Televised bouts of “no holds barred” fighting such as Ultimate Fighting Championship or Pride matches have done wonders for raising the awareness of self-defense beyond the traditional karate class at the corner strip mall.
This “new” way of fighting was termed mixed martial arts, because when it came to really winning a fight, contestants found that they needed a combination of skills from wrestling, boxing and any of a bazillion other martial or combat arts systems.
There’s no doubt that mixed martial arts competitors are some of the most highly skilled athletes on the planet.
But how would they fare in a real street fight against a real street fighter?
Why Even A UFC Superstar Will Get His Ass Kicked In A Real-Life Street Fight!
Think for a second about cage fights and how they work…
…cage fights are planned months in advance, allowing the fighters to mentally prepare to be in a fight…
…cage fights have something like 70 different holds, strikes and techniques that are banned because they’re dangerous…
…cage fights have refs who “keep it clean” and make sure no one is permanently injured or disfigured.
Compare this to a real-life street fight.
While even the earliest, bloodiest forms of mixed martial arts competitions were pretty raw, there are no rules in a real street fight.
In fact, you might not even know that you’re in a fight until it’s too late!
Now think about how mixed martial artists train versus how criminals train…
Mixed martial artists may train for a submission; criminals train for life or death.
Mixed martial artists may train for five-minute “rounds”… criminals fight for five- to 10-second devastation.
Mixed martial artists are not allowed to pull hair, bite, hit or kick the groin, or stomp on the head of a grounded opponent.
The street criminal has learned that these are all valuable tools to destroy your opponent in the shortest amount of time.
In short, the criminal knows what most people don’t… that fights taking place on the street are not “fair fights.”
So if a UFC superstar is going to get destroyed in a real-life street fight against a hardened criminal or unhinged lunatic how you defend yourself?
Why Most Martial Arts Schools SUCK At Preparing You For A Real-Life Street Fight!
I can hear you right now…
“Ok, Jeff, sounds like if I get attacked by a fierce criminal with ten years of biker bar fights under his belt, I’m just out of luck.”
But here’s the thing… the “secrets” of winning real-life street fights don’t require weeks, months or years getting your black belt in “bullshido” to have a chance at defeating a hardened street criminal… even if he’s much bigger or stronger than you are.
In fact, all those “fancy” moves can get in the way of winning a real-life street fight by over complicating something that’s actually very simple.
You don’t need or even necessarily want to learn 17 different chokeholds or an epic flying spin kick for a real-life street fight because it’s not preparing you for the “wild and wooly” world of taking on hardened criminals or unhinged lunatics in a life-or-death struggle.
All you need to learn are some simple but effective “dirty tricks” that can provide the opening you need to finish the fight before the other guy does.
You just need something that works… even if you’re 90 pounds soaking wet, 70 years old or have mobility issues… even to help you defeat much larger and stronger attackers.
I hope you never have to use any of these tools in a real-life street fight… but if you ever find yourself faced with an aggressive street criminal or a frenzied random attacker willing to do anything to put you down for the count, you’re going to want to have them in your toolbox to create the opportunities and openings that you need to run away or follow up to win the fight and walk away with your life.
This is the dumbest sales pitch I have ever read. Go take an actual martial arts class, Jeff.
Run Forrest, Run! I’m pretty sure Jeff would agree that the only fight you can absolutely win is the one you don’t engage in. I think the “sales pitch” is offering some “down and dirty” strategies to survive street attacks when the option of running away isn’t a real-world possibility. For way less than the cost of lunch at the drive-through, seems to me like the info would be worth checking out. I’d be much more interested in your comments if you were offering a critique of content you’d actually seen and/or personally experienced – opposed to an unsupported comparison of sales techniques (delivered in the “Shade-kwon-do” style of internet fantasy combat). Just sayin’ – hope you have a safe and enjoyable run wherever your life takes you.
Sales pitch is one thing, but that doesn’t mean there’s no logic in this article’s argument. Martial arts trainings (which I LOVE) and preparing for violence are 2 different contexts, check out Tim Larkin and Tony Blauer, if anyone can handle any potential cognitive dissonance and expand their mind.
In the first place a person has to be mentally capable or prepared to take a life or even just disable them to a point of no return. ( and that take’s training and experience to be able to go there without hesitation or feelings for life or death ) and this is not easy, nor something civilians can instinctively do.
When I was young – I was shot-at 3 times and me with no gun.
In the mtns on kayak trips. Really Scary.
So I started shooting IDPA(AKA Combat Pistol) every month for the last 10yr. And multi-gun.
So – over 100 matches with 6 Real Life Type Stages/Match.
Now – At 20ft – “I” Draw in 1 sec – or less, and put 3 shots/sec – inside a 6in circle.
So Now – I have shot from most any position you can name.
And any weather, and some at night.
And LH-RH only, more.
Kneeling, prone, moving, more.
I “Carry Always” now.
They can still get me, but it will likely need to be an ambush.
Maybe most important – I don’t scare easy, I stay prepared and ready.
“Carry” – Always now.
“Gun Free Zones” – Nope – I just don’t go.
I call them “Gun Free Killing Zones”.
best to run or walk away from street fights. anything goes! if you have no other choice, get in close and bite as big a chunk of any part of his body closest to you and rip it off the body!. then escape! every encounter is different, so always run away as your 1st option. pick up anything close to you that you can use as a weapon to buy escape time. there is no shame in running away. it is stupid to give your life away. don’t be a dead hero!
My money is on the UFC Champ. I’ll even give you odds. To be the UFC champ you have to beat enough people to get a title shot and then beat the champ. To win all those MMA fights you have to be able to take some beating, be at least somewhat athletic (probably very athletic) and have some real skills both standing and on the ground. In my experience, brawling bikers are for the most part completely unskilled and rely on outnumbering their victims when they attack. They are generally fat and out of shape from too much booze, drugs and smoking and definitely lack quickness. I have seen one man pound the crap out of 2 big bikers at once and then leave the scene, leaving the dazed and bloody bikers to remark, “That dude can scrap.” The main advantage the biker has is that he is such a loser he doesn’t care if he hurts you or gets tossed in jail. He may even have fewer street fights than the UFC champ. Almost every MMA champ got started in the sport by taking up martial arts after getting beat up. On the way to the top they have all experienced going against superior fighters and losing and learning from those losses. Years of training teaches one a lot. Bikers don’t have anywhere near as much training, but may have a trick or two the champ hasn’t seen. I guarantee the champ will have dozens of fight ending tricks the biker has never experienced.