63-year-old Japanese man fights off bear with karate

Japanese man fights off bear.
(Image credit: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Most people don't respond to charging bears by fighting back. Yet rather than run from a snarling Asian black bear, one Japanese man decided to put his karate skills to the ultimate test.

Atsushi Aoki, 63, was fishing in the mountains when the bear attacked him. "The bear was so strong, and it knocked me down," Aoki told Tokyo Broadcasting System. Aoki took up a karate fighter stance, putting his right fist in front of him, and punched at the bear's eyes, which made the beast retreat.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.