Muay Thai, Knives, & New York City...(oh my!)
by Snake Blocker
What does New York City, Muay Thai, and cool knife stories have in common?...well, the answer is a lot.
I've been to NYC several times, I've dated 3 different women from Long Island, NY and I did the NY Marathon right before my first deployment to the "Sand Box." But it's been a while since my last visit. I have a large fan-base in the Big Apple, and a couple of my kickboxing instructors still live in NY...so I always end up coming back.
I still remember when I was twenty-five years old, and I stayed at a motel in one of the rough areas of NY. It was around midnight and three gangsters were right outside my motel door. I'm a very light sleeper, so it doesn't take much to wake me up. The walls were so thin that I could hear them whisper to each other about their plan to kill me. One guy said to the others, "You knock on his door and when he opens it, we'll all rush in. You two hold him down and I'll cut his throat." I got out of bed and grabbed the large floor lamp and waited for them in the dark to break in. They knocked on my door and waited...then they knocked again, and then once more. Finally, one guy told the other guy, "Come on, he's not going to answer, let's go somewhere else." Then they still waited outside my door for me to open up, thinking that I might think they left the area, and that I might still open the door to look outside. After several minutes (that seemed like hours) they left for good. I always tell my students to be aware of your surroundings 24/7.
Flashback over...let's bring to you to June 2009:
Prior to me flying to Afghanistan for my third tour, I had to complete 5 weeks of training at Ft Dix, New Jersey. While I was at Ft Dix, I had the pleasure to hang out with my friends, Bob and Alexsandra Reiter (editor-in-chief of Muay Thaimes Magazine). I have a huge amount of respect for what they have done with helping the Muay Thai community around the world through their magazine. They were kind enough to pick me up from NJ and show me around their beautiful city (NYC).
I also had a chance to visit their home. During my tour, Alexsandra conveyed a great story about her mother's uncle during the war. Since I love war stories, and especially knife stories, I was excited to hear about this great warrior. He spoke perfect German and was a Red Army spy during the war and like myself, always carried a knife with him. Whatever rank he held (plus the specifics of his mission during the war) were kept confidential. All of this, including the knife, was passed down like stories from the elders, from one generation to another. It all happened long before Alexsandra was born. The story goes that somehow his cover was blown. The Nazis found out that he was a Red Army spy, but I'm sure they didn't know that he was also Jewish, or he probably would have been shot on the spot. In a familiar refrain, he was commanded to dig his own grave. Before being executed, he requested a last cigarette.
His fluency in German probably helped and influenced the assigned executioner to indulge the request. While the German went for his cigarette, Alexsandra's uncle whipped out his knife, and killed the Nazi. With his knife combat training we was able to escape. Even after the war he kept his knife very close to him.
Returning home, he learned that his village had been occupied by the Nazis. His wife was tortured to death. All four of his children had been literally crushed like insects by Nazi boots. He'd managed to defend the Motherland but wasn't able to protect those nearest and dearest to him.
He eventually passed away from natural causes many years later. His knife was among the very few family heirlooms that made it here from Russia, which Alexsandra showed me and let me handle. He was, by Alexsandra's account, a hero of the Soviet Union and quite a dashing figure in person.
Although the USA and Soviet Union were not always the best of friends, no one can deny the bravery and expert training from many coming out of the Soviet block. Even today, the Russians produce many great fighters in the Muay Thai world.
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Topic: Muay Thai, Knives, and NYC...(oh my!) (Read 532 times)