ass with an un ripe watermellon, but then you never know when hes going to come back at you with his friends.

a lot of times our reactions are just going to happen, your gut probably just took over.

oh ya and dont call it a push, call it a combat shove, that sounds way more hardcore.