What Richard said.
My order of priority would be:
1. Position - Keep the mic close - but out of the 'blast zone'. I would try to sort out the problem using this alone, if at all possible.
2. Distance - If you can't avoid the 'blast zone', they add distance bit by bit until you're OK. You don't want to get too far away or you'll start having other problems, as Richard has said.
3. Filtering - For me, a last ditch course of action for dealing with 'blast zone' problems. The simple mechanical overload can, in itself, create distortion - and filtering won't be able to clean that up. Better to avoid it altogether, but if you have to deal with it this way, then try the above techniques first to minimise how much work the filtering has to do.
There is another argument where filtering may be necessary - and that is if the low end is still too strong and can result in a booming sound or overload of other elements down the audio chain. This would normally be part of the EQ process on any half-decent mixing desk or audio software. Just remember, that if you do find this problem, the earlier in the audio chain it is dealt with, the better.