FALL RIVER, Mass. (WHDH) -- A Fall River man's California vacation took a wild and dangerous turn when he found himself in the middle of an armed robbery, but he didn't run -- he turned the tables on the criminal.

“It’s all reaction. I had no plan when I went in,” said Seiha Hak.

Seiha Hak, a 39-year-old man from Fall River was in Long Beach California attending a martial arts conference when he put his special training to use during an armed robbery.

“They were screaming. There was a lot of noise in there and they need help,” said Hak.

Hak was eating with his family next to a jewelry store when he saw three armed men trying to rob it with the owner and some children inside -- including a baby.

“I see woman, little kids in there, they're scared, they’re screaming, they’re hiding, they’re running,” said Hak.

He says two of the suspects escaped in a car, but one was still inside with a gun; something he was about to come face to face with.

“I keep shaking the door, ‘Let me in, let me in,’” Hak said.

Seconds later, he was about to get inside when he found himself looking down the barrel of that gun.

“So he’s waving around and he’s looking at me and I step back,” Hak said.

That's when Hak saw his chance.

“I saw a piece of wood in there. I just went three times and it broke. I hit him real hard,” Hak said.

Little did the suspect know, Hak has a black belt in karate and is a kick boxer.

“Grabbed the arm and twist it. I drop on my knee now this is in his left arm, so he’s on the ground. So then I twist it back, I lock his wrists,” Hak said.

Hak held them there until the police arrived.

“I don’t consider myself a hero. I just did it without thinking,” Hak said.