Images of a fight on Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz went viral online over the weekend and continue to circulate. Sandro Santiago, who was initially the victim of a punch to the face, verbal abuse, and having water thrown at him, and who later took matters into his own hands, recounted the incident and shared his thoughts in various Instagram posts.

He said that at 7:15 he jumped into the water and waved to the people who were in the water and that one of them asked him if he remembered him, he answered no and Sandro told him that in The Lane the one who jumps the stone cannot take the first one that comes but has to sit and wait his turn and that it was probably for that reason.

“Around 7:20 in the morning, he suddenly became aggressive and started chasing me in the water. I warned him several times to back off, but he insisted, repeating that he was going to “beat me up.” Then he threw a punch at me. At that point, I told him I would see him out of the water and we agreed to settle it there,” she recounted in her Instagram post, which she accompanied with videos.

“Before he hit me, I had already warned him several times, but he kept making things worse. Throughout the entire incident, I didn't throw a single punch. Instead, I held him back and asked him to apologize. As a martial artist, I don't train to hurt people. I train to compete, to defend myself, and to teach discipline. Hurting him wouldn't have proven anything. I was fully aware of what he was capable of, but I chose not to harm him,” he added.

“I chose to do the right thing: to show self-control, discipline, and respect, even when I wasn't given it. It's not a matter of manners, but of respect and good manners. If you don't receive proper upbringing from your parents at home, sooner or later someone else will give it to you and discipline you,” she concluded in that post.

But then he posted other footage from the cameras installed at the location and titled it: "How to neutralize a stalker in a few minutes with control and good manners."

“He was yelling after punching me. ‘You deserved it…’ That’s why we should all learn self-defense for real-life situations against bullies, learning to handle situations like this without punching or kicking, just with a clean and effective technique,” ​​she said.

“In the water, his behavior crossed the line from rudeness to outright harassment. He aggressively pursued me, yelling things like ‘go back to your country’ and threatening to ‘beat me up and drown me.’ He also said he didn’t care because he’d been in jail, creating a hostile and unsafe situation. I tried several times to de-escalate the situation by paddling away, but he kept chasing me and closing the distance, hurling insults at me. Despite my efforts to avoid conflict, he made things worse by throwing the first punches,” she added.

“He splashed me with water and kept yelling, saying I deserved his aggression because I had called him out on his rudeness and behavior a week earlier. When we got back to shore to continue what he had started in the water, I decided not to respond, even though I could have. Instead, I stood my ground and demanded he take responsibility, making it clear that an apology for his actions and behavior was the only appropriate solution,” she added.

“With tact and great respect for his well-being, without causing him any harm, I simply got him to apologize for his stupid behavior and let him go. I wish I could have done exactly what he deserved, but I forgave him. Now imagine if I didn't know how to defend myself... Imagine if I didn't have the discipline/self-control to stand my ground? He was the aggressor from the beginning, but in the end, he turned out to be a crybaby,” she said.

“I hope he learned his lesson and doesn’t do that to anyone else, because in the end, that doesn’t define who you are. It’s about respecting each other and being kind to others. I was very kind to him, because after he hit me, he deserved much more than just a punch,” she concluded in another post.

He then posted a scene from Karate Kid and explained: “A true martial artist doesn’t fight to hurt people. He fights to stop danger. In the water, I was hit first. Imagine if I had been knocked out. Panic in the ocean can cost a life. It could have been much worse. Instead, I took control of the situation, held the man firmly, asked him to calm down, and let go. No punches. No revenge. Just control,” he explained.

The other person involved in the fight has not yet been identified. All that is known is what Sandro himself said.

Several locals at The Lane commented that they hadn't seen such a scene there since the nineties.

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A post shared by Sandro Santiago (@sandrobatabjj)

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A post shared by Sandro Santiago (@sandrobatabjj)

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A post shared by Sandro Santiago (@sandrobatabjj)