BOB DOES NOT EXPECT TROUBLE

Melbourne Sun
By Lorraine De Selle
Picture: Clive Mackinnon

Bob does not expect troubleTRADITION has it that Okinawa peasants leapt from trees and dismounted their armored opponents…

The flying kick, they called it and karate expert Bob Jones gave a good demonstration of it. With a blood curdling yell he leapt into the air . .
right In the middle of the city square.

Passers by were, say the least, stunned. Bob, 6 ft. and 13 stone, is a Second Dan belt, the head of nine karate schools and security manager for discotheques and pop festivals.

He and 60 of his students have been hired to assist police keep order at the Sunbury pop festival this weekend. He is not expecting any trouble. "But then, if the weather is fine, up to 80,000 people may turn up. Our job will be to control the crowds," he said.

"We also want to ensure that they keep off neighboring farms and don''t get in for free. "We will have at our disposal horses, land rovers and bikes. "We won''t be wearing a uniform. We want to look just like any of the other youngsters " he said.

"I first became interested in karate about six years ago. A couple of colleagues and I held a dance for teenagers . but we could not afford bouncers.

"So we had to do the job ourselves, and, for major security, I decided to take up karate. "I have never looked back since that day." Bob, 30, is married with a 10 year old daughter, Tracey, who is already a brown belt.

"Self defence is just as important for warren as for men," Bob claims. "They should be able to defend themselves against louts in dark alleys ... . Bob is also actively campaigning against drugs.

"They dull your reflexes, and if you are addicted to karate you can''t afford to be addicted to drugs. "Karate is a way of life. We have both spiritual and physical training, not merely a bit of tile chopping." And with that, he went back to his flying kicks.