Garry Tonon, an ADCC veteran and MMA star, recently shared a remarkable story from his time in South Korea, detailing an unexpected street confrontation that occurred while he was cornering a friend. The incident, which Tonon kept quiet for years due to potential legal concerns, offers insight into how a professional competitor handles volatile situations. On his podcast, Tonon shared the story years ago.
The evening began innocently enough. Tonon and his training partner Yuting Hong were exploring local bars and attempting to communicate with locals using Google Translate. As someone who remains constantly aware of his surroundings, a habit ingrained through years of martial arts training, Tonon noticed an intoxicated Korean man causing disturbances with other patrons and made a mental note to avoid him.
When the group decided to change venues, the situation escalated quickly. The intoxicated man forcefully collided with both Tonon and one of the women they were walking with.
“I just react and I’m just like, oh wow, what the [ ],”
Tonon recalled. Despite knowing no English, the man appeared to recognize the profanity and became aggressive, repeatedly screaming directly into Tonon’s face.
The confrontation intensified when the Korean woman began yelling at the aggressor. Without hesitation, the man struck her across the face.
“As soon as I see that this is gonna happen, I already raised my hand and I smack him almost simultaneously,”
Tonon explained. The aggressor, seemingly stunned by the response after attacking the woman, charged forward with his hands down.
Using a judo technique known as de ashi harai, Tonon swept the man’s legs and sent him to the ground. At the same time, the aggressor’s friend grabbed Tonon’s jacket from behind and pulled him down. Tonon quickly recovered, sweeping the second attacker’s legs while Yu Ting secured a third individual against a parked car.
The situation became more complex when Tonon noticed the original aggressor holding the woman by her hair. His first impulse was to deliver a decisive strike, but professional restraint intervened.
“My brain goes no, you can’t do that. If you bring it to this level and you [harm] this guy’s head, you’re going to prison for sure,”
he recalled.
Instead, Tonon applied a choke and released it when a fourth person approached, recognizing that restraining someone while facing multiple opponents was unsustainable. He separated the parties and the physical confrontation ended.
The aftermath was equally surreal. The shaken women insisted on taking a taxi just a few blocks away, where they had accidents in the vehicle before publicly relieving themselves on while still clothed.
Tonon admitted that his instinctive open handed response surprised even him, noting that palm strikes are generally his preference in confrontations to avoid injuring his hands and jeopardizing his competitive career.
