attack stories

9.30am here in japan and i just got back from a rather nasty attack in a place called

roppongi in tokyo.

 

roppongi is 'nortorious' for being the foreigner district, lots of bars, clubs and restaurants

- it never shuts down. i've was just on my second visit to take street candids. couples

coming out of clubs, police being called to arguments etc. well, after takking about half a

roll, i was sat down, eye to the view finder when the camera (M7 and heavy silver 90mm)

got ripped from my hands and rapped around my head by some angry dude who thought

i was taking pictures of him. he tried to trash it against a wall and again against my head

but i managed to get my hands in the way - which are now covered in cuts. but better

that than the camera itself!

 

i nearly ran off, but i looked back at the camera which isn't insured and just wouldn't let

the MF have it. then brandishing a knife he demanded the film. stuttering and hands

shaking i got the film out, and got the camera back. minus only the lens cap (no idea how

i lost that), and a small scratch to the body.

 

interested to hear if anyone has had any similar experiences...

dude, what an experience. i would start hitting the sake even at that early morning hour...

 

i obviously crossed paths with a phyco and/or criminal that didn't appreciate being on film.

 

i hope you recover soon!

isnt street photography fun!

took picture of a japanese crime boss by accident. We're glad you're alive, dude !

I've been to Roppongi... its where all the dregs of other societies hang out in Tokyo. I never had a problem, but it doesn't surprise me that you did. With the exception of Okinawa, you're not likely to have such an experience anywhere else in Japan.

 

I don't blame you for wanting to snap there... it's so off-beat for Japan - but you might want to do yourself a favor and look somewhere else in Tokyo for interesting images. The whole country is full of them (as you've probably already noticed).

wow. that's a crazy story. glad you're okay.

btw, keep a spare blank roll in your pocket for just such occasions....throw them that one when they demand it by force....

Ouch. What a drag, Steve.

 

Last year I was shooting in Manhattan and walked by a guy selling books. I was taking light readings and this guy charges me yelling about a model release--I hadn't even taken a picture--and shoved my M6 into my face cutting the inside of my upper lip.

 

Unfortunately for him, I was spending six hours a week in a Thai kickboxing class and cycling three times a week. My M6 had no sooner bounced off my face when I gave him a snap kick. It was really weird--it was the first 'confrontation' I had since starting training, and I didn't even think 'kick him'... it just happened. Really surprised myself.

 

He immediately bolted to the other side of his table and crouched down. I stepped up to his table and grabbed a book and whipped it at him, smacking him in the head.

 

At that point I realized how angry I was and decided I better get going before things got any uglier.

 

Sorry you had to have that experience, it sucks.

jon, where was that?

<i>Unfortunately for him, I was spending six hours a week in a Thai kickboxing class and cycling three times a week. My M6 had no sooner bounced off my face when I gave him a snap kick.</i>

<p>I woulda guessed a roundhouse for a MT guy...

<p><i> It was really weird--it was the first 'confrontation' I had since starting training, and I didn't even think 'kick him'... it just happened. Really surprised myself</i>

<p>You shouldn't be. That stuff gets wired into your spine, and your body just runs on autopilot. Not necessarily the most appropriate responses though - a friend in college who was doing lots of karate kicked me in the groin while we were goofing around. He did it relatively slowly and deliberately, so I figured he wasn't really going to kick me. But then he completed the kick - says he was kind of like a spectator to it happening. Lucky for me they didn't do contact sparring, otherwise it would have probably hurt a lot more.

<p>I would think that being a successful street photographer requires that you keep an eye on your surroundings, and have a feel for how your subjects are reacting.

Steve,

 

It seems to be the trend because people are afraid of all sorts of "perceived" problems with

their pictures been taken.

 

My solution around that is to use hyperfocal distance focusing and not even lift the camera

to my eye. I put my hands on top of the camera with finger on the shutter release. When a

pictures comes... I click the shutter and they don't even know I've taken their picture. My

main lens is a wide-angle...

 

Sorry to hear you had such an experience... some people/idiots! They deserve to be locked

up for their assanine, inane behaviors!

 

Hope you've recovered from the incident.

 

Cheers

I like flowers! (^0^)

 

In a more serious vein, we do live in a very angry and hostile world.

 

Be careful.

Dear Steve,

Once he pulled the knife you should have gotten that photograph of him with the knife. I mean you're the one with the camera, why not take the shot. You should have taken the pic and bashed his brains in with that aperture prioity M7. An unmetered M4 could have withstood the blow. All kidding aside, you are one lucky dude. You risked serious injury to get the camera back. Don't sell it, its a keeper. When possible, if your shooting in a dangerous area try to go with another photographer,that way you can cover eachother's back. Hope you are OK!

When I lived in NYC in the late 60s a friend defended himself from muggers by swinging his Nikon F on the carrying strap. He beat the idiots back but the camera was ruined. The camera was what they were demanding. 3rd St. between 1st and 2nd.

Jon,

 

I've been doing Muay Thai for close to five years myself and your reaction to what happened is NOT a result of your training. Exercising control and achieve balance are.

<br><br>

That you respond to getting a camera pushed into your face by <i>"my M6 had no sooner bounced off my face when I gave him a snap kick.. /.../ ..I didn't even think 'kick him'... it just happened. Really surprised myself. He immediately bolted to the other side of his table and crouched down. I stepped up to his table and grabbed a book and whipped it at him, smacking him in the head. </i> is once again NOT appropriate in any way - neither in magnitude in relation to what he did OR simply in pure common sense - to go AFTER the guy and throw a BOOK at him? What were you thinking?

 

You should know that there are a NUMBER of ways of dealing with a situation like that where you could neutralize the situation and not behave like a thug!

<br><br>

Sorry for ranting but I take Muay Thai serious and just wanted to let you and other know that the above is NOT a result of 'what happens when you train' - it's a personal problem if anything.

interested to hear if anyone has had any similar experiences...

 

yes, a street performer on fisherman's wharf in SF (the guy with the dogs, if he is still around) went ballistic when I sat down on one of the park benches too near his "space" with a video camera running. I didn't give a RA about him, I just wanted a street scene, and then got alot more than I asked for. He assumed I was from the city and harassing him I guess, planning to build a court case against him to run him off. did everything but physically attack me. really went out of his gourd ranting raving and carrying on. all on video heh heh.

 

I am sorry to learn of your attack, pls call 03-3224-5583 and report it to the Regional Security Officer at the American Embassy. Both the American Embassy and the Embassy housing compound are located in Roppongi, and they would want to know of an armed man in their neighborhood assaulting foreigners. I'll betcha you'll soon find a local cop on every corner in Roppongi if you report this incident.

...while stationed at Yokota Air Base, I 'observed' a guy putting his hands on a police officer one time in Shinjuku. A good conversation went on but the guy did not venture to touch the cop a second time. Seems the guy had his automobile towed for being in a no-parking spot: the law won but the guy seemed to be the type to get rough had it not been a police officer in his face.

 

 

 

You could also visit a police station and report your 'adventure.'

small aperture, you living in a dream world. he is talking about an appropriate self-defense response to an unwarranted physical assault, not art. if that response was facilitated by any physical training philosophy, so be it, and more power to him.

<p>There's a fair amount of drug use in Roppongi. Mr Angry Dude might

have been hopped up. Or of course a low-ranking gangster, or both.

Roppongi isn't <em>the</em> foreigner district; it's just one of several,

and seems rather densely populated by sleazeballs. Try somewhere else,

or use a cheaper camera. Be grateful you're not merely alive but

conscious: today's <cite>Asahi</cite> has another news item about a

suicide who threw herself off a tall building . . . and onto an

unsuspecting person below. In this case, it's a 26-year-old building

maintenance worker, who at the time the story was filed was lying

unconscious in a hospital.</p>

I am also a Martial Arts nerd (including Muay Thai).

 

I can say that I would hit instinctively if someone rushed me like that. What you do AFTER

THAT is where discipline and common sense take over.

 

You might not have heard the story of Alex Gong...several time World-Champion Thai

Boxer. I have seen him train in person...unbelievable talent.

 

He lost his cool and ended up getting shot. http://www.usmta.com/ALEX%20GONG.htm

 

jmp

thanks for all the comments/advise/kind words...

 

i was a bit shaken up earlier but in retrospect it was good that it happened the way it did -

no real damage. i'll be more careful!!

 

there was even a police car parked nearby that took off soon after hearing all the

screaming and shouting. anyway i didn't expect much from the police.

 

don't even remember the guys face. i never took my eyes off the camera and the direction

it was swinging. after he tried to smash it once, he never tried again. i think the punk

liked the feel of it and wanted to keep it. anyway, be careful out there!

 

cheers, steve.

>grant . , jun 25, 2004; 09:44 p.m.

 

>jon, where was that?

 

Hi grant,

 

West 4th. Near the B&N.

wasnt there like a zillion people around....? i guess people dont do anything....figured they would around there...

Steve,

 

Good to hear you survived with the camera. I've been threatened a couple of times by some middle eastern guys who hang out on senta-gai in Shibuya. They threatened me, told me to get the f*** out of the country (even though I'm half-Japanese), and followed me down the street. These guys are totally illegit (anyone who's been around senta-gai knows this) but what can you do. I still photograph in Shibuya but I'm careful around that area - if you go down there, you should be too. Take care and good shooting...

>Small Aperture , jun 25, 2004; 11:37 p.m.

 

>Jon, I've been doing Muay Thai for close to five years myself and your reaction to what happened is NOT a result of your training. Exercising control and achieve balance are.

 

I'm not concerned whether it is a result of my training or not. That kick could have saved my life. I had a camera up to my face and couldn't see him clearly. That might have been a knife buried to the hilt in my stomach. I'll work on the 'control and balance'... since I'm still alive.

 

>to go AFTER the guy and throw a BOOK at him? What were you thinking?

 

I was thinking he shouldn't have assaulted me--hitting me in the face with a metal object that caused me to bleed.

 

>You should know that there are a NUMBER of ways of dealing with a situation like that where you could neutralize the situation and not behave like a thug!

 

I'm sure there are. The one I used worked. He backed off and no one was seriously injured.

 

>Sorry for ranting but I take Muay Thai serious and just wanted to let you and other know that the above is NOT a result of 'what happens when you train' - it's a personal problem if anything.

 

Well, I would be lying if I said I didn't have any personal problems.

 

If I come across you on a sidewalk in NYC with a knife buried in your gut, thanks to your 'control and balance' failing, I'll help you out.