I’m going to tell you a story about how I got mugged, fought back, and survived the streets of San Francisco. It’s a night like any other night in the city in 2015. I’m joining the thousands going out, trying to forget the long work week with a night of drinking and live music. Tonight’s concert is at Mezzanine in Soma. The multi-level venue is down an alley but easy enough to find and not too Marina douche. The Cold War kids are playing and I’m taking a girl I met on tinder. Jessica (pseudonym) meets me at my house. She’s took Bart over from South San Francisco. And meets me my flat in the Mission. Starving but not willing to slum it yet, we go to Papalote, a nearby burrito place known for their salsa. Burritos are ok. We head back to the flat to do some pre-partying. Somehow she knows my brother. The city is too small. Take a late Bart train to the show. The band is ok.
The BART train is mostly empty, filled with a drunk couple in the corner seat. I can hear their whispers.
I look at my date, wondering if she’s going to ask me to continue the ride down south to her place. She’s looking down at her phone. I think she’s swiping on Tinder.
My stop finally comes up and say goodbye. Jessica didn’t have that much fun. She said the music was too loud, what do you expect during a rock concert at the Mezzanine? It was sold out, I maybe should have tried to scalp the tickets instead of going with her. They were selling on stubhub for double what i paid, whatever.
I give Jessica a hug and step out of the train. I tell her to text me when she gets home.
She’s looking down at her phone. She’s actually swiping on Bumble.
I take the escalator up out of the Bart station and take a deep breath. The cold air feels really good. I might have had too much to drink at the concert. I hope I didn’t say anything too stupid tonight. The refreshing air wakes me up a little. The club was stuffy and so was the Bart ride.
I turn the corner and think about another burrito. The line at El Farolito is short. But no I just had one 3 hours ago.
Continue down 24th st., it’s starting to get cold. But I’m glad I went without a coat, who wants to carry a heavy ass jacket into a club. Just one more left turn onto Capp and I’ll be back home. I notice it’s extra dark on the corner. Another streetlamp is out.
I turn the corner and then I spot them. Three guys standing 30 feet away. I get that feeling something bad is gonna happen. I make a split second decision to try to walk around them. I don’t want trouble at 1 am with three random dudes. I keep my eyes straight as I cross the street diagonally. That’s when it happens.
Out of nowhere, the three guys rush up. Not missing a beat, the ringleader breathes “give me all your shit.” Now who knows what would have happened if I said yes. But I respond with a “No”. And I’m promptly knocked on my ass.
The leader of the trio jumps on top of me and starts to pound his fists on my face. I react blocking as many as I can but I’m getting the shit kicked out of me. His two partners crawl beside me and I can feel their fingers try to grab stuff out of my pocket. One grabs the gold chain on my neck and rips it off. It snaps me out of a daze. If I don’t act now, they are going to get away with everything. I block a few more punches and then start hitting back. Seconds later, I gather as much strength as I can, and throw my attacker off my chest. The leader stumbles back.
I jump up and the three of them all line up on one side. It’s still 3 against 1 but now I’m at least a little bit ready. If there’s going to be another fight, I’m going to be ready this time. I try to remember everything my instructor taught me at Krav Maga. I never thought I would need it. I wish I wasn’t so drunk still.
Remember my teacher saying: Put up your fists, protect your head, feet shoulder width apart, knees bent, breathe.
All three of the guys look at each wondering if I’m worth it. The leader stares straight ahead, he wants more. He steps forward and I now eagerly wait for round 2. It happens in slow motion, he leads forward, he’s not protecting his head, that’s a mistake. I know what to do. I throw out my right hand with a straight punch. I put all the strength I can muster behind my punch. It lands right on his jaw. His head snaps back, I can tell it hurt. He’s shocked and stunned, and he now looks at his buddies for support. I wait for the next assault. The seconds last hours. They don’t know what to do. They didn’t expect a real fight. Finally, they shake their heads. I’m not worth it, Thank god. They grab their bikes and ride off.
I can breathe. I stumble back to my doorstop. I fish through my pockets, my keys are still there. I’m able to get inside and my roommate Erin shoots up from the couch when she sees me. My face is all fucked up and my fists have blood on them. She helps me get off my bloody clothing and pours me a full glass of whiskey. She’s texted my brother who’s in town. He arrives home and asks if we should find the attackers. No way.
The next morning, I wake up hurting. My face is swollen up, there’s a few cuts and bruises. I look like I’ve been in a fight. I try to look for my stuff. I still have my keys and my iPhone. But my wallet is gone, I didn’t have any cash anyways because I spent the cash at the bar. Also my necklace is missing. It was a gold chain with a gold pendant with my chinese name on it. My grandma gave it to me for graduating college, she’ll be angry. I go back to the scene of the crime looking for the necklace. Maybe it was dropped.
It’s not in the middle of the street. You can see a few drops of dried blood on the pavement. But the rest of the street is normal. The Mission moves on.
So can you do to prevent it from happening to you. First off, if someone tries to rob you, just say Yes. Don’t be a smartass like me or drunk. Just give them your stuff. I was lucky they didn’t have a knife or a gun or wanted to fight more.
Learn some form of martial arts or self-defense. This!!! This can literally save your life. I don’t know what I would have done if I was at least a little prepared.
Keep watch on your surroundings. The one good thing I did was I did notice the attackers on my block. And I tried to avoid them. But maybe I should I have tried harder to avoid them.
Anthony R. Leong 