A pickpocket experienced instant karma after assaulting a black belt martial artist. Ivan Skoko, 29, used his Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills to confront a suspected thief at Borough Station last month.
A video captured shortly after the incident shows the suspect on the ground beneath Skoko’s knee, pleading, “I don’t want to stab you, brother.”
Skoko, originally from Croatia, had recently won gold in the men’s ultra-heavy division at the British Open. He recounted hearing loud cries from passengers on the Northern line which prompted him to act.
He thought a serious incident had occurred, perhaps a stabbing. When a woman appeared distressed, clutching her mobile phone tightly, he recognized it as a robbery in progress.
“I notice these things frequently around the gym where I work. If I don’t act fast, criminals just get away,” Skoko mentioned.
He shouted at the woman to identify the suspect, and she indicated the man on the platform. Without hesitation, he disembarked from the train, quickly tackled the suspect, and commanded him not to move.
During the confrontation, the thief reached for a hammer, but Skoko employed a judo technique to subdue him. Once the man was down, he set his phone on the ground to record the encounter.
Authorities later discovered two stolen cell phones and a hammer in the suspect’s possession, one phone amusingly encased in a Hello Kitty design. The police were summoned, and the suspect was arrested at the station.
Skoko considers himself somewhat of a vigilante, claiming to have intervened in criminal situations at least ten times. He recounted a past incident where thieves attempted to vandalize his gym.
After his bike was stolen five years ago and receiving a dismissive response from the police, he decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.
“When I called about my bike, they told me I wouldn’t see it again. I asked, ‘Why bother calling you if you can’t help?’” Skoko said, expressing frustration over police resource limitations.
“That was it for me. I realized I needed to push myself harder in training.”
He asserted that any potential robber would end up arrested and disarmed. “People need to look after themselves,” he emphasized.
“If you hand yourself over to police, there’s a chance you could face harm, even fatal consequences. I won’t let that happen to me. I’m not afraid.”
According to British Transport Police, officers were called to Borough Underground Station around 7:30 PM on October 28 due to the reported attempted theft. A male suspect was arrested on various charges, including theft and possession of an offensive weapon.
