US jiu-jitsu champ Chris Bower attacked in NZ, chokes out offender in cafe

A world-ranked black belt jiu-jitsu master has posted dramatic footage of the moment he was chased down an Auckland street and allegedly attacked by a man just hours after he arrived in New Zealand to compete in a wrestling competition.

On August 30, US Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Chris Bower was taking a morning stroll around the Viaduct Harbour when he claims he was approached from behind by a man.

In an interview with the Herald, Bower said the man aggressively demanded he give him money for his son. Not wanting to inflame the situation, Bower told the man to back off before taking a step back.

But as the American went to walk away, the man gave chase.

“He scared the s*** out of me since he was directly behind me. I could tell there was something wrong with him...

“He got too close to me and started to threaten me... I backed up because I didn’t know if he had a knife or something on him. He started pursuing me and I started jogging away. He then started chasing me and I was like ‘ooh s***’.”

As Bower was jogging away, he asked bystanders to help intervene, but said no one was interested in helping him.

“I started asking for help and no one would respond. It was like no one wanted to be bothered with their day and most were on their way to work. It’s pretty common regardless of where you are.”

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu champ continued to run away from the attacker, saying the man chased him for over a kilometre.

This is the moment US black belt champ Chris Bower was attacked inside an Auckland cafe. The 46-year-old American put the offender into a choke hold to defuse the incident before police arrived.

Moment US black belt fights off offender in Auckland

Worried about the lack of help from bystanders, Bower spotted a cafe and decided to head inside hoping the man would stop giving chase. But the man soon charged through the door and allegedly attacked the 46-year-old American.

“While I was running I saw a coffee shop and thought I need to make it inside because I knew there would be cameras and witnesses. He chased me about three quarters of a mile (1.2km). I ran inside and made a scene so everyone knew something was wrong. I was speaking loudly and asked them to call the police.

“The guy ran up to the door and inside and came in and charged at me, swinging and attacking me. I did what I’m trained to do. I’m a trained grappler and fighter. I did everything I could to avoid the situation like running away... but I’m glad I ran into the store so others could see what was happening and saw him attack me.

“I didn’t know if he had a weapon but he seemed deranged. When he ran at me I took him down with a double-leg takedown. When he was on the ground he was growling at me and super tense. I was able to secure control of his back. Once I did I rendered him unconscious with the man’s shirt in a rear neck choke, a common technique in Brazilian jiu-jitsu to subdue someone. I did that without hurting him or striking him and I got off of his back and sat on his chest and told people to call police.

“As soon as police arrived they could tell the guy wasn’t right. They then took him away.”

AJP Tour New Zealand National Championships Master 4 Middleweight gold medallist Chris Bower used his Brazilian jiu-jitsu training to subdue an offender during an incident in Auckland on August 30.

In a statement to the Herald, police confirmed the incident and said the 45-year-old attacker was arrested.

“Police responded to an altercation at a cafe on Gaunt St on the morning of 30 August. A man had charged at the victim inside the business, after initially approaching him on the street. The victim managed to hold the man to the ground before police arrival,” a police spokesperson said.

“Once our staff arrived at the scene, they arrested the 45-year-old man. On reviewing the incident, no charges have been laid but the man was referred to appropriate agencies for assessment.

“Fortunately, on this occasion no one sustained injuries as a result of the incident. Our advice to the general public is always to not take matters into your own hands. We recommend people seek assistance where possible and contact 111.”

According to Bower, police contacted him later that afternoon claiming the man’s actions were a result of mental health issues.

“It turns out the offender’s actions from today were driven by mental health factors. He has been referred to the mental health team and hopefully will be able to get the help he needs,” the police email read.

Police emailed Chris Bower following the incident explaining the offender's actions was likely influenced by mental health factors.

jiu-jitsu champ Chris Bower’s advice to Kiwis after incident

Despite the 46-year-old’s frightening incident on August 30, he went on to win gold in the AJP Tour New Zealand National Championships Master 4 Middleweight division.

While Bower is equipped to defuse situations and keep himself safe, he hopes the incident he faced can be a reminder for Kiwis to take up some form of self-defence education.

He told the Herald that if someone with his size and experience can be the target of an attack, then anyone could be put in a situation they don’t have the skills to safely navigate.

“This is a dangerous world we live in, whether it’s a safe place like New Zealand, everyone should have some type of self-defence training.

“You never know when someone is going to attack you no matter who you are. You take a look at me and think why would anyone come at me. But it could happen to anyone. As we saw with my incident, despite asking for help, someone isn’t always going to be there to help you.”

Speaking of the incident, Bower said bystanders in the cafe attempted to pull him off the attacker, something he explained is dangerous to do given how he was able to control the situation.

“At first people were trying to pull me off the guy, because they didn’t know what was going on... which is the worst thing bystanders could have done. If he managed to get separation he could easily attack again. Most people are so clueless and helpless.”

Bower hopes to return to NZ despite attack

Bower’s trip to New Zealand only lasted a few days but he hopes to return again.

Despite being followed and attacked, he expressed how kind and generous Kiwis were towards him during his trip.

While his calls for help weren’t answered at the time, Bower said everyone he told about the incident felt embarrassed and was extremely apologetic.

“I’m on my 14th country already. New Zealanders were the nicest people to me of any country I’ve ever been in. When that happened to me everyone was so shocked thinking New Zealand is so safe, how could that happen.

“Everyone was so apologetic to me for what happened even though they didn’t do it or the country didn’t do it.

“I hope to come back soon. I didn’t get to see anything outside of Auckland. One idiot can’t tarnish a whole country for me.”