Australian surfer Mick Fanning was participating in Jeffreys Bay – a popular South African surfing championship when he encountered not one but two sharks on the look out for a quick snack. What followed was one of the bravest and most unusual attempts to fend off a shark attack – punching.

Fanning was thrown off his board by the two hungry sharks, and then punched one in the back, surprising the creatures and causing them to retreat. His mother happened to have witnessed the entire event while watching live footage of the competition. Speaking to the BBC she said “I was so scared. I just thought when that wave came through that he’d gone,” she said.