This summer in the Philippines there was a string of killings of priests. As a result, there was talk of letting priests arm themselves. In an editorial on the subject, the author shared the following real-life story.
There was a guy in the neighborhood who spent many years in prison for killing a man. You see, he was bullied by a much stronger man who was also a martial artist. The martial artist was cocky, continually taunting the husband, whose wife he was having an affair with. The wronged husband finally decided to get revenge.
The husband attacked the martial artist with a machete. The martial artist took the machete away, and decided to take his opponent to the ground. At that point, the husband had a backup, a knife that he had concealed on his person, which he used to kill the cocky martial artist.
The author of the editorial used this story to make the point that there is always a counter to every move (like taking away a machete), so it was useless to arm priests. I have different take-aways from this episode.
1. Don’t Mess with Another Man’s Wife
The martial artist was the type of guy who had plenty of women. The husband had just one woman, who was everything to him. There was no need for the cocky guy to poach another man’s wife.
2. You’re Still Mortal
The martial artist got cocky, thinking that his skills and youthful strength made him invincible. This was evident by him taunting the husband and by taking him down. Reality is that you’re still human, and bleed like everyone else.
3. Know When to Quit
Once the martial artist had taken the machete away, it was time to quit. If you’ve been able to disarm a machete-wielding opponent without serious injuries, you’re very lucky. It’s time to quit. Now that you have the machete, the odds are against your disarmed opponent getting it back. You have the advantage, and by now deciding to dish out punishment, you are in clear violation of the law, and are looking at prison time.
4. Don’t Go to the Ground
Once you go to the ground, anything can happen. Standing, machete versus knife gives you the edge, because you have the longer weapon and can use distance to your advantage. On the ground, machete versus knife gives you no advantage. If anything, at contact ranges the knife is easier to wield, and the machete doesn’t have the same capacity for fatal thrusts that a knife does.
