A 20-year-old woman was left with whiplash after she was body slammed to the ground by a ‘huge’ man as part of an incel trend terrifying Londoners.
Ayla Guder was walking along Mile End canal with a friend when she was knocked to the ground by a runner with so much force it ‘knocked the air out of her lungs’ on Sunday.
The marketer had tried to move out of the way of the man, who was running and grunting towards at her at full speed, but he instead went straight through her.
The 20-year-old told Metro: ‘After he collided with me, I heard a grunt of satisfaction come from him.
‘Bear in mind, he is huge and around 6ft4 tall. As he came towards me, I turned my body to make a gap for him to run through, but instead he ran at me at full speed and completely bodied me.
(Picture: Aisling Legros)
‘It felt like he was trying to knock me into the canal, but the way by body was turned it meant I hit the ground instead.’
Ayla was knocked face first to the ground so hard it knocked the air out of her lungs, and left with her cuts down her hands and arms and whiplash across her upper body.
She said she hoped it was an accident and decided not to report it to the police, until a couple approached her afterwards and revealed the attacker had knocked an elderly man into the canal just hours before hitting her.
‘They saw I was crying and heard what had happened and came and told me he had actually pushed someone into the water,’ Ayla said.
‘That’s when I knew it wasn’t an accident.’
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What is butsukari otoko?
Butsukari otoko is a terrifying trend which originated in Japan, and translates to ‘bumping man’.
It started with men ramming into woman within busy train stations, but has since spread to streets and other countries.
The attacker ‘gets off’ on feeling superior to the victim, who is often left in pain after the incident.
And attackers have admitted this is true. Daisuke Nagata said ‘because it felt good’ when asked why he was slamming into women in Tokyo.
Have you been a victim of butsukari otoko?
Email brooke.davies@metro.co.uk or webnews@metro.co.uk
Working as a temporary employee at Keikyu-Kamata Station, he denied attacking six women but conceded he had done it dozens of time before without being caught.
He reportedly told police: ‘When I got off a train once, my arm happened to hit a woman’s chest and it felt good.
‘So I thought about how to do the same without being accused.
‘I’ve done this dozen times.’
Is butsukari otoko spreading to London?
After Ayla put up a post on TikTok, her comment section was flooded with women describing similar experiences.
Elly Bailey wrote: ‘This happened to me outside of Old Street station a few months ago! I was waiting to cross the road and a man running body slammed me so hard I got knocked over backwards onto the concrete.
‘As well as cutting my elbow, hitting my head, bruising my hands and wrists, my camera that was in my bag broke from the impact and I had to pay to get it fixed.’
Moanna added: ‘Happened to me on the Underground. A guy was running towards me, I turned my body to let him pass and he bumps right into me. Full force. Damaged my shoulder. No apology.’
The Metropolitan Police said: ‘Police are investigating an assault that took place on Sunday, 4 May at 12:30hrs.
‘It is alleged a man pushed a 20-year-old woman as she walked along the canal in Mile End, Bethnal Green.
‘She attended a police station the following day to report the incident.
‘No arrests have been made. An investigation into the circumstances is ongoing.’
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