Here's a little story of how the technique "Unleashing Petroleum" was created. LOL.
Being a Martial Artists I realize that one of the most important principles of self defense is “environmental awareness.” Environmental awareness is defined basically as the ability to observe daily conditions and surroundings and make on the spot decisions to either avoid danger or take advantage of the opportunities offered. Applied, this principle could be something as simple as not walking through dark alleys by your self at night or it could apply to using a handy broom as a bo staff to fend off an attacker. But, like most people, I am subject to lapses in good judgment at times.
In 2003 I was sent to Tucson, AZ by my employer for a few months to help establish a new office. I found myself thousands of miles from home in unfamiliar surroundings driving a rental car with the fuel gauge resting just above “E.” I came across a gas station, but hesitated to stop. It looked kind of run down and the area I was in was not exactly ‘up scale’ if you know what I mean. The parking lot was littered with burger wrappers and beer cans. Directly behind the filling station was a dilapidated wooden fence that was obviously put in place in a vain attempt to hide an even more dilapidated looking trailer park. The trailers visible from the road were the old 1950’s silver bullet type covered sporadically by rust spots. Amazingly enough, one could tell that people still resided within those trailers. Normally I would not have stopped but being that I was almost out of gas and did not want to get lost; I decided to pull in.
As I exited the vehicle I noticed the area was relatively quite. There didnÂ’t seem to be a lot of traffic nor did I observe anyone outside of the store. There was only one other vehicle in the parking lot and I assumed it must belong to the clerk inside. I was not surprised to find that the gas pump was not new enough to accept my debit card and resided myself to the fact that I would have to go in to pay. I removed the gas cap, flipped the pump on, and began fueling.
Something caught my attention from the corner of my eye and I looked up from absently watching the gallons click off to see a slender man approaching from the sidewalk. His clothes looked worn and a bit dirty. He had the look of someone accustomed to working out doors which was not in any way strange or cause for suspicion, but what bothered me was the way he walked. He seemed nervous. He was not directly focused on the direction in which he was walking but instead was constantly scanning his surroundings; as if he expected someone or something to ambush him. When he noticed me he seemed to hesitate then he altered his path towards my direction. My first thought was, “Oh great, this guys going to come over here and ask me for money.”
As he came closer I noticed his right hand move behind his back and I thought, “Oh crap, I think I’m about to be robbed!” My pulse started to race as did my mind. Images flashed through of scenario after scenario played out in the dojo in preparation of such an event. I remember thinking, “If this guy pulls a gun on me from that range I’m up the creek without the proverbial paddle.” I realized that if he did pull a gun the only way I could effectively defend myself would be if he were in arms reach so I began to maneuver towards the steel pylon that supported the shelter above the gas pumps. If he was going to shoot me I wasn’t about to give him a clear shot. As his hand reappeared I could see that he had not produced a pistol, but instead held a rather nasty looking knife.
As he continued to close the gap between us he began yelling at me. His English was horrible and it was hard for me to understand him but his intent was very clear; he wanted my wallet. At this point I feel it necessary to interject that no oneÂ’s life is worth a wallet. I believe that if all you need to do to survive a life or death situation is to give up your wallet, then you should do so. However, this case was a bit different. This occurred prior to the July 4th weekend. The previous weeks I had been working 10-14 hour days and I was ready for a break and some R&R. IÂ’m somewhat of a history buff and I knew that if I did not do anything else for myself while in Arizona, I was going to visit the historic city of Tombstone. It just so happened that prior to stopping at the gas station I had stopped by the bank and now had over $600.00 in my wallet to fund my trip and buy souvenirs and so forth. As you may imagine, I was not as willing to give up $600.00 as I may have been to give up $20.00 or $40.00.
I tried to warn the fellow to leave me alone and encouraged him to go away but I failed to convince him. He continued to edge closer and closer to me and when he got just outside of arms length I realized I had to do something. Time seemed to stand still as images and memories from my Kenpo training flashed through my mind at what seemed like the speed of light. Without thinking I withdrew the gas nozzle from the tank of the rental car and unleashed a burst of gasoline into my attackers face. He screamed and dropped the knife as he brought his hands up to his burning eyes. As he did so his stance widened exposing his groin so I took advantage of that and executed a right lifting kick that seemed to pick him up off the ground about an inch or two. Upon kicking him in the groin his hands dropped down from his face and I remember thinking, “This is almost like ‘Thrusting Salute’,” and I actually planned on following up with a palm heel strike as called for in the technique. However, as I have been taught and also teach, techniques are not likely to be executed ‘by-the-book’ in the streets due to unpredictable variables. In this case, my attacker turned away from me towards my left as he doubled over in pain from the kick which obscured the better targets I wanted for the palm heel strike; his nose or chin. Thankfully, there are other targets that can render effective results when struck properly and one presented itself. As he turned he exposed the side of his head so instead of using a palm heel strike I instead used a right hook punch connecting perfectly with the area directly behind his left ear. The moment my knuckles impacted to the rear of his jaw line he went limp and collapsed to the ground in a pool of spilled gasoline and it was over.
It wasn’t long before the police and ambulance arrived. Apparently, the store clerk had seen the man approaching me and called them upon seeing the knife. The police told me that it was common for illegal immigrants from Mexico to cross the border and then rob people in order to get American money. I’m not sure what the clerk told the police but they were quite interested in how I disabled my attacker. Not that I minded telling them about the benefits of Kenpo, but I gathered from their enthusiasm that the clerk embellished quite a bit about what actions I actually took. But that’s not really the funny part. The funny thing is as I stood there over him I thought, “That’s it?!” I couldn’t believe how quickly it was over but more so than that I couldn’t believe how easily my attacker was taken out. In the past I had played out scenarios in my mind as to how I thought I might deal with an attacker or attackers whether armed or unarmed. I spent hours practicing and hours training in the dojo honing the skills I would need to become a Black Belt in American Kenpo Karate and when I had the opportunity to showcase all my amazing skills I ended up basically using a Yellow Belt technique!
