Pointed gun no match for man's martial arts

FAIRBANKS - A Fairbanks man who allegedly pulled a gun on a man skilled in the martial arts got more than he bargained for.

Jeffrey Walker, 44, said he was minding his own business last week at his apartment building when the neighbor below him called to complain his 2 year old was making too much noise.

"He just starts berating me, saying that if I can't shut the kid up, he'll shut him up," Walker said.

Walker, a former firefighter who has lived in Fairbanks for only about a year, thought his neighbor would call the police or the apartment manager to complain.

Instead, Walker said he showed up at his front door with a .45-caliber handgun. Walker leapt into action when he saw the man pull the gun out of his hoodie.

Walker grabbed the barrel of the gun and lifted it up with his left hand while simultaneously using his right hand to push the assailant's wrist and arm into his own head, effectively using the butt of the gun like a hammer.

"It only took about five seconds," Walker said.

While his girlfriend called police, he continued to hit the man until he stopped resisting.

Walker began studying bojuko, a form of self defense, when he was 25. Its creator says it teaches people how to eliminate threats with a variety of blocks, grapples and strikes.

Walker was able to reach level 3, which is the grade just below becoming an instructor.

Eric E. Backlund, 38, of Fairbanks was charged with third-degree assault, a felony.

When police arrived on the scene, they found him sitting in a pool of his own blood with Walker standing over him. He was treated for facial lacerations at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital before being arrested.