Image : Orange County

A Florida man interested in karate is alleged to have found an elusive and illegal target for his kicks: bird faces. Last week, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Rocco Joseph Mantella was arrested for “practicing karate” by kicking swans in the head at a park in downtown Orlando, and further details of his arrest—which were first published by the Bloody Elbow—are wild as shit.


According to an Orange County (Fla.) arrest affidavit, Mantella was spotted by a few witnesses around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 26, kicking a bunch of animals. Someone saw him kick one swan in the head and another in the butt while “practicing karate.” His kicks were enough to knock one swan down, and a witness said he was kicking “as hard as possible.” Mantella also apparently targeted a small duck enjoying a morning nap. When one witness saw what he was doing, he apparently began to laugh at her.

Mantella was charged with one count of cruelty to animals, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in Florida.


Mantella has some experience fighting humans, as he wrestled for Indiana University, fought in an amateur MMA bout once, and almost made his pro MMA debut in 2012.

[Bloody Elbow]