SAN ANTONIO, TX (WCMH) – A Texas IHOP waiter went from serving pancakes to dishing out justice on a would-be robber.

It happened around 6am Thursday at a San Antonio IHOP, according to KABB.

Waiter Elijah Arnold said something didn’t seem right when two men and a woman walked into the restaurant.

“When I stepped into the galley, I just got that feeling where I needed to wait and listen,” said Arnold.

A few minutes later, he heard the register pop.

“That’s really the sound that haunts me because that’s the sound that put me into action,” said Arnold.

It turns out, Arnold is a third-degree black belt.

“I like, ran up. He like, swung the crowbar at me. I blocked with [my left] arm, I hit him with [my right] hand and I pulled him to the ground, said Arnold. “During that process, I don’t know if my face hit the register or hit the ground or just hit him in the face – because he has a scar on his head and I have a big old bloody nose now.”

Arnold then held the suspect down until police arrived.

“Even on the ground when I was holding him, he was begging me: ‘Please let me go, just give me the money, you should understand this,'” Arnold said.

Arnold says he understands all too well. Up until two weeks ago, he was homeless and wasn’t working. He just got the job at IHOP, got a new work shirt and had just gotten enough money together to get a used car.

“That was my money in the register. It was my manager’s money in the register. And it was my IHOP’s money in the register,” said Arnold. “And I’m not going to let anybody take that.”

Police are still looking for the other two people who were with the suspect.