# Martial Artist column question differing from other thread. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 22, 2009, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artist-column-question-differing-from-other-thread/500563 "2009-06-22T08:34:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crodley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5a626/32.png) [@Crodley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crodley)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2009, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artist-column-question-differing-from-other-thread/500563/1 "2009-06-22T08:34:05Z")
Hi all, regarding this column, [Has martial arts training ever helped anybody defeat a mugger?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2874/has-martial-arts-training-ever-helped-anybody-defeat-a-mugger) I have a question about one of the references. I didn’t want to post in the other thread because I didn’t want to hijack the theme of that post. From the article Cecil said, “_In 2008 a New York subway conductor with a black belt took on three muggers and won. Unfortunately, he also killed a good Samaritan who tried to help out_.” I admit my searching abilities are lame, but I could find nothing via Google about this. If it’s real, how in the heck did the Black Belt fella kill a bystander? Does anyone know about this recent news story? Thanks in advance! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2009, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artist-column-question-differing-from-other-thread/500563/2 "2009-06-22T10:47:54Z")
Cecil is probably talking about [this](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/nyregion/15parks.html) guy. What Cecil neglects to mention is that he was carrying a six-inch dagger, and that after being attacked he pulled out his dagger and went after the muggers. Unfortunately, he got the wrong guy, and stabbed an innocent bystander 15 times. He had a black belt in Ju-Jitsu, but that seems incidental to the story. Another source mentioned that he’d gone vigilante about 10 years earlier, and that time he’d been carrying a gun. I don’t remember the details, but he might have been arrested that time also. ---
**Author:** ![Crodley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5a626/32.png) [@Crodley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crodley)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2009, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artist-column-question-differing-from-other-thread/500563/3 "2009-06-22T11:15:43Z")
Thanks for the reply. What an odd and disturbing story…it’s amazing what our human race will do to each other…