A Karate Expert in Charlotte Helped Police to Apprehend a Potential Kidnapper After a Panicked Woman Ran Into his Dojo… When the Assailant Wouldn’t Leave and Became Violent, He Was Clinically Dealt With…
Every now and then we get a real-life hero. This time its the chief instructor of Bushiken Karate Charlotte Dojo, Randall Ephraim. A pillar of the community, Ephraim has been teaching martial arts to adults and children in Charlotte, North Carolina since 2007 and is ranked as a 3rd-degree black belt in the Okinawan-Japanese martial art.
As well as teaching traditional martial arts, Ephraim also instructs his students in practical self-defence techniques to protect themselves against knife attacks and street crime. It’s a solid blend of traditional discipline, with contemporary values. However, Ephraim could never have imagined what would happen in his dojo just after the New Year.
A distraught woman ran inside his studio – while a full class was training – and alleged that a man was trying to kidnap her. The assailant came through the door and that’s when the carnage was unleashed.
Hero
The chief instructor explained what happened to CNN. He explained how she was ‘scared to death’ after a man called August Williams allegedly tried to kidnap her.
“There were still some kids in the dojo being picked up by parents and a couple of adult students cleaning up when a young lady came through our doors and stated that someone was trying to harm her. I asked how I could assist him and he stated that he was there for the lady. She insisted that she did not know him and tried to kidnap her.”
“He then tried to force himself further into the dojo, aggressively pushing and swinging. I then went into action defending myself and got him out of the dojo. Once outside he attempted to attack again and was dealt with accordingly.”
Assault
According to CNN, Williams has been arrested previously on assault charges. It’s also alleged that he was under the influence of drugs when he was trying to carry out the kidnapping. The police department in Charlotte commented that the woman did the right thing in running inside the dojo. A spokesman told CNN:
“If you think you’re in danger, run to a group of people you can find and call 911. If you do that most suspects will leave. if they don’t, there’s safety in numbers.”
Especially if that group of people are learning how to kick people in the head. Williams was brought out on a stretcher.
Investigation
According to the police, the investigation is ongoing. They are trying to identify whether or not Williams has been involved in any other cases. Furthermore, they are not ruling out the fact that Williams and the alleged victim may have known each other.
However, that doesn’t matter where Ephraim is concerned. He did his bit, helping to serve the community and protect a woman in distress. In this world of McDojos, you’ve got to respect a real-life martial arts instructor who knows when to act when he needs to. You can bet that his school will be inundated with membership requests now and well-deserved too.