I don't know if I would use the term "often" given the great numbers of people who go into the ONF in relation to the much smaller numbers of reported encounters over a long period of time. Yes, there have been a few egregious cases of assaults and murder, at least two made the national news, but over a similar amount of time many otherwise considered peaceful small town have seen worse.

The fact is that thousands of hikers and campers go into the ONF and other state forests unarmed and they experience nothing but peaceful relations with the people they meet.

I would also be leery about trying out your kung-fu on a person holding a gun. As it was everyone made it out relatively unharmed. Toss in a few sudden moves and perceived threat by the person with the gun and the balance between not desiring to kill people, he obviously had some qualms about killing people because he clearly could have slaughtered them without difficulty, and the advantages of not leaving witnesses behind may have gone the wrong way.

The option of violent resistance would have shifted if the man clearly stated or implied an intention to kill them. The statistics say that an attacker that attempts to get you into a vehicle will kill you. Once you get in a car the odds of survival approach zero. In that case violent resistance and/or fleeing is pretty much the only option.

As it was, considering the outcome where nobody got seriously injured, avoidance of violent resistance was the right choice.