Busking Hell
I was busking at a nice farmers market today in the downtown area and was sitting there after playing talking with some people.
A single guy came up to me as I was sitting, with a cigarette. He grabbed my hat and threw it on the ground. I looked at the hat but figured I better keep looking at him. Then he jammed a lit cigarette in my left eye, but I was able to move so it burned a hole under it rather than in it. In the next second he punched my on the side of the head with his other hand. I get hit all the time in martial arts so I was not shocked by this, but the whole thing was so fast.
Then I stood up and he ran away. Apparently 5 minutes later he attacked someone else in the subway and there were cops and paramedics on the scene.
I could have been blinded or killed. I am happy I did not chase him to get even, he might have had a knife.
Completely unprovoked attack.
The dangers of busking, you are out there with a bunch of psychos in any urban center.
I keep wondering what I could have done different, but a real fight seems to happen all at once. The opening move of a cigarette to the eye is quite the distractor.
I have trained karate for over 30 years. And I think I moved to keep my eye in shape or maybe it was reflex or luck. And I took the head shot, because i know what getting hit is like, it happens to me regularly, but not as hard. At the same time he was not a trained fighter, it was a painful slap.
I reported it ..blah blah blah. Now I am following up to make sure they keep secruity IN THE MARKET, not just patrolling.
The life of a musician. Not as glamorous as it seems.
I am GLAD that things were not worse. Maybe it was not karate. Maybe it was somthing else that protected me.
Rather PTSD tonight....sharing this...not sure why. I guess the anonymity of this lets me process it.
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