Run away

The practice of martial arts espouses discipline and those who truly live by the principles of their art, avoid trouble when they can.

The opening line probably reminds you of the song "Coward of the County." Well, if you remember that song, it will tell us your age.

I am writing about this topic in relation to an activity held last Monday during the general assembly for the Cebu Federation of Beat Journalists (CFBJ) at SM City Cebu.

A few weeks ago, I got a call from Connie Fernandez of CDN asking if I know martial arts practitioners, who could demonstrate to journalists, as part of the Press Freedom Week celebration, some basic self-defense techniques.

I told Epion (that's how we call Connie, the youngest sister of one of my college buddies) that she need not worry about getting people from martial arts clubs to do a demo since we have some practitioners in our midst. So, I asked the help of Banat's Johnrey Saavedra, a teacher of Aikijitsu, and one of his favorite students Edwin Ian Melecio, who writes for both Banat and The FREEMAN.

Johnrey and Edwin together with three of their students demonstrated how to fight off armed men.

When it was my turn to do a demonstration using the judo techniques that I have been working hard to master since almost 20 years ago, I gave fellow journalists a simple reminder - avoid trouble.

"Run away from trouble if you can... " A line from "Coward of the County" goes.

Yes, why engage the opponent, who could be a robber or simply a drunk or stoned man looking for some cheap fun, if you are unsure of what to do.

If there's one thing that most of us can do, it is to run for our lives and shout at the top of our voice for help when we are attacked.

Of course there are some basic techniques that you must always remember. Techniques like using your opponent's force against him.

Fighting force with force will always end up with the weaker person losing. Against huge opponents, we are already at a loss, but if we use our heads and pull if he pushes or push if he pulls, then we have the advantage.

However, if you really are serious about self-defense, then get into a martial arts program that is best suited for you. I would not want to go into an argument as to which is the better form of martial art or who has the most champions.

Always bear in mind that fighting is your last option. Run if you can.

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MILESTONE: Belated birthday greetings go to Dr. Raul Trasmonte, who turned a year older last Sunday.

Rannie or Rocker as we fondly call him is now one of Cebu's top anesthesiologists. When we were in high school, he was a dependable forward in the basketball team of our class. Happy birthday Doc!