Proponents for peaceful defense or hand-to-hand combat often state that if you’re fast enough or trained well-enough you can simply diffuse a situation with a sharp verbal command and the threat of physical harm.
Former UFC Fighter Dean Lister, a man with a professional 13-7 MMA record, would likely argue otherwise. On Aug. 22, Lister arrived at his home in San Diego about 8 p.m. when he discovered a bald and tattooed man inside his kitchen.
Lister recorded the next seconds with a camera. The clip shows that when Lister asked the stranger what he was doing, the intruder insisted the house was a church. When Lister asked the man to leave, the trespasser picked up a hammer and made a threatening move with it. Lister told the local news affiliate, “Off digital camera, I drew a sidearm and he stopped advancing toward me. I let him escape together with his life by a window.”
The burglar stole money from the home.
As Bearing Arms noted, Lister had the opportunity to fight bare-knuckled. Instead, he opted to use his personal firearm to warn the other man off, instead of potentially endangering himself to further harm physically by engaging someone he may or may not have been able to fight against.
