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Kozmo V.I.P. 5473 Posts |
You NEED to be aware of everything around you when you are street performing...not just the homeless....
koz |
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Mario Morris Inner circle Mario Morris 2044 Posts |
I like to add, I now have been happily married for ten years I have two great sons. I am entertainer, street performer and a magic dealer and I am often asked to preach at the odd church, and I still have not robbed mugged, stole or maimed any one.
LOL Mario |
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ed rhodes Inner circle Rhode Island 2885 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-08-17 19:08, Mario Morris wrote: Well, what are you waiting for man? Time's a-wastin'!
"...and if you're too afraid of goin' astray, you won't go anywhere." - Granny Weatherwax
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Danny Hustle Inner circle Boston, MA USA 2393 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-08-16 21:03, rsummer27 wrote: Woofdy... This is about the 10th response I have written to this. The other 9 were large tomes and then deleted before I posted them. This is something I know a lot about. I really don't want to spend a lot of time qualifying how I know so you can either take my word for it or not. Carrying a weapon of any kind that you have no experience or training using is a stupid thing to do. A knife will usually only scare off a sane person. Anyone who is trying to mug or maim you is probably not the most psychologically stable person you are going to run into during your day. If you pull a knife on this person you had better be prepared to kill them with it or more than likely the person you are dealing with is going to turn it around on you. Most violent criminals have experience in knife fights. Odds are You will not be the first person to have pull a knife on them. That being said, the sight of a knife will not instill the same fear in them as it would in you. You really need to think long and hard about that one. I have seen it go badly on more than one occasion. It is also illegal to carry a knife. You are putting a lot on the line, maybe the rest of your life, all over a bag of money. If you are concerned about your ability to defend yourself on the street I would suggest two things learn to box and taking a good R.E.A.C.T. course. You can become proficient in boxing in a fairly short time. It is a much more reliable defense than a knife even if you have only been training for a couple of months. You do not have to be good, you only have to be better than the other guy. Most muggers have not spent a whole lot of time learning how to fight correctly. A R.E.A.C.T. course will teach you how to deal with a violent situation. Including how to avoid the situation. Nobody wins in a street fight unless a fight never occurs. Avoidance is often the best course of action. I am a guy who grew up in the street. I am also confident in my ability to defend myself. If I am mugged I would much rather just hand over the money and call the cops. Most people get beat up when they refuse to hand over the money. I know that one from personal experience as well. There is no defense tool you can buy, gun, knife, pepper spray, etc. That will protect you as well as self defense training and just being aware of your situation. If you think that learning to box is too extreme you really need to think about where you are working. If you are going to work on the street in places where these things occur this investment is every bit as important as anything else in your show. Boxing is pretty cheap and there are gyms in just about every city in the US. Please don't carry a knife. I don't want to pop in here some day and hear that you are dead or in jail. I like reading your posts too much. Best, Dan- P.S. I wasn't going to tip this because I think it might taint the opinion (that is already bad) of what we do in an even more negative way but I do carry something when I work. Having been mugged on the street I use the same method I used in my old neighborhood. I carry an identical bag to the one I keep all of my money in. In this bag I keep 25 dollars. It is my mugger money. If I am mugged this is the bag I will give my assailant. $25 dollars is not an unreasonable amount of money for me to lose yet it is enough money so that the mugger can more than likely satisfy his immediate need. Most muggers are usually one of three things, alcoholic, drug addicted, or hungry. Twenty five bucks will buy you a bag, a bottle, or a sandwich. After he leaves I will call the cops. That is my master plan for a mugging and nobody gets hurt. Carry some mugger money. Best, Dan- "MT is one of the reasons we started this board! I’m so sick of posts being deleted without any reason given, and by unknown people at that." - Steve Brooks Sep 7, 2001 8:38pm ©1999-2014 Daniel Denney all rights reserved. |
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drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts |
Dan,
Wow, I am used to great advice from you, but this is in a whole other realm. So why boxing and not karate, aikido, or something similar? Yours, Paul |
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Danny Hustle Inner circle Boston, MA USA 2393 Posts |
Boxing is simple and effective. Notice I did not say easy.
There are very few moves to learn in boxing to be effective. Because of this you can become proficient in a fairly short amount of time. This will be your core defense, learning to hit with both hands and learning to slip an attackers blows. A R.E.A.C.T. course will teach you how to deal with adrenalin, and give you many ways to avoid or defuse conflict. It will also teach you a few basic joint locks which are quite effective in neutralizing an opponent should the fight go to the ground. The most effective defense is finding a way to avoid a physical confrontation. Best, Dan- "MT is one of the reasons we started this board! I’m so sick of posts being deleted without any reason given, and by unknown people at that." - Steve Brooks Sep 7, 2001 8:38pm ©1999-2014 Daniel Denney all rights reserved. |
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drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts |
Dear Dan,
Thanks again! Yours, Paul |
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JohnDoh New user 85 Posts |
Great advice, Dan. My father taught me from a young age to carry a second, smaller sum of money, so you're not alone in your actions. Thanks for the advice, and for justification for my carrying two wallets.
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The Mighty Fool Inner circle I feel like a big-top tent having 2140 Posts |
Excellent advice Dan, and all.
As for myself, in all my travels through the US of A and Europe, I travel 'last-class'...sleeping on benches and sneaking aboard trains etc.. (The main portion of savings goes to airfare and I get xtra $$ by street performing). The weapons I carry at all times are a pair of gloves, or 'guantlets' as I like to think of them. The gloves are made of kevlar, with reinforced ceramic plastic on the knuckles & backfist, and 2-ply kevlar with an in-between layer of micro-chainmail on the palm side. They fasten about your wrist with a solid band of reinforced plas-ceramic over vulcanized rubber. ($372) If your'e wearing these, and you have even elementary boxing skills, you can easily shatter an assailant's jaw with one blow. Also, they allow you to grab an attacker's knife...by the BLADE...and twist it out of his hand. The nice thing about the gauntlets is that theyre unassuming....they don't exactly seem to be WEAPONS per se, and they take your opponent by surprise. Like some of the posters here, I also carry a bogus wallett, filled with bill-sized peices of paper on which is written the phrase 'f*%!k-you' in 12 different languages. As for the homeless thing, I can truly say that I've acquired a rather....unique perspective on their universe lately, and though I have met some who are genuinely kind and wish to better themselves and escape the situation honestly, those types are usualy (almost always in fact) NOT the ones you find cruising the streets for begging and whatnot. The streets are not kind, and they do not encourage a kind attitude in those who are in them 24/7.
Everybody wants to beleive.....we just help them along.
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Mario Morris Inner circle Mario Morris 2044 Posts |
I feel a song coming on
Let me take you buy the hand and lead you through the streets of Briton, Perhaps I can show you something that will change your mind. (Slight artistic License) Mario |
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JJDrew Loyal user Arizona 221 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-08-19 03:01, The Mighty Fool wrote: A couple of things. One, this paragraph seems to make the assumption that all homeless (or at least the "good" ones) WANT to "better themselves and escape the situation." I've known many good people who are homeless by choice and enjoy the lifestyle. I street-performed my way around europe and spent a fair amount of time homeless myself, and frankly it wasn't half bad. Sometimes I was tired and broke and annoyed all night by mosquitos, but sometimes it was a great adventure. (Hitchhiking on a boat in Venice is one of my favorite memories of that period). Second, it's interesting that this topic is being discussed in this particular forum, because there are a lot of people out there that see street-performing as being the same thing as begging. I disagree with this attitude completely, I'm simply pointing out that equally unpleasant things can and have been said about our own group. Third, there's NOT always a firm line between street-performers and beggers. I had one friend who was a gifted guitarist, and who would perform for hours, barely making enough to get by. If he needed money badly, he'd put away the guitar and beg. It wasn't his preference, but for him it paid better. I'm not saying all street-performers are beggers. Indeed, most of them aren't, any more than all beggers are street-performers. However, there are those who see both as a way to help survive. If the more pleasurable and artistic one doesn't fill your stomach, you go with what works. I was one of the lucky ones. I always made enough street-performing that I didn't feel the need to beg. Finally, while the streets are not kind, neither is the rest of the world. I actually encountered more kindness and had a higher opinion of human nature when I was homeless then I have experienced before or since. It was often the other homeless who were very kind to me. The people most likely to give you the shirt off their back were the ones who only owned the one shirt. More than once I met people who let me stay the night at their house, whether it was a nice sprawling house in the suburbs (in Madrid) or an abandoned warehouse where a gang of thieves lived and offered me their hospitality (in Milan). There are different rules on the streets, but being nice to people in general and watching your back when someone near you is acting weird seems to be a universal. |
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Mario Morris Inner circle Mario Morris 2044 Posts |
JJDrew: that was well said.
On the point of weapons I never carry one other than my belt with a large buckle, keys and umbrella. If the time allowed I clip my keys to it, While I was being chased. Keys can be very to hand and are good for close combat. Umbrella is good for keeping your distance. All the above are practical items to carry with you any where in Europe. Defending against a knife attacker clothing is your best bet. Wrap it around your weak arm to form your line of defence while your strong arm is your weapon or what ever you can grab with it. (you only do this if you cant run away) There has only be a few times where I carried an actual weapon, while I was hitchhiking across Israel and sleeping in the desert, sleeping in train stations in Europe or bus stops. This has been made from a few strong socks with one average size rock inside it. I would crab this close to the stone so it would be quite ridged more like a truncheon. I only made this up when I thought if the situation arises I probably would come out very badly if at all and that would be my last line of defence if possible. The only thought about Kevlar Gloves is in most situations you wont get the chance to put them on, unless you wear them all the time. Or are they heavy so you can use them like a truncheon? Most of all it is good to be aware of your surroundings at all times. IE, best escape routes, Boxes, bins, bottles, sticks, rubbish any thing that can come to hand. Over all Avoid rather than fight, Fight rather than be maimed, Main rather than kill, Kill rather than be killed, No props or money is worth dying for, expect my cups and pouch. Really the best form of self defence is two pair of legs to run. Mario |
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drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts |
Dear All,
Still too much talk of fighting. Try reading what this site has to say, and thinking carefully: http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/ Pay special attention to: http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/five_stages.html This is not a substitute for the R.E.A.C.T. course that Danny Hustle recommends, but it could be an important first step. Yours, Paul |
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Mario Morris Inner circle Mario Morris 2044 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-08-18 09:56, drwilson wrote: I think we are responding to what seemed to be interest, including yours! I do agree that we have gone of the subject, so tell us what is your worse experience? Mario Quote: Carried on
I think we are responding to what seemed to be interest, including yours! PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR GOING, but security is some thing which is close to me. I think the web-sites you mentioned is interesting, but there is just to much information that can cloud our thinking. A street performer needs to be able to think clear if a compromising situation arises. They are now a public figure, as Street Performers we have responsibility for public safety first and most. From public liability, and watchful eye for the rare arising danger. From a child wandering of during your show, pickpockets, or some kind of violent reaction. In this situation we are there to assist the Law/Police and we represent them until their arrival. Most of all the public will look to you and expect it, especially if they are watching your show. I personally think it is good to be able to discuses our responses, it could save some ones life. Including the person that is attacking. For example I think carrying knives or any actual weapon is a big no, no. I do agree that we have gone of the subject, so tell us what is your worse experience? Mario |
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drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts |
Dear Mario,
My worst experiences in busking have been very mild. In life, that is another matter! My worst experience in busking was access to a pitch. The only pitch in Bar Harbor was a private courtyard (which we have now lost). There was a sign-up sheet in one of the adjacent restaurants with a set of reasonable rules to guide performers (rules about signing up). One of the local performers is a real jerk. He would sign up for the same times that you did and claim that you misread the sheet, show up at your pitch when he hadn't even signed up and act wounded that the pitch wasn't available, and at the end, the day the signup sheet came out for the next month, within minutes he had signed up for every day of that month. The restaurant owners could see what was happening, and then wrote a detailed letter with more rules for everyone, but felt that they couldn't do anything about this guy because there wasn't a written rule to prevent this behavior. So while this may be a small thing, it raises the larger problem of what to do in a collective enterprise if everyone wants to behave reasonably except one person. Here at the Café we have moderators. There are written rules. The moderators can boot people, delete posts, put threads in the freezer, whatever. In a smaller operation like the shared courtyard, one guy wrecked the whole thing because the restaurant was unwilling to just boot him for being a jerk. They had a rule that said that they could do that at their discretion, but they were busy running a restaurant to care all that much, and felt they had to be "fair" to him. You may have experience with people that see other people's sense of fairness and reasonableness as weaknesses that can be exploited. On the other hand, we can learn something from these people. I learned that even though I am a magician, it is still inconceivable to me that people would lie to me. I just can't learn this lesson! There is good advice here and in the street performing books about defending your pitch; it just didn't apply to this situation. Yours, Paul Mario, I agree that we are public figures when we are performing. Near the lights, crowds, and noise we are safe. I think that some of the other folks here are thinking about when the show is over and they are on the street alone with the cash. If we are magicians, we should know how to get inside people's heads and read them. This skill can be applied to criminals to prevent them from carrying out crimes against us, or at worst to make sure that no one gets hurt. Here is an important message that I recently got: if you were in a situation that looked like it was going to end in violence, and somehow you managed to avert that, you won a great victory. Failing to teach someone a lesson, or punish misdeeds, or to make sure they don't try that on someone else, or to protect property, is nothing in comparison to the triumph of avoiding injury to people, even people who didn't seem particularly deserving of that protection at the time. People who have actually ended up using violence against another person and injuring them say that all the macho stuff about your own self-esteem is nothing compared to the torment that you must endure for the rest of your life if you end up doing what looks so good in the movies. Now I have gone on too long, but until recently, I was very troubled by the memory of a situation in which I averted a violent outcome. The message that I summarize above has helped a lot, not because it came from an angel, but because it came from someone for whom that type of encounter went the other way. Yours, Paul |
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Zack Special user 551 Posts |
I carry a very large magic wand that I made from a hardwood dowel. During the show, its simply a prop. I've never had to clock anybody with it, but on several occasions, I've diffused a situation by picking it up and idly toying with it...people are less likely to mess with a man with a stick.
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rsummer27 Loyal user South Carolina 225 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-08-18 09:18, Danny Hustle wrote: Thanks for your comments and your advice Dan. You are a man of the street and a gentleman. I agree with everything you said. I've never used the knife. It makes me feel better knowing I can. I have a big crowd so no one would bother me while performing. It's the walking back to my car thing that scares the hell out of me. I don't see how some of you guys in Boston just ride the T home. I would think that boxing could eventually tear up your hands, and hurt some of your sleight of hand ability. I could outrun a lot of trouble, but not while wearing stilts or carrying my table. The best thing to do really is just hand over your money, try not to cry and hope for better luck. Carrying an extra till is a good idea also.
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Giggles the Clown buys all of his supplies at www.madhattermagicshop.com Super Low Prices on Videos and DVDs! |
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Eddini_81976 Inner circle 2183 Posts |
I'm telling you, I was very upset about what happened to me, for a week, I was trying to locate a gun. The girl I was seeing freaked out, and we broke-up (it was mutual though) because she thought I was unstable. Like I said, I'm proud and surprised I kept it together, but for like a week later, I was trying to get a gun, for protection, and because I was so angry. After about a week, I calmed down. I'm glad I didn't get one, not with my temper. I've forgiven him in my heart. The courts are taking care of him. You just have to realize, that's, this stuff is part (not that it excuses people to reat us like ****) "Street Magic". I hope the guy gets help, Ed, (Eddini).
"Treat Others As You'd Want To Be Treated" - Jesus Christ
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Mario Morris Inner circle Mario Morris 2044 Posts |
Eddini I thought you look like someone carved out of a war movie.
Mario |
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Eddini_81976 Inner circle 2183 Posts |
War movie. Is that an insult Mario? What are you talking about? I just take no **** from people is all!
"Treat Others As You'd Want To Be Treated" - Jesus Christ
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