Anyone got into a fight?

[anonymous-user]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

'If all men were actually men...' Jesus, what a fking neanderthal throbber.

He should ditch the KTM in favour of:

[Magnum 475]

Any martial arts instructor will tell you: “The best fight is the one you don’t have.”

I’ve been into martial arts for a long time, mainly storyu Karate. I’ve dabbled in a few others too. Thankfully never needed to use it outside of training, and haven’t got a clue what would happen if I did. Hopefully I’ll never have to find out.

I’d like to think I’d be ok if attacked, but you can never be sure until it happens.

[Heaveho]

Old story now. Not a fight as such. I disturbed and was attacked by a car thief armed with a hammer 30 years ago. I managed to disarm him and hospitalise him with his own hammer. I didn't give a thought to how things might go for me at the time, I was too enraged at the thought of someone nicking my stuff. With hindsight, the XR3i he was trying to take was such a POS I should have stayed in bed and let him get on with it, but I misguidedly thought it was worth keeping at the time.

I " might " do the same thing again in the same circumstances now, but I doubt it. Too worried that the powers that be would react differently and I'd end up in more trouble than the perp, which seems to be the way of the world now.

[TimmyMallett]

A few years ago it was easy to avoid the ones that thought they were a bit tasty as they all wore 'Tapout' shirts in public. What happened to that? Is it all BJJ that's fashionable now? Or is that less manly and more artisan?

[donkmeister]

Magnum 475 said:

I’ve been into martial arts for a long time,

SNIP

I’d like to think I’d be ok if attacked, but you can never be sure until it happens.

I can tell you have been in to martial arts for a long time as you haven't said "obviously I'd do x, y and z then perform the crane kick before strolling off with his girlfriend" or similar.

I've never done MA, but I have discussed them with various practitioners at parties and noticed a Dunning Kruger effect with how effective practitioners think they would be when faced with a surprise kicking (admittedly when socially lubricated / heavily refreshed). I'm yet to hear a black belt bang on about how they have enhanced senses or carry themselves differently, they seem to be more realistic about their chances.

[anonymous-user]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

'If all men were actually men...' Jesus, what a fking neanderthal throbber.

Indeed.

That aside, I’m 42 years old and I have never been in a single fight, ever. Not even at school. I plan on maintaining my record.

About 18 years ago I was on a night out with friends in Birmingham city centre and watched as friend of a friend stood up to a couple of lads who were shouting obsenities at his girlfriend from across the road. He was a fairly big/fit guy and strode over there to ‘put them straight’ right until the moment the two lads pulled out flick knives and said something along the lines of “yeah? You gonna do something?” at which point he had to ask them politely to simply let him walk away.

I think it was around that time in my life I decided to make sure I never confronted anyone.

This was then reinforced about 10 years later when I had the absolute cheek to briefly toot my horn at a badly driven car which nearly crashed into me in traffic. The driver got out carrying a foot long screwdriver and suggested to me that if I ever beeped my horn at him again, he would ‘fking kill me’, before calmly driving away.

It’s a mad old world.

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 20th March 19:12

[shedweller]

Unfortunately violence is the only language some people understand
We've been using it make the required point since we dragged ourselves from the ooze...

I was brought up well in a nasty area - Where fighting on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at pub or club kicking out time was a "thing"
And so much as making eye contact with the wrong person was an excuse for them and their mates to kick your head in.

I was picked on at school (outsider) when younger and as a consequence I went to boxing club from the age of 12/3..... It was also a good fit for me as an individual sport, It was never in a self defense role as such.

I only had to start a fight twice in my life....

1. Over 20yrs ago, A guy kicking the fk out of a girl who was on the floor in a doorway at 3am... Maybe it was his girlfriend... Whatever - it had to end, I asked him to stop multiple times, And after he threatened me I ended it.

2. 3yrs ago... I'm a 44yr old father of 2 I run a business and am by all regards "a lover" and haven't been in a physical conflict in 20yrs.

A small parcel of land next to my work yard was rented by a guy who kept chickens there...
The land owner also used the land, and was a foster for the local animal rescue.
She had taken in a black rabbit called "ninja" who was a house rabbit owned by an old fella that had passed on and it was staying in a run until an adopter could be found, he'd been there for a couple of weeks - friendly big long eared rabbit - my guys used to feed him etc etc

One day the rabbit and hutch was gone.....
I asked the chicken guy who was a short heavy built bully.. "what happened to ninja"

Him "He's gone"
Me "Oh, have they found a place for him then"
Him "No I wanted the run for some of my chickens"
Me "where is he then"
Him "chucked him in the river"
Me "that wasn't much of a rescue, does Diane know?)
Him "yes"

I knew this was a lie by the way he said it and adjusted his posture.... And I've known Diane for 20yrs... It was a stone cold lie.

Me "I'm going to call the charity and complain"
Him "no your not"

I was walking away to my unit by this point with him following me..

Me "I'm going to call the charity because it's not hers or your rabbit to kill"

Him " it's got fk all to do with you, keep out of it or I will fking smack you"

Me "go on then"

I have NEVER felt such a rage within me, I can quite honestly understand how people kill others after feeling like that for a brief moment...

I turned, and at that point he tried to do the rugby tackle punching crappy fighting that townie fks do to eachother where they end up rolling around on the floor together, wildly swing arms at eachother...

He was a thick skulled fella and took a couple to get down, but he went down, And I'm not proud to say I continued...

He wouldn't of understood any other language...

[Pete102]

donkmeister said:

I can tell you have been in to martial arts for a long time as you haven't said "obviously I'd do x, y and z then perform the crane kick before strolling off with his girlfriend" or similar.

I've never done MA, but I have discussed them with various practitioners at parties and noticed a Dunning Kruger effect with how effective practitioners think they would be when faced with a surprise kicking (admittedly when socially lubricated / heavily refreshed). I'm yet to hear a black belt bang on about how they have enhanced senses or carry themselves differently, they seem to be more realistic about their chances.

This is pretty much bang on. I have some MA experience, 8 years of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu mixed in with some striking, Judo and Karate as a kid - my approach would be to avoid any physical conflict as much as you can, even if it means backing down or walking away. In a typical fight on the street there are simply too many variables to go wrong.

They might have a weapon
Their tolerance for pain or inflicting of damage might be significantly higher than yours
Drugs might be involved
You might do damage you dont intend (falling and hitting a head on a kerb is surprisingly common)
It might not be 1v1
etc.

[Mr Miata]

Pete102 said:

donkmeister said:

I can tell you have been in to martial arts for a long time as you haven't said "obviously I'd do x, y and z then perform the crane kick before strolling off with his girlfriend" or similar.

I've never done MA, but I have discussed them with various practitioners at parties and noticed a Dunning Kruger effect with how effective practitioners think they would be when faced with a surprise kicking (admittedly when socially lubricated / heavily refreshed). I'm yet to hear a black belt bang on about how they have enhanced senses or carry themselves differently, they seem to be more realistic about their chances.

This is pretty much bang on. I have some MA experience, 8 years of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu mixed in with some striking, Judo and Karate as a kid - my approach would be to avoid any physical conflict as much as you can, even if it means backing down or walking away. In a typical fight on the street there are simply too many variables to go wrong.

They might have a weapon
Their tolerance for pain or inflicting of damage might be significantly higher than yours
Drugs might be involved
You might do damage you dont intend (falling and hitting a head on a kerb is surprisingly common)
It might not be 1v1
etc.

Many many years ago I did Shotokan Karate for a few months before I moved home and realised that I’m not flexible enough to be the next Jackie Chan. The biggest thing i remember were some stances were just a stress position.

Did it have any practical self defence benefit? Not really, it was more of a choreographed art, such as kata’s.

Fancy kicks look good in the movies but are useless in a crowded pub that’s 5 deep at the bar. Then as soon as the fight goes to the ground, there’s no karate moves for that.

You’d be better learning how to brawl dirty.

I stay away from bad pubs. Someone famous once said “if the pub needs to have bouncers on its door, it says a lot about the clientele”.

[Pete102]

Mr Miata said:

Many many years ago I did Shotokan Karate for a few months before I moved home and realised that I’m not flexible enough to be the next Jackie Chan. The biggest thing i remember were some stances were just a stress position.

Did it have any practical self defence benefit? Not really, it was more of a choreographed art, such as kata’s.

Fancy kicks look good in the movies but are useless in a crowded pub that’s 5 deep at the bar. Then as soon as the fight goes to the ground, there’s no karate moves for that.

You’d be better learning how to brawl dirty.

I stay away from bad pubs. Someone famous once said “if the pub needs to have bouncers on its door, it says a lot about the clientele”.

The Karate, not particularly beyond learning some kicking techniques and possible some muscle memory in terms of blocking and instinctively punching. I stopped around age 16.

For self defense I would advocate a standing MA such as Thai Kickboxing, couple with some wrestling / BJJ. This will give you the "skills" to feel a little more confident in a physical conflict, but I as I said - I dont recommend it. In a crowded pub your best tactic would be distance management and heading for the exit.

The whole brawling dirty thing is a bit of a fallacy in my opinion. Most guys (and girls) underestimate the physical exertion and adrenaline dump that happens during a fight...30 seconds to a minute (being generous) and most would be gassed and wishing it to end. From my own personal experience of MMA and grappling rounds with newbies this is true. We have had meatheads come to the gym, go as hard as they can for a minute and then become meatbags for the rest of the round, too tired to even defend.

[CloudStuff]

We're only a 'powerfully' shy of a classic thread.

[ZedLeg]

I used to fight a lot when I was a kid, last real fight I was in was a drunken brawl in the Citrus Club in Edinburgh about 15 years ago. Got battered, I have a scar on my face from where a tooth went through my lip.

Not been in a real fight since then but I can still look mean when it's required

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Yes I have and its always been when ive been protecting someone. No amount of martial arts will prepare you for it.

No matter how good you are there is always someone who won't stop even after your unconscious. You should have that in mind.


Saying that no matter what I will always step in. I'll never walk by.

[GiantCardboardPlato]

Ok you’ve all convinced me, I’m gonna start a fight at work today over people not replacing paper in the photocopier. I just wanted to deal with this problem like a man. Got any tips to make sure I prevail?

[ZedLeg]

GiantCardboardPlato said:

Ok you’ve all convinced me, I’m gonna start a fight at work today over people not replacing paper in the photocopier. I just wanted to deal with this problem like a man. Got any tips to make sure I prevail?

Straight in with a full pack of paper over the dome, as they're reacting to that hoof them in the balls and run away.

[matchmaker]

I'm 65 and never been in one and hope never to be. You just can't tell what the other person might be carrying and be willing to use. Tale from many years ago. A mate called "Colin" was making his way home from his "club" in Glasgow to East Kilbride. Mid week, fairly late train and pretty empty in the carriage apart from Colin and a teenage lass at the other end.

At an intermediate station three neds got on - obviously drunk or high on something. They immediately noticed the girl and started to harrass her. It looked like it might turn out nasty, so Colin decided to intervene and asked the neds to leave the lass alone. The immediate reaction was for one of them to pull out a big knife and threaten Colin.

The "club" Colin was coming home from was a gun club. The neds immediately lost interest when confronted with a Colt .45 automatic pistol and left at the next station. The lass was very grateful and promised to keep the matter quiet!

[President Merkin]

Magnum 475 said:

Any martial arts instructor will tell you: “The best fight is the one you don’t have.”

I’ve been into martial arts for a long time, mainly storyu Karate. I’ve dabbled in a few others too. Thankfully never needed to use it outside of training, and haven’t got a clue what would happen if I did. Hopefully I’ll never have to find out.

I’d like to think I’d be ok if attacked, but you can never be sure until it happens.

I know nothing about martial arts but do know a guy who's into Krav Maga. His view of it is it's an absolute last resort & purely for getting out of dodge & says by far & away the best way to carry on is to have enough about you to stay away from situations where it might be needed at all. Seems reasonable to me.

[Caddyshack]

ZedLeg said:

I used to fight a lot when I was a kid, last real fight I was in was a drunken brawl in the Citrus Club in Edinburgh about 15 years ago. Got battered, I have a scar on my face from where a tooth went through my lip.

Not been in a real fight since then but I can still look mean when it's required

I have a scar below my lower lip where my tooth went through too...I can still remember the shock of how hard the bloke hit me and it was about 35 yrs ago...it certainly took the wind out of my sails and I was winning easily at that point.

[anonymous-user]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Yes I have and its always been when ive been protecting someone. No amount of martial arts will prepare you for it.

No matter how good you are there is always someone who won't stop even after your unconscious. You should have that in mind.

Saying that no matter what I will always step in. I'll never walk by.

One of the most ‘memorable’ things I witnessed as a 19 year old on a night out in my hometown, was the one of the local well known hard men being absolutely battered by a lad who was your usual ‘fairly small and skinny but a violent nutcase’ type called Darren. The ‘Begbie’ character from Trainspotting.

The local hard man was your standard issue big guy, bodybuilder, steroid user, sometimes worked as a bouncer, known for fighting, all that kind of thing. He had got into a verbal with the ‘Begbie’ lad, and they ended up fighting in the street in front of a huge taxi queue. It wasn’t evenly matched, within about 1 minute the big guy was on the floor and knocked out. The other lad just kept going.

Cries of ‘Please stop’ and so on came from people standing in the taxi rank, and one person stepped forward and shouted “Darren! For fk sake, he’s had enough!”.

The lad stopped his punching and kicking, calmly turned round to face the entire taxi queue, pointed his finger at the crowd, and stated in an incredibly firm fashion “I’ll decide when he’s had enough”.

Calmly turned back to the groaning lump on the floor and gave him another full round of brutal kicks and punches, before casually walking off for a kebab.

Still to this day, 23 years later, the big guy that took the beating still gets ridiculed by people in pubs shouting “I’ll decide when he’s had enough!” at him, which to be fair, is quite funny,

[ZedLeg]

I'd been out all day so I didn't even notice at the time, it wasn't til I got up to survey the damage next day that I noticed the hole. Had to go shopping with my sister and her family all black and blue the next day as well. All in all, not an experience I'd recommend.