Martial Arts Speaker Asks: Is That Angry Bum At The Gas Station Really A Threat?

Tonight my dashboard gave off the shrill signal that I was running low and had to sneak up on a bomb, and soon.

Fortunately, across the street from where I had dinner there is a discount station that sells Union 76 gasoline, which I guess is pretty good quality because the company is so big.

Before I stopped, I noticed a scruffy homeless man leaning against the posts that girdle the large 76 sign. From time to time, he would jeer or yell at passing traffic and look at customers stopping to get gas.

“Should I stop?” I asked myself.

After all, if you read my martial arts articles, you know I’m a big fan of PREVENTION.

My advice is simple: if an environment is hostile, don’t go there.

Pull apart!

But here I was, perhaps in that same position. Gas is better and cheaper here than anywhere else within my tank’s low range, but why expose yourself to a hassle or worse?

Still, there was a voice inside saying, “Come on, you can handle it; easily!”

So I happily put my gas in, wiped the windshield, and took my time, and he didn’t budget from his position.

I monitored the non-verbal expressions and body language of the other bosses, and I’ll tell you they were scared.

Then, I realized one of the benefits of studying martial arts for many years, ascending to a Black Belt, and training others.

I have a choice: scare or run or run. Or, none of the above, if I choose to communicate my way through the turmoil.

Anyway, having options, being deliberate and thoughtful, calculating your answers, these things come from intensive study and practice.

And tonight’s non-issue is just a reminder that every ounce of sweat, every bruise, and every broken bone I experienced was worth it.