Real-Life Karate Kid Fends Off Daly City Drunk

Wax on, wax off -- and get the heck away from me.

A 12-year old boy in Daly City is a real-life Karate Kid after using the moves he learned in martial arts class to fend off an adult would-be aggressor who turned out to be the neighborhood drunk, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

Police say the child was walking home from a martial arts studio in the Peninsula city on July 5 when 27-year old John Herman Dinetti, who has a history of alcohol-related blackouts, allegedly crossed the street to approach him, grabbed his wrist, and said, "come with me."

The boy attempted to pull his wrist away, according to the newspaper, but when that didn't work, he used his free hand to deliver a punch to Dinetti's face, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney. The punch forced Dinetti to release his grip, and the boy ran home, where his mother called police.

Police searched "extensively" for Dinetti, who was found at a nearby motel, according to the newspaper. He was allegedly drunk at the time of the incident, with "rambling, incoherent speech," according to prosecutors.

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