Karate vs. Bear

I was just walking in the woods with my wife. We love to get out in nature and train, so to speak, on the mountain paths. We've both been training about 8 years in Shotokan karate, but came on a situation and were untrained for the circumstances.

As we came around the corner, we came nearly face-to-face with a cinnamon bear (technically a black bear). We were within 10 feet and could see that he was huge, probably 300 pounds, beautiful, the morning sun was at a low angle and backlit his bushy fur, and his hunched shoulders made him look unopposedly powerful. And he seemed totally unafraid.

His lack of fear contrasted my reaction. I can't say I was afraid, but I could feel the adrenaline kicking up. I knew not to turn my back on any opponent - and I did consider him an opponent, but also knew not to engage to provoke a reaction. I kept talking to him, using a light command voice to create a boundary. He just stared back. I called to my wife to get closer to me and we made ourselves larger as a pair.

The bear just stared, and then apparently unimpressed, turned his back and wandered of in search of food. He looked back a few times, so we must have made some impression on him, but was largely unconcerned and sauntered rather than jogged away.

In my first draft of this story, I used the phrase "unprepared for the encounter", but as I typed, I realized that wasn't true. I changed the phrase to untrained meaning that we never explicitly trained for a bear encounter. I realized, however, that karate has prepared us, even for the unexpected, even if imperfectly.

Our training taught us how to react to situations. We had to control our adrenaline, to analyze a situation quickly, and to generate options. We also knew that while we felt some fear, we had to communicate total commitment to a possible showdown. I don't believe the bear was belligerent, but don't know if a fearful response on our part might have triggered an agressive response, either.

Should I run? Definitely not. Scream louder, maybe. Wave my arms? Maybe. Grab a stick? I should have. What I did do, depended on his reaction to us. I knew that many charges are bluffs, and was ready.

In the end, we both walked away, both unwilling (or at least uninterested) in tangling with the other. I'll claim it as a win. We reacted well, and won by not fighting.