A gym employee used his martial art skills to take down a suspected car thief, and has thanked his training for allowing him to fend off his attacker.
On Monday, Gavin Archer, 18, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blue belt, was working 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in Indianapolis, Indiana, US when he noticed a man allegedly looking into cars outside.
As Gavin went to confront him the man launched himself at him.
The 18-year-old was able to quickly subdue his attacker using his Jiu Jitsu skills.
CCTV footage shows Gavin gaining the upper hand by using a judo throw to take the man to the ground.
Gavin Archer, 18-year-old Jiu Jitsu instructor at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Gym in Indianapolis, Illinois, US took down a suspected car thief on Monday. Pictured: Archer going outside to investigate as he notices a man rummaging through his car outside
When Archer opens the door to speak to a man, who was reportedly looking into car windows outside the gym, he is suddenly attacked
The man who archer managed to take down has been named as Andrew Wilkerson, who said the incident was a misunderstanding. Wilkerson, who worked at the car shop next to the gym, saidhe was trying to use keys to get into the car in front of the shop because it fit the description of the car next on the list to be worked on. Archer then proceeded to confront him, thinking he was stealing
Jiu Jitsu blue belt, Gavin, soon gains the upper hand by using a judo throw to take the man to the ground
After landing several strikes to the man's face, he manages to get the man in a headlock- neutralizing him.
The video was first shared in a Facebook post by one of the instructors at the gym, which praised the young instructor's skills.
The post reads: 'Due to G's years of martial arts and Jiu Jitsu training, he was able to minimize the strikes that were being throw at him by judo tossing the man to the ground, securing the man's back, and choking him unconscious to eliminate the immediate threat of danger so he could call the police.'
'THIS is why Jiu Jitsu saves lives. Imagine if G had no training at all when this man attacked him. He could be seriously hurt or dead'.
The teenager told WishTV.com's I-Team 8 he was alone in the martial art gym when he saw Wilkerson rummaging around in his car outside.
'I was kind of getting a little nervous, and he just straight up attacked me. It all happened so fast you don't really have time to think,' Archer said.
However, the man who got beaten up by Archer, Andrew Wilkerson, refuted his claims, saying it was all a misunderstanding. He told I-Team 8 he was just doing his job as a mechanic in the car shop next to the gym.
Wilkerson went on to tell I-Team 8 that he was trying to use keys to get into the car in front of the shop because it fit the description of the car next on the list to be worked on.
Archer is an 18-year old Jiu Jitsu instructor at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in Indianapolis. CCTV footage shows how the teen used his martial art skills to take down a suspected thief
'I tried that for a couple minutes, and you can see in the video I began to walk away back towards my shop.'
That is when the teen came to the door to confront Wilkerson.
'He is saying things like don't go anywhere I'm calling the cops', Wilkerson went on to say.
'I've worked there for a few months, I know what the gym does, I know this guy is a trained fighter, so when he says don't go anywhere... the last thing I want to do now is turn around and not be able to see him behind me'.
Wilkerson explained that he took a stand and raised his voice. 'I took a step and said like, hey listen to me...he took a step back and pushed the gym door open the rest of the way which in the situation looked like he was coming towards me next.'
After that, Wilkerson said he 'just reacted and went after him'.
He also told the news outlet that Archer was the one who escalated the situation, but the martial arts instructor said that goes against his martial arts training.
According to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, no arrests were made.
As of Tuesday, Wilkerson no longer works at the car shop.
