A 25-year-old woman in Costa Rica shocked onlookers when she fought off a would-be thief with what appeared to be Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques – despite never having trained a day in her life.
The incident took place at La Estación, a 24-hour restaurant in San Isidro de El General.
After finishing a night shift, Sol Vargas Garita stopped in for breakfast when a man attempted to snatch her handbag.
Surveillance footage shows Vargas immediately reacting, grappling the assailant to the ground, and restraining him until police arrived.
Recalling the moment, Vargas explained:
This guy grabs my bag, and I think: “He’s not taking it.”
I grabbed him, threw him down, and, honestly, yes – I hit him, made him bleed and everything.
The video captured Vargas applying what resembled a triangle choke as she controlled the situation.
Witnesses later confirmed she held the man securely until help came.
The suspect, who suffered facial injuries in the scuffle, was taken into custody.
Restaurant owner Francisco Bermúdez was stunned by her quick reaction:
I was speechless – it surprised me as much as everyone else who’s seen the video.
What surprised people most wasn’t just the takedown itself—it was the fact that Vargas had no martial arts background whatsoever:
My mum says it was some kind of Jiu-Jitsu hold or Brazilian technique or whatever.
But like I told her, I don’t know anything about that.
It just came out of me.
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