An attempted robbery in Caxias do Sul took an unexpected turn thanks to Patrícia, a jiu-jitsu champion and security guard who did not hesitate to intervene. The suspect was fleeing from four guards after stealing two boxes of chocolates from a candy store when he crossed paths with the athlete as she was opening the door of her building for her mother. Using her technical knowledge, Patrícia took him down and held him firmly by the neck on the ground to prevent the situation from escalating, keeping him safely under control until the military police arrived.
An equally forceful response took place in the state of Maranhão with Monique Bastos, an MMA fighter and jiu-jitsu blue belt who reacted to the assault by two men on a motorcycle who intended to take her cellphone. Although one of them managed to escape with the phone, Monique brought down the second suspect and neutralized him on the sidewalk for about fifteen minutes using a choke known as “rear-naked choke”. In the recording that went viral on the internet, the mugger cried and begged, claiming that it was his first crime, although authorities later confirmed at the police station that he already had prior arrests and had assaulted three more young people that same night.
These incidents bring the self-defense debate to the table, underscoring that, while it can be an effective tool for repelling crime, it requires a high level of technical preparation and great caution. Local testimonies reflect that this type of reaction carries considerable risk, since not all citizens have the experience to carry out restraints safely. Monique Bastos herself advises that, when faced with a robbery, the fundamental step is to first realize whether the criminal is armed and wait for the right moment to act, showing that effective self-defense combines physical skill with a cool assessment of the threat.
Watch the moment here: