Man uses karate skills to fight off bear in Gunma

Despite media excitement over the episode, authorities in Japan advise against this course of action when confronted by one of Japan's numerous wild bears.

So, what do they recommend? You just sit there and let the bear kill you? Jabbing it in the eyes is probably the best advice they could give. It's nearly the only sensitive area for a human to attack on a bear.

Well said. I fully agree.

Disillusioned

Unless you could jab or kick the bear in the nuts, though that may just make him or her angrier!

So, what do they recommend?

According to US park rangers, never try to run, as any healthy bear can outrun Usain Bolt.

If the bear hasn't notice you, back off quietly. If it has, and seems aggressive, wave your limbs and growl loudly. Never play dead.

Awesome! People will have a hard time beating THAT story!!

I'm so relieved that he fought the bear successfully! I relate to him, as I was mauled by a bear while backpacking in the Sangre de Cristo mountains in New Mexico. Fighting the bear was the only way to extract myself from its jaws.

I am an experienced backpacker, not only in various terrain of the lower 48 USA but also in Alaska. I recall encountering a black bear while descending a glacier in Alaska and it was my experience with dealing with bears that saved my life there too.

From what I am reading in this article, this was a black bear. Black bears tend to be more aggressive but if you fight it ferociously you can repel it. Also, a person can intimidate a black bear as well, for a bear can perceive a stern tone of voice. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. It sounds as if the person did the right thing by fighting the bear and in so doing repelling it long enough to extract himself from that perilous encounter. I'm so happy that he is safe.

There are other instances where fighting a black bear will not make any difference, but that is outside the scope of the conversation. Once again, I'm so happy he is safe.

Seemingly a very frustrated bear in the woods somewhere sitting under a tree , rubbing his eyes and shaking his head in disbelieve. Getting belted by an ojii chan whilst only wanting to knock of a fish for breakfast. Crazy world!!

Wow, what a story! Way to fight, Mr. Aoki! And, spahn, man, you also did great! I keep forgetting what to do for grizzly or black bear. Fight with one, play dead with the other, can't remember. What a mess that'd be! Wait Mr. Grizzly, let me check what to do with you. Fight, or play dead? Must be play dead, I don't think anyone could beat a grizzly.

"Aoki was bitten and scratched repeatedly, including on his head.

“The bear was so strong, and it knocked me down,” Aoki told Tokyo Broadcasting System."

Aoki was lucky he didn't get his block knocked off with a swipe of that bear's paw.

“He drove himself to hospital, and he even remembered to grab the fish that he had caught,”

Hee hee! I'll bet he had that fish that night for dinner!

<>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVS1UfCfxlU

An apt time to show my favorite video - pure classic. John West bear and salmon.

"‘I kill him or he kills me,’"

Fortunately it was neither. Good on this man for having the clarity of thought and calmness to think enough to fight back. Well done.

“He drove himself to hospital, and he even remembered to grab the fish that he had caught,” a local police officer told AFP.

I couldn't help it but this made me smile...

I'm so glad he managed to drive himself to the hospital and that he's going to be OK.

Best defense against a bear attack is a large caliber handgun, like the 50cal Desert Eagle I had.

any camera footage? would be amazing (as the story lol)

Poor bear got beaten by Mas Oyama wannabe.

One word: LEGEND.

Unless you could jab or kick the bear in the nuts, though that may just make him or her angrier!

If its got nuts I'm pretty sure its a HE. No need for political correctness in this case.

Very cool! Even remembered the fish! Nice

Best defense against a bear attack is a large caliber handgun, like the 50cal Desert Eagle I had.

Pretty much on point! No arguments here.

Best defense against a bear attack is a large caliber handgun, like the 50cal Desert Eagle I had.

Pretty much on point! No arguments here.

Mr. Aoki didn't need any metal phallus to cut the mustard. He gets my vote for bare-handed cool badass of the week.

I hope the bear (classed as vulnerable by the IUNC) didn't suffer any permanent damage to its eyes.

This reminds me of this story from a month or so ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35CkdhExpfQ

can't win if he learned judo ????

I thought it’s either ‘I kill him or he kills me,

Looks like he overestimated his opponent.

Despite media excitement over the episode, authorities in Japan advise against this course of action when confronted by one of Japan’s numerous wild bears.

No. It would be much better to sit down and have a meeting with the bear, talk about your differing positions in a very round about fashion, then arrange to meet again next week.

Great for this guy, but one of the problems with ascribing human motivations to animals is that it leads to poor decisions.

Kill or be killed? Really? I kind of doubt it. A few years ago on a fishing vacation, after I had caught a few and went back to my pole, I looked behind me for no reason at all and saw a coyote slinking toward my creel. I yelled at it and it just looked at me. I threw a rock at it, and it still would not budge. The temerity! He wanted the fish and I had to drop what I was doing and chase him away. Wild animals are hungry! Who knew? News flash: they eat fish a lot more than they eat humans.

It is great that this guy could have enough confidence to risk his life defending his ground or defending his fish, but was it worth it? No. It is only worth it if you think that the bear seriously wants to kill you, which is unlikely. Hey. I wasn't there, but maybe if I were in his shoes, I would think about surrendering the territory and my fish to see if maybe that would satisfy the bear. And I think that would be doubly true if I were entirely unarmed, as this guy was. I would have thrown the fish at it and moved to find some getaway route or a good solid branch to use as a prod or club. What do you have to lose by trying some other strategy than karate, especially if you always have karate as a fall back?

It sounds dramatic to say that he defended his life against a man eater. It makes the guy into kind of a dork to consider that he risked his life and the well-being of his loved ones for a 12 inch trout. that is not even worth tree-fiddy..

I offer as evidence that the bear actually left. If it had been a man eater, why would it leave? Kill or be killed? The bear did not think so. No. What kind of badass bear runs away when you poke it in the eye? The bear wanted a meal, probably the fish, and when the bill got too high, he left the restaurant after scuffling with the waiter a little. One pretty amusing video on YouTube shows a bear attack in progress on a guy. He is screaming for help. Then someone throws an apple at the bear, and the bear just stops and starts eating the apple. Hey. It likes apples. Fighting with humans is apparently just a hobby for many bears. You certainly can't get fat doing it. Bears don't teach other bears to attack humans.

But hey, let's not facts get in the way of a perfectly good story. Some people want to live in world where nature is always trying to kill them with bears, drought, hornets, earthquakes, etc.

Not the fish, but the fishing hole.

"That's my spot!"

After all, the bear can catch his own fish if he wants.

the safest way is to run faster than the person beside you when you see a bear charging towards you.

Love that quote:

"Some people want to live in world where nature is always trying to kill them with bears, drought, hornets, earthquakes, etc."

It shows your position clearly: Humans are anti-nature. (No, but humans are a part of nature, like us or not. Something you guys forget.)

Excuse me, but Japan IS a country where nature IS always trying to kill you with earthquakes, typhoons, bears, etc. This is NOT the first bear attack, even this year. There have been several such attacks, and at least FOUR deaths in 2016. (See http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japan-bears-four-people-killed-in-bear-attacks-in-japan-as-sightings-doubles-in-one-year-a7079041.html)

Regardless of WHY the bear attacked the fisherman, it did attack him. By saying it was just hungry, and implying it would instantly have responded to the "gift" of a fish, YOU are the one "ascribing human motivations" to the bear.

But I'm sure you're above actually fighting to protect your life from warm and fuzzy animals, anyhow. YOU would have just gone and hugged the cute little cuddly bear, and I'm sure it would have happily hugged you back. For a moment. Until it killed you. By killing you, it would have a much bigger meal than the fish! So if it was REALLY hungry, why would it prefer a little fish over a larger person (who was distracted, and made a good target for attack)?

Or did that occur to you? I'm certain it occurred to the bear--AND the fisherman. Oh, excuse me, I could be "attributing human motivations" by implying that a bear is smart enough to think that intelligently!

Your thoughts remind me of that total idiot grizzly bear researcher "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell, who got himself and a girlfriend killed on October 6th, 2003 by anthropomorphizing that the grizzly bears actually liked him! There's an audio of his death-by-bear here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9lCkFygaaQ

The Japanese man didn't choose to join him and his girlfriend. Go for the eyes. I would. Good Going, Ojii-san!

A new Japenese Chuck Norris like cult hero?

Best situation is reading about it while laying on the couch. Maybe some gummy bears.