"They all had crowbars with them," he said. "I blocked them with my forearm."
Sounds cool, but...
"I think the best thing to say about this is that you were a well-prepared man," sensei John Benedict Sr., 41, said to his son afterward. "And criminals don't go after well-prepared men."
Anybody want to point out to dad that he was wrong about that?
articleA martial thwart
Teen uses karate he learned from dad to ward off 4 attackers carrying crowbars at Smith Haven Mall
BY LUIS PEREZ
luis.perez@newsday.com
April 6, 2007
They were taller, older, stood four abreast and carried crowbars.
But they didn't know that John Benedict Jr., 17, is not only a karate instructor's son. He's one of his father's top students.
When the attempted robbery and ensuing scuffle at the Smith Haven Mall was over Wednesday night, the Holbrook teen had added a notch to his brown belt, and two of his assailants, police said, were taken away in handcuffs.
"They messed with the wrong guy," said John Jr. "They weren't really much of a challenge. "
It started about 9:15 p.m. at the main entrance to the Lake Grove shopping complex, where John Jr. and a group of his friends were leaving after shopping, he said.
Waiting for his ride home in the parking lot, John Jr. carried no shopping bags. But the gold chain and cross pendant across his neck attracted an older teen who stood over six feet tall.
"Give me the chain," the older teen snapped before trying to grab the jewelry, John Jr. said.
John Jr. pushed him away, and then knocked him to the ground, he said. The older teen left, he said, and John Jr. used his cell phone to call his dad.
But the attacker caught up with John Jr. at the other side of the mall parking lot, jumping out of a silver two-door sedan with three other teens.
The Sachem North High School junior, who is 5-foot-11 and weighs 170 pounds, said he used "basic karate" he began learning from his father at the age of 5.
A friend and fellow student at the karate studio, Anthony McManus, 17, briefly tussled with one of the men, John Jr. said.
"They all had crowbars with them," he said. "I blocked them with my forearm. "
Fourth Precinct police said they arrested two Suffolk teens in the incident.
Anthony Frezza, 18, was charged with attempted assault and resisting arrest, while Robert Chebuske, 18, was charged with attempted grand larceny, police said.
Two others bolted before officers got there, John Jr. said.
"I think the best thing to say about this is that you were a well-prepared man," sensei John Benedict Sr., 41, said to his son afterward. "And criminals don't go after well-prepared men."
Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.
Here's their school's website.
http://www.seigidaidojo.com/
