Filipino-American martial artist heroically subdues attacker accused of randomly assaulting New Yorkers

Image: Ro Mabalanan (Instagram)
Image: Ro Mabalanan (Instagram)

Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear t-shirts and shorts.

This was proven true yet again when a Filipino martial arts expert recently sprang into action to subdue a man who has been accused of attacking multiple random people on the street.

Ro Malabanan, who holds a black belt in jiu-jitsu, shared that he was in Manhattan’s SoHo district on his way to work last Wednesday morning when he saw a man sucker punch a nearby construction worker before running away.

After checking on the construction worker, Malabanan decided to intervene, telling NBC News 4: “Who knows what he’s capable of… My jiu-jitsu training kicked in, and I immediately just jumped on his back, he tried to fling me off of him. I had what’s called the seatbelt position, which helped me to drag him down to the ground.”

A passerby took a video of the immediate aftermath showing Ro holding down the suspect after police arrived at the scene.

The suspect reportedly punched several other people, including a 50-year-old and a 17-year-old, before Malabanan apprehended him.

Born in the Philippines but raised in New York, Malabanan told ABS-CBN News he was no stranger to attacks and hate crimes, which led him to study jiu-jitsu.

Aside from being a jiu-jitsu black belt, he also teaches boxing.



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