So six people trap you and your partner in a room with no reasonable route of escape, armed with a knife and your not allowed to defend your partner without getting sentenced to attempted murder? If that's the law sod going to Canada, sounds like the only country where you're not allowed to use proportionate self defence. Unless the true story is slightly different.
Most people who have a life like he is describing, have more then swollen knuckles and a few scars under there luscious locks, you would at least expect a nose like a ironing board. Most kids plunged into a life like that put up emotional barriers which never really go away. When telling there story's are more likely to be emotionless, and probably won't get tearery eyed when people give them money or one of there fish dies.
I don't know what the truth is, perhaps he is telling the truth and he is the exception, perhaps he should just stick to fish keeping.