It’s not unusual for Stephan Venter to perform a strong kick when instructing at Action Karate in Pennsylvania but on Thursday, it proved to be useful outside the gym.
Surveillance cameras captured Stephan running out of a building after a parent and student waiting for an upcoming class told him that a woman needed help outside and was yelling that her purse was stolen.
Steven says he didn’t think twice. "I shouted at him, ‘Drop the bag!’ He wouldn’t drop it, I caught up with him, I gave him a kick on the leg," he said. "As I got him a kick on the leg, he dropped the bag, stumbled, and then he kept running away."
The mom said "Literally out of nowhere, like an angel, this guy appears, like a ninja, and he’s like here you go," she said. "I’m like, what the?Is this happening? So her and I are completely stunned."
Stephan had to run back to teach a ninja class, he says. He went back to the cleaners later to make sure everyone was OK, and connected with the woman he helped.
She says she researched the gym and contacted Stephan’s boss to explain his heroism. Stephan, who was born and raised in South Africa, has been in Philadelphia for all of six months.