Josh Henges is an experienced Judoka who has represented Team USA and a current BJJ instructor who was unfortunately set upon by a mugger, but using his skills he disarms the man relatively quickly. The Kansas City resident was walking home on Monday evening when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a gun pressed into his back according to Kansas City Police Department and originally reported on by Fox News.
It was at this point that Henges turned to face his attacker and the man pressed the gun to his forehead, demanding that he hand over his money. Henges then reportedly grabbed the mugger by the shoulder and almost immediately disarms him using his high-level BJJ and Judo ability. He then proceed to pin his assailant and call 911 at the same time, holding him there until the police arrived. He later told police:
“He was in grabbing range of me. You don’t have to hurt him. You just hold him in place, and there’s no permanent injury.”
The police later discovered that the weapon Henges was threatened with was actually a BB gun, although of course he’d have no way of knowing this in the heat of the moment. Police also advised:
“Henges said he has compassion for the suspect and hope he gets the help he needs.”
This is essentially a textbook example of the reason why so many people are pushing for police officers to be taught BJJ, including the world-renowned Rener Gracie. There have even been a number of instructors who have taken it upon themselves to help teach local police departments a higher level of grappling ability completely free of charge. Those that have undertaken the task almost universally have positive feedback from the results of their training sessions.
