Karate Chop to Drive a Bear Away

Now, it's not a movie scene or a fake story; a Karate black-belter chopped a wild bear away September 1 in Naganohana, Gunma. He had a few scratches on his head but survived the assault by a nearly 2-meter-tall bear.

Atsushi Aoki, a Karate black-belter age 63, went for river fishing in Oukuwa, Naganohara, September 1. At about 13:00 a bear emerged out of the shrub; the animal had barely met Aoki eye-to-eye than it attacked him.

The bear stood 1.90 meters and came dashing into Aoki, when he, a confident Karate expert, met with bear with his fingers thrusting right into the bear's eyes. Obviously taken aback by an accurate Karate chop least expected of a human prey, the bear turned around and ran back into the shrub.

Aoki was bitten and scratched here and there but not to any serious extent. Aoki recalls:

"I heard something rattle and out came a massive animal; a bear stood up and came charging.

"I couldn't think of anything but fighting back as hard as I could - a matter of life or death,I thought then. Lucky I survived.

About two or so kilometers from the site is a junior highschool. The news of Aoki's encounter with the bear alarmed the villagers and school authorities. The local police quickly stepped up look-out patrols in the vicinity to keep bears away. They warn the local communities to be sure to carry bells, radios and such sound-emitting equipment when walking into the hills and to quickly run away whenever spotting a bear in sight.

More bear stories are reported in recent months from rural areas mainly up north. In a few cases elderly villagers are found dead or injured while collecting certain rare sprouts. Bear or no bear, it pays to be extra careful.
(Nathan Shiga)