I know Kung-fu and several other Chinese phrases.
I love martial artists who think that it's going to be like a Steven Seagal movie when the poop hits the fan. (Even Steven Seagal carries a gun on patrol) It tickles me inside. Funniest thing I ever saw was an "experienced" multi degree black belt get dropped like a bag of garbage by one punch from some street fighter. Guess he had never experienced someone hit him that hard. Another showed up as a victim after he got shot in gluteus maximus throwing a kick. Both true stories. Oh well, you know what they say about advice and opinions. It's best to avoid conflict, but if you can't...

Derrick:
We are in a customer service oriented business and when we have one extremely unhappy customer, what do we do? You obviously do care about customer relations or you wouldn’t have been there and extra 30 minutes. That’s why I was surprised you didn’t follow through with that particularly unique customer.


Basic animal instinct to a threatening situation is fight of flight. Those two work but we human beings have more options available to us than that. Often times the “fight” instinct will lead some to carry a gun and without very intensive hand gun training and training under stressful situations this option can prove disastrous.

________________________


Patrick Flanagan:
Yes, I have made balloon animals along with doing my magic so I’m very much aware of lines, crowds and demands. How exactly do you handle a customer who is mad and angry with you at the establishment you’re working at? Is that the guy you chose to cut off?

________________________


MagicbyCarlo:
Steven Seagal is a martial artist who is an actor; he plays a fictitious character for entertainment. However, before his acting career he was a martial arts instructor and I’m quite certain he gave the same advice to his students; violence is a last resort. As far as your other comments I would suggest you go back and re-read my post.

I didn't do one more because I cut the line off at 7:30 p.m. It took me an extra 30 minutes to finish off the remaining line that was there at that time. If I did one more.....please refer to Patrick's post above.

SP...you are a good man but don't seem to understand the problems associated with cutting off a balloon line. It is "one more forever". While not usually that extreme many parents aren't that far off from that threatening fellow.

I suppose you could carry a gun but a better thing would be Mark Byrne. I don't mean you carry Mark Byrne (though a special pouch might fit him). Rather I mean find out how he handles line work...he has a very nice method so you don't run in to drooling rabid parent syndrome when it comes time to leave.

Man y'all ain't seen nuth'in

My first restaurant was in a ghetto part of town, got a small amount of gang members and drug dealers there regularly. They tip me well and we were on good terms.

Until one day, I got out of the restaurant parking lot, saw someone from a rival gang and I was literally 2 feet away from him ... I saw my regulars came STORMING OUT FROM AROUND THE CORNER and started SHOOTING AT the rival gang member's GENERAL DIRECTION. I WAS TWO FEET AWAY FROM HIM. We both ran back into the restaurant, the guy from the other gang disappeared and ran elsewhere .

Needless to say my regular gangster folks were banned from the restaurant after that night, and I no longer work there.

Spcarlson, my comment wasn't directed at you.

I said "I love martial artists who..." I didn't assume you fit that profile, your post mentioning MA did remind me of the two who did however.

The problem with MA for some as is the problem with weapons for some is it gives them an inflated belief in their skills and abilities. The two examples were victims of their own over confidence. In the military and police you are trained to use all of your tools and not to assume one is the answer for all situations. I agree with much of your points in theory, but to say not to carry a gun or knife as a rule isn't really taking into consideration all factors and realities. Your theory assumes that you will be dealing with rational, unarmed, or untrained beings who deep down don't really want to do you harm or that you won't deal with overwhelming numbers. I think this conversation has overflowed it's cup to a great degree, but as was stated the individual in question actually followed derrick from the gig to another location, not what I would consider a rational or reasonable response to my kid not getting a balloon animal. What type of thinking motivates that? I just think it's naive to assume that we can fend off all issues with our "words" or always count on our physical skills to protect us; I'm a little more of a believer in an "all of the above" approach, but that's what I'm comfortable with and I certainly don't recommend it for everyone.

Not everyone looks like a human weapon either

Ok so let's stop with the dragon bit and think performance. I like to share just one of my experiences,please permit me:
(the MOB)
First of all I try not make it a habit to play in bad places. Not to say however, that there are bad people there thing as such (could) take place even in the finest situations. Here is an example: I was seen and called upon by a gentelman from the audience who at the time saw an outside show of mine at a 5 star hotel park while in Italy, Naples no less. This hotel organizes big outside and inside show events of various types. I have had many return gigs there. Anyway this person wanted to organize and book my act as well as others. Ok cool so far, even the dough.
Day of the show we had prepared ourselves in the dressing rooms while the hands prepared the equipment. Show time. Out of this world the audience was receptive to say the least like honey cant say more other than the last number just wasn't working well being electric would not function. Ok so,we closed big anyway, all were happy and content. Went to dressroom to clean up,was first outside room to talk to people who wanted to meet us,here comes the GENTELMAN who I thought was to greet me with a shake of hands,he starts to get loud and tells me a few bad ones in Italian,since he thought the last number went bad.I tried to calm him down but he continued, at this point comes my ladyfriend who heard him in the corridor,and politely asked wht happened,he sstarts to mouth her bad and the point in time I raise my voice here comes 2 (two) gorrillas dressed in black with black shades, one to his left and the other to his right. The director came grabed me by my arm pulls me away to the elevator tells me to go and that the owner will take care of it. Was told by the directo it was the mob,This guy was
one of their important person.

Sp,
Let me start by saying, if I'm working a balloon line, I know, before I blow up the first balloon, that I'll be there after my scheduled end time (unless I have another show that I have to get to immediately after). That is just the nature of the beast. So, when I cannot stay or when I determine I've stayed there long enough, I hand the last person in line a note that says, in bold letters, "this is the last person. I'm sorry I'm unable to stay longer."
If someone still asks for another balloon after that, I say that I wish I could but I really have to leave as I have another engagement that I have to be at.

Let me ask you a question. How long are you willing to stay?...30 minutes?...1 hour? At what point do you say that's enough? And what do you tell the person who comes up to you and asks for one more? What do you do, if you've already worked past your scheduled time and are ready to leave, and then a youth baseball/softball team arrives and they ask for balloons? Do you stay and make 15 more balloons so noone will be angry?

What is even more scary is the amount of angry nasty people out there at all, carrying knives guns and clubs and just their fists, but lots of them in groups/gangs. It is not possible to diffuse every situation nor to depend on the police to protect you. Sometimes these people just walk in and shoot you in your restaurant booth, like they did to those police in So Cal.

I encourage all people to get training in a variety of forms of self defense and that includes guns.



With all due respect, bully for you! Not everyone has invested the time to develop those skills or to maintain the conditioning and health to perform them correctly. Also, if your assailant had a knife of a gun, you would be better served having your own gun to dissuade him from continuing.

As to the point of it ( a gun) being taken away and used on you, BS! Statistics don't bear this out. That is just the rhetoric spouted by the anti-gunners. Again the facts are out there, they just choose not to use them.



While in a majority of cases a smooth mouth will help, in some it won't and that is when you need to be prepared to take the appropriate action.



I totally agree that observational skills and common sense will handle most situations and is the preferred route.

I think a basic self defense class, as far as moves goes, it worthless and only fosters a false sense of security.

My daughter took a special class that meet for weeks given by police officers that included the guy in the padded suit and she thought she was "hot stuff" by the pounding she gave him. It wasn't until I let her hit me full force without padding that a dose of reality crept in.

No one should pull a gun unless they are mentally and physically prepared to use it to kill their opponent. There is no "woundies" in street fighting. So the gun shouldn't "show up" until the situation DEMANDS it. Then it should be used effectively.

How did I get pulled in???

It's alright. Lines, Lines, lines.... difference between a magician and a balloon guy at a party ... nobody begs the magician for one more trick!!!

For those that don't venture over to balloons 101 ... I use a deli ticket machine to cut the line. I keep and eye on how many tickets are given out and how much time I have. Since I do 20 -25 balloon hats per hour. I pull the ticket machine when the my time is left is equal to amount of tickets out PLUS 10%.

My sign says on ones side says:

Please take only one ticket if you want a Balloon Hat
Listen for your number
Be fair... Share
http://www.BalloonGuy.Net
(727) 742-6713

When the deli machine is removed. Sign is reversed and says:

WE ARE DONE
no begging, whining, Threatening, Bribing, Crying, Moaning, Harassing or Canoodling.
Sorry See you at our next event.
WWW BalloonGuy.Net
(727) 742-6713
Lack of planning on your part,
does not constitute an emergency on ours!

This does several things.

• Establishes parameters
• RULES
• We didn't run out of balloons (sign of poor planning) we ran out of ticket or all the tickets were already given out.
• I didn't say it ... read the sign. People think they can reason with YOU. A sign is respected!
• Many hang for a minute, hear the numbers being called and then as the crowd, where to get a ticket. They will say all gone.

In a restaurant it is a bit different. When I hit my time I spent the next 5-10 minutes Clearing the tables. As I walk up to the table I have a 3 second dog made and ready.... as I had it out I say:

" Sorry guys my time is done today, and I have to be some were else. BUT I wanted everyone to get something ... so here you go.... I am here from _____ to _____ come on in earlier and I will make you anything you want!"

I start at the back of the restaurant clearing table one by one.

Is it my best work?? No but there is a time when you are no long making a profit and your just a "nice Guy".... I would rather make money.

BTW Gun control is the ability to annihilate your target.... something 7 years in the Security Police field taught me. I know how to fire almost any kind of weapon. Currently I don't carry, BUT have been considering it since I do carry what some people consider large sums of cash.

And Yes there is a direct correlation between the crime rate and gun ownership. Tell me would you rather live in Washington DC or Paris, Texas??

A well armed society is a polite society!!!

I don't want to read this whole thread, but someone has already made condom jokes right?

Yes, I'm pretty sure they were about to graduate from Jr. High.

As a recent arrival at the Café, I have been learning a great deal just by reading through many of the informative discussions.

This discussion has covered its ground fairly well.

There are just two additional observations which I hope I will be forgiven for adding to this thread.

First of all, the right to bear arms is not granted to American citizens by our Constitution. The Constitution did not create any rights, and does not grant any rights.

The purpose of the Constitution is not to grant rights, but to compel the government to respect the rights that the people have. The Constitution, in the Second Amendment, restricts the Government from infringing the right of self-defense, with which --according to the Laws of the United States-- we were endowed by our Creator. "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness . . ." etc. (For the benefit of those unfamiliar with it, that's from the Declaration of Independence, but it was explicitly incorporated into the Laws of the United States by an Act of Congress.)

Now I do recognize a serious problem with the Second Amendment . . . it should have been first.

The other observation I would offer is that anyone who reads Sherlock Holmes will realize that in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, any Englishman who so desired could carry a revolver with no questions asked. One of the first things Dr Watson does when going on an investigation with Holmes is to put his revolver in his pocket. From memoirs and histories of the period, revolvers were carried by doctors, lawyers, shopkeepers, even ministers of the Church. Gun crime was unknown, and the police did not need to be armed. When necessary, a policeman could borrow a revolver from someone in the crowd.

As laws restricting gun ownership became progressively more severe over the 20th century, gun crime in Britain soared. This sad history has been well documented by Janet Malcolm. And now there are British police units that are routinely armed with submachine guns. No mystery there; if a criminal knows that his victims are guaranteed to be unarmed, it makes his use of gun much more overpowering, than if he suspects one of his victims might be armed.

The places in the United States with the highest rates of violent crime are those where carrying and even owning firearms is most restricted.

A proper reverence for the gift of human life requires that it be defended, and not thrown away to the first evil thug who comes along. Being capable of defending one's life, possessing the necessary equipment and training, is a civic responsibility.

As just happened in Britain.

Really sad, RIP to the victims.

Yes, Pakar Ilusi, another tragedy that would have been unthinkable in an era when decent people were usually armed. May the victims rest in peace, and may their families and loved ones find peace and consolation . . . . Mass shootings like this --including the mass shooting terror attack on an American military base-- invariably occur in "gun free zones."

Im sorry Woland, but there is no question the statistics say you are very wrong, mass shootings happen in a fair number of places unfortunately, there is no question however, they are most prevalent in the USA, and certainly not in gun free zones.

Of coarse statistics are open to interpretation, indeed, any stat can be interpreted to mean almost anything as it in itself has no inherent meaning.

Jon Hackett

Another link I'm afraid... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cou......ath_rate

Dear Jon Hackett,

I don't wish to prolong unnecessarily a discussion at cross-purposes in which the interlocutors are not going to agree on either the basics or the details, but if you look at any list of mass shootings in the United States, you will note that they have invariably occurred in schools, on college campuses, and other controlled areas which prohibit the law-abiding citizens from going about armed. President Clinton ordered that military bases become gun free zones, and the Fort Hood terror attack took place when a armed assailant entered a gun free zone where he could expect only unarmed resistance. Mass shootings do not occur even in the United States in places where the perpetrator has a reasonable expectation of encountering armed opponents rather than helpless victims.

Dear Tim Dowd,

National statistics are certainly worth pondering, but involve many, many uncorrected variables.

Since I haven't read every single post in this thread I hope I'm not repeating anyone's views.

This is not the answer to every confrontation, but I believe this may be a good option for this one. I've studied self defense all my life. Briefly in several McDojos until I realized the reality of it all. Then I started searching for the real techniques and principles that work in real life. I just didn't want to stand there for 20 years doing reverse punches while some glorified grandmaster was pick pocketing me of my hard earned cash.

Ok, to the point. I've learned that in real life (I'm not talking MMA here) psychology and strategy is of the utmost importance. Bottom line; the father is a crazed psycho, but he's only ****ed because a balloon for Christ's sake. He's not trying to mug or harm you. He needs to vent his anger. You need to deflate his balloon. Approach him in the store and say, "Are you really following me because of a balloon animal? Listen, I have to stop the line somewhere or I'd be there all night. If it means that much to you I'll make one for you right now." If you didn't have balloons on you then just do a magic trick and say you'll make 2 for them the next time they're there. This guy has the road rage mentality. Don't buy into that. Situations like this requires that you be the bigger, better, smarter person. Pick your fights wisely as you can't win them all.

Case in point. Many years ago I was driving down a 2 lane road and was about to make a left turn off onto another road. Coming down the street from the other direction was a speeding Corvette going much too fast for this little road. In a split second I decided I could make the turn in time. As I hit the gas and turned another car pulled out from the street I was turning onto in a way that impeded me. I had to hit the brakes and clear that car slowly. Mr. hotshot Corvette had to decelerate slightly so he wouldn't hit me as he was speeding. He proceeds to turn and start tailgaiting me and driving irrationally. I finally just stop in the middle of the road. He stops behind me, gets out, and stomps over to my driver side window. I lower my window to talk to him. He's red in the face, and steam is coming out of his ears. He starts screaming, "Don't you ever cut me off, etc, etc." The minute he stops I say, "ok." He was expecting some kind of fight. I had no reason to, and was in no way angry. His speeding caused the whole incident. He stopped point blank, had no idea of what to say next. You could literally see him deflate. With a blank look on his face and not knowing what else to say he turned around and left. One word on my part resolved the whole issue. In these situations as in all of life it's about the feelings. It's ALWAYS about the feelings.

With that in mind, lets end with a happy one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_vvI26NnwE

Well, he did go home ok...

So we did end with a happy one.