Learn to fight

Greedings

Greedings

Member
So the other day I got in an altercation with a stranger. The guy swung some punches and I managed to block them and push him to the ground, but I realised I had no fucking clue how to defend myself.
I was really lucky that the guy who attacked me also had no clue how to fight, but if my wife or child had been around, it could have gotten ugly. Luckily I was alone.

I've not been in a fight since I was about 13 years old, So, what's the best way to learn? What's the best combat to learn(boxing, jiujitsu etc) for self defence?
Right now all the gyms and stuff are closed where I am, can I learn at home with videos or is that all bullshit?

Thanks fighting Gaf.
 
Find a good local BJJ gym. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the king of 1v1 scenarios and you will be able to spar at full strength against live opponents each session, which is mandatory for getting proficient at fighting.

Boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai are great too, but live sparring with those will damage your brain. You can learn the techniques and do bag and pad work and mostly avoid sparring (and I recommend knowing striking fundamentals either way), but that alone won't prepare you for defending yourself in a fight.

If you're pandemic restricted right now, start by working on your physical fitness with whatever you have available to you. The better your strength and conditioning, the better you'll tolerate combat sports.
 
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Ideally you'd go to a gym but right now you'll have to make do with YouTube tutorials. I think you can learn the basics: put up your guard and fighting stance, move around, dodge, block, and throw punches. Unfortunately unless you have someone with whom you can practice, you won't be able to work on your reflexes and get used to the sensation of being attacked. Sparring is mandatory for learning, but you should still familiarize yourself with combat basics. Even so, a real fight is completely different from a gym sparring as it happens unexpectedly and the stakes are real.

I'd recommend boxing. You learn the most important stuff: footwork, dodging, blocking and throwing punches. No need to use kicks unless you really know how to use them, otherwise you might be too slow, lose balance or rip your pants. Get the basics right before you get into sophisticated stuff like take downs and stuff. Plus in a real life situation you don't want to slam someone on the hard concrete and get a life jail sentence for killing them. Punching someone is enough of a risk already and it should be a last resort when you know you won't get away safely from an alteraction.
 
What Khalid and Evilore said, especially sparring...90% the reason people mess up in fights is because their brain panics when they get attacked, it's so sudden and unfamiliar and scary to them that they either go completely wild and undisciplined in their striking which can either lead to them being quickly defeated by a more controlled opponent, or them doing unintended permanent (and punishable by law) damage to their opponent (repeated haymakers to a downed opponents head as they lie there defenseless is a quick way to accidentally murder someone).

I'd also say that reading the situation and your opponent is a very valuable tactic. If you fight a guy and he's taller and much heavier than you, you better fucking have your shit down cause if you mess up his increased weight is a massive advantage to him and even an unskilled big guy can be lethal to a skilled small guy if he gets a single good punch in. People very often romanticize fighting and think of phrases like "the bigger they are the harder they fall" and believe that big guys are slow and that they can easily outmaneuver them...this is not necessarily true in real world situations and there is a very real reason why sport martial arts has weight classes; otherwise the big guys would win 90% of all fights. If at all possible, avoid fighting dudes that are much bigger than you.
 
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Sorry to hear that happen, OP.

The last time I got in a fight was in Junior High School where the dude literally shat his pants when I fought him.

He shouldn't have insulted Kojima.
 
I think BJJ is the best for subdueing someone.

But actual street fights are dirty, no rules. That's why I'm taking krav maga lessons. It encourages poking eyes, breaking stuff, grinding faces across the floor.

No rules. Except when sparring of course. What I want is to be left alone, and if someone does bother me, I make them regret it. So I will try to hurt. There is no honor system in actual fighting.
 
Most people can't fight.

I agree 100% with EviLore EviLore that BJJ or wrestling are great tools for 1v1 fights as you will be able to control position and subdue your opponent long enough to allow yourself to safely escape or await help. Being able to live spar without endangering your brain is a huge advantage to grappling arts as well.

That being said, it doesn't take long to learn how to throw some decent straight punches via boxing training. It's true that you will need to do some sparing to work on your timing and distance but within 8 weeks most people can learn to throw a decent 1-2 that will end a lot of street fights pretty quickly.

I'm never gonna pretend to be some kind of badass but I have very quickly ended a number of 'street fights' simply by landing a stiff jab and a strong right hand over the years and it really doesn't take long to learn the basic fundamentals of boxing (although obviously it'll take a lifetime to master the art).

I now have over 10 years combined of Boxing and Muay Thai training so am reasonably confident in my abilities but it really didn't take long at all to learn the basics and for 90% of 1 on 1 street fights the basics should be enough to see you through.
 
Have also been thinking about joining an MMA/BJJ gym. With 45 years on my back, I don't want to risk too many hits to my already damaged brain.
 
Buy this book.

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Fighting is 80% about who will get vicious.

Martial arts movies and watching UFC on TV have conditioned most people to play-fight, and most don't instinctually want to be in a fight at all. In a real scrap you wanna go all out. Jab your middle finger into their eyes, punch ears, spine, pull back their elbows, kick the sides of their knees, punch the neck, headbutt their nose/teeth, use your elbows at every opportunity, bend/crack any finger you can grab, stomp on their toes with your heel. Do whatever you can as quickly as you can to hurt the other person as much as you can.
 
BJJ man. Join a BJJ school. Even if you're a small guy, it teaches you to defeat a larger opponent. And to speak to what EviLore said about Muay Thai or boxing, live sparring is very rough and taxing. But they still teach you proper striking technique as well as proper defense against these strikes.. It's amazing to me how many WorldStar fight videos show these wannabe tough guys that have no clue how to throw a proper punch or how to check a leg kick.
 
Start lifting weights. For self-defence Boxing or Wrestling are the way to go. BJJ is alright but you're better off with No-Gi as the average T-shirt doesn't make much of a hold. I've done BJJ myself but the last thing you want to do on the street is pull guard and get your face stomped in. Also, consider that since you will likely be the victim in any violent encounter they will probably punch first. You need to at least know how to block a few punches before you can even work for a takedown.

To be honest I've never been in a self-defence scenario where my opponent was alone (though they didn't always join in). You won't have time to work for a sub on the ground unless you're a wizard. The moment you go down they'll swarm you and kick your head in. You need to box and stay on your feet. 90% of the time a stiff 1-2 will end the fight, even against someone with a significant size advantage. Don't go to the ground by choice, and If you fall down, Wrestling or BJJ are best used to get back up. Knees and elbows work really well against the untrained as you'll avoid damage to your hands.

I had some grappling experience but nothing improved my confidence more than learning how to box. You'll develop confidence in your ability to take a punch and if you choose to wrestle, you'll have a much better understanding of how to get the takedown against someone throwing punches back. You won't have to worry about brain damage unless you train like a meat-head. There are plenty of fighters who never spar hard and some who don't spar at all.

Muay Thai is good as well (elbows & knees in particular) but you'll spend a lot of time working on skills that won't have as much applicability to the street. I have a powerful switch-kick but I know a guy who tore his groin throwing one cold, without warming up. They also have a very upright posture that makes them very susceptible to the takedown.
 
I'd go with boxing. Most street fights are more like shoving, and like JimiNutz JimiNutz said most people can't fight and basics will be enough. If you can land a strong punch without breaking your hand in the process, have a decent feel for spacing and can deflect the first few punches so you don't get hit with full force you'll be in a much better position. With boxing you'll ideally have your arms in a guard position and stand a little sideways which will give you decent protection if you're ready to take a hit.
 
Learn kickboxing/muay thai first op, in real fights people aren't sticking to just using fists.

Muay Thai teach you how to gauge distance, and also train you to block and read general strikes. You don't need to specialize in it, but it covers all the important aspects of striking.
Then you can proceed to learn jiujitsu to complete it.
But remember the most important thing about fighting is your ability to read and defend/run from fights. Good teachers will tell you that a good fighter is one who avoid fights.
Even the best fighter will fall under a sucker punch and numbers.
 
i learned the hard and wrong way in my twenties, never drank, was always picking up friends from dive bars around florida

got my ass kicked plenty of times, but i learned

i would do what lore says and get into bjj and the like once the lock is lifted, work on your strength and conditioning prior to that

i spent the lock reading beginner bjj books and deep dived shadow boxing, it's done some good to advancing skills but there's no accounting for experience
 
BJJ also has a steep learning curve. They can teach you a decent single-leg in a few sessions but don't imagine you're going to be chaining submissions together for a while. The first few months might not even include a stand-up component. A couple of Boxing lessons will give you a simple solution to almost every encounter, and if you're taken down, chances are good that he doesn't know any more than you do on the ground. Honestly, a bit of boxing and a few weeks of wrestling will give you the tools to handle anyone that doesn't train on the regular.
 
Just learn for fitness. Having an actual fight ain't worth it. As mentioned the best way/thing to do is to walk away and if you can't.
Create space and run away.
Push them over
knock them over.
Get the hell out of there
 
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EviLore said:
Find a good local BJJ gym. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the king of 1v1 scenarios and you will be able to spar at full strength against live opponents each session, which is mandatory for getting proficient at fighting.

Boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai are great too, but live sparring with those will damage your brain. You can learn the techniques and do bag and pad work and mostly avoid sparring (and I recommend knowing striking fundamentals either way), but that alone won't prepare you for defending yourself in a fight.

If you're pandemic restricted right now, start by working on your physical fitness with whatever you have available to you. The better your strength and conditioning, the better you'll tolerate combat sports.
Click to expand...

This 100%.
 
you really don't wanna fight unless you have to

it's not like the movies, most cases you get ransacked and fucked up

one time i got cold clocked with a piece of lumber and tossed through a window, that shit hurt

carry a gun, a knife, pepper spray
 
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Lots of great advice here. I'm well aware that one shouldn't fight unless necessary, but if someone comes at you or your family I feel like knowing the basics of defence wouldn't be a bad thing. Not looking to compete or go hunting for fights. Just enough knowledge that if someone starts on me again, I will make them think twice.
I now have to look up all these suggestions to see what would fit me the most.

The reason was stupid. Some guy was throwing rocks/bottles/trash at passers by while I was on the way home from the train station after work. I happened to be one who was hit so I told him to fuck off. He then started on me. I guess he was looking to fight.
I just couldn't stop thinking that if this guy actually knew what he was doing I could have been in serious trouble. In general criminals and the like don't really want to lose a fight, so if I can remain calm enough to show I'm not an easy target, it'll make people avoid me. I also felt that adrenaline dump which makes you make stupid decisions. I want to avoid that, and I guess actual sparring experience is necessary.
 
Greedings said:
Lots of great advice here. I'm well aware that one shouldn't fight unless necessary, but if someone comes at you or your family I feel like knowing the basics of defence wouldn't be a bad thing. Not looking to compete or go hunting for fights. Just enough knowledge that if someone starts on me again, I will make them think twice.
I now have to look up all these suggestions to see what would fit me the most.

The reason was stupid. Some guy was throwing rocks/bottles/trash at passers by while I was on the way home from the train station after work. I happened to be one who was hit so I told him to fuck off. He then started on me. I guess he was looking to fight.
I just couldn't stop thinking that if this guy actually knew what he was doing I could have been in serious trouble. In general criminals and the like don't really want to lose a fight, so if I can remain calm enough to show I'm not an easy target, it'll make people avoid me. I also felt that adrenaline dump which makes you make stupid decisions. I want to avoid that, and I guess actual sparring experience is necessary.
Click to expand...
OP, is great to know that you know to never get into fights, but i also need to remind you that you should not show ppl that you can fight either. Ppl are going to pick on you regardless whether you look like you can fight or not, unless you are the size of The Mountain.
When ppl do not know that you can fight, they underestimate you and drop their guard, that's when you slip in your attack and run away(if possible).

And yes, the sparring is training to control your focus and adrenaline. Real fights are very tiring, if you can run rings around your enemies, you already won half of the battle.
 
This is a technique I shared on Neogaf once before, and it's probably the most effective way to deal with fights- any fight, period.

Your opponent steps up to you, posturing, making threats, whatever.
Turn around with your back to your opponent, but try to keep them in view by looking over your shoulder.
Take your right leg, lift up your foot, and then set it down in front of your left foot
Then take your left leg, lift up your foot, and set it down in front of your right foot
Keep doing this over and over again as fast as you can and run the fuck away
 
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Tesseract said:
keep some bear spray on your belt at all times

one squirt of that and their life will be in shambles
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I've been hiking more lately... I need a big knife and this.

Real fights are obnoxious. Male Toxicity Testosterone on the rise? I guess that's what happens when they keep trying to clip our balls.

The recommendations in this thread are very good.

Just remember, don't be

rwvwJeu.jpg
 
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Look for a welcoming and chill mixed martial arts school.

Dont focus on any one thing. (bjj is great, but it really only focuses on the ground game.... you really don't want to be on the ground in a street fight).

Any place that will teach you how to move, how to block, how to punch, how to kick, knee, elbow, throw, and get off and be comfortable on the ground will work great for you.

For 90 percent of the street fights out there, knowing how to move block and punch will be enough.

you won't win anything competitive with this approach, but you will be able to defend yourself if you ever had to
 
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EviLore said:
Find a good local BJJ gym. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the king of 1v1 scenarios and you will be able to spar at full strength against live opponents each session, which is mandatory for getting proficient at fighting.

Boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai are great too, but live sparring with those will damage your brain. You can learn the techniques and do bag and pad work and mostly avoid sparring (and I recommend knowing striking fundamentals either way), but that alone won't prepare you for defending yourself in a fight.

If you're pandemic restricted right now, start by working on your physical fitness with whatever you have available to you. The better your strength and conditioning, the better you'll tolerate combat sports.
Click to expand...
While good advice problem is to defend one self you need some sort of sparring, just do what I do with new people to get the timing first is do everything at half speed until they get the flow and movement. Problem with just pad and bag work is the bag won't hit back. Need to learn proper timing, Patience etc when in a fight. Know when to block, counter, slip or punch.
 
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Shizumapower said:
I've been hiking more lately... I need a big knife and this.

Real fights are obnoxious. Male Toxicity Testosterone on the rise? I guess that's what happens when you keep trying to clip our balls.

The recommendations in this thread are very good.

Just remember, don't be

rwvwJeu.jpg
Click to expand...
Love UHF
 
I was a former bouncer at a shitshow nightclub for more years than I care to admit. The only reason I stuck around was the girls, free alcohol, and generally just being young and dumb.

My general recommendation. Muay Thai, basic wrestling and BJJ to stay off the ground. Learn to get up from the ground.

I am naturally a tall, explosive, fast twitch guy, but when I started I had no experience in ugly fights like that. I didn't know shit. And we were literally fighting every weekend for years, sometimes twice in one night. I had to learn fast.

I learned from a coworker, a mma fighter/bouncer to stay off the god damn ground. Trained with him often.

Basically, don't get into a tussle or clinch, pull guard unless absolutely necessary, stay mobile, light and fast.
Every 1v3 usually starts 1v1. Think about that, you're in ground working that pretty triangle choke and suddenly his buddy comes out the club and stomps your skull.

We mostly fought inside or just outside. We rarely got involved in fights beyond a certain distance at our club in the street, but we could watch. Bjj and wrestling are great bases. Its great to know how to clinch, I used it when forced to. But I witnessed dudes lose to bar brawlers far more often than win at the exact moment they restricted their ability to retreat. They usually start off winning, but theres just so many unknowns on the street and sometimes it's ok to retreat. You cannot run from your backside and I saw alot of people lose that way, or even in a clinch situation.


My strategy? I have a 81" reach. I switched my power hand to the front and used it as a jab/counter punch. I faked it as a typical slow unthreatening"stab" jab, but when they got in range I unloaded full force. I worked it circling away from their typical haymaker. I practiced Muay Thai style round and front kicks every other day for years. Very low trajectory, knees, pelvic, balls. Well over 150 fights, some were 2v1 and I never lost. I got clipped, sucker punched, scratched, slapped, spit on, hit with a flying pool stick, pool balls, beer bottles. Lol.
Find out were your strengths are, but stay on your feet! Can't stress that enough. Even days when I did not work we would watch the camera and it was some poor soul getting jumped after it was 1v1 and he was on the ground, usually winning until homeboys showed up.
 
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Romulus said:
I was a former bouncer at a shitshow nightclub for more years than I care to admit. The only reason I stuck around was the girls, free alcohol, and generally just being young and dumb.

My general recommendation. Muay Thai, basic wrestling and BJJ to stay off the ground. Learn to get up from the ground.

I am naturally a tall, explosive, fast twitch guy, but when I started I had no experience in ugly fights like that. I didn't know shit. And we were literally fighting every weekend for years, sometimes twice in one night. I had to learn fast.

I learned from a coworker, a mma fighter/bouncer to stay off the god damn ground. Trained with him often.

Basically, don't get into a tussle or clinch, pull guard unless absolutely necessary, stay mobile, light and fast.
Every 1v3 usually starts 1v1. Think about that, you're in ground working that pretty triangle choke and suddenly his buddy comes out the club and stomps your skull.

We mostly fought inside or just outside. We rarely got involved in fights beyond a certain distance at our club in the street, but we could watch. Bjj and wrestling are great bases. Its great to know how to clinch, I used it when forced to. But I witnessed dudes lose to bar brawlers far more often than win at the exact moment they restricted their ability to retreat. They usually start off winning, but theres just so many unknowns on the street and sometimes it's ok to retreat. You cannot run from your backside and I saw alot of people lose that way, or even in a clinch situation.


My strategy? I have a 81" reach. I switched my power hand to the front and used it as a jab/counter punch. I faked it as a typical slow unthreatening"stab" jab, but when they got in range I unloaded full force. I worked it circling away from their typical haymaker. I practiced Muay Thai style round and front kicks every other day for years. Very low trajectory, knees, pelvic, balls. Well over 150 fights, some were 2v1 and I never lost. I got clipped, sucker punched, scratched, slapped, spit on, hit with a flying pool stick, pool balls, beer bottles. Lol.
Find out were your strengths are, but stay on your feet! Can't stress that enough. Even days when I did not work we would watch the camera and it was some poor soul getting jumped after it was 1v1 and he was on the ground, usually winning until homeboys showed up.
Click to expand...

holy shit man tell us some stories
 
I feel like I can fight because I work out religiously, but the reality is I know diddly squat about actually fighting and would get whooped against someone who does. I should probably find a place that trains too
 
TheMan said:
holy shit man tell us some stories
Click to expand...

I caught dudes having butt sex a couple of times in the bathroom. Fine, whatever. But once in particular was noteworthy because the entire bathroom was flooded from the toilet. Here they are, going at it, moaning in the stall while being in 2 inches of piss and shit water. :)
 
luffie said:
OP, is great to know that you know to never get into fights, but i also need to remind you that you should not show ppl that you can fight either. Ppl are going to pick on you regardless whether you look like you can fight or not, unless you are the size of The Mountain.
When ppl do not know that you can fight, they underestimate you and drop their guard, that's when you slip in your attack and run away(if possible).

And yes, the sparring is training to control your focus and adrenaline. Real fights are very tiring, if you can run rings around your enemies, you already won half of the battle.
Click to expand...

I could definitely work on my fitness. It's probably the worst it's been in years. Having a child really screwed up my exercise. Was just not a priority any more. Now gyms are closed I have an "excuse" but it's not really a good one.

TheMan said:
This is a technique I shared on Neogaf once before, and it's probably the most effective way to deal with fights- any fight, period.

Your opponent steps up to you, posturing, making threats, whatever.
Turn around with your back to your opponent, but try to keep them in view by looking over your shoulder.
Take your right leg, lift up your foot, and then set it down in front of your left foot
Then take your left leg, lift up your foot, and set it down in front of your right foot
Keep doing this over and over again as fast as you can and run the fuck away
Click to expand...
That's super easy to say if you are alone, but what if I have my kid with me? Can't just say bye and leave him standing there.
 
You know you can probably avoid most fights by not going to places where you can get hit with pool sticks and thrown through windows.

Doesn't help OP, but some of the rest of y'all...
 
1. Do everything to avoid a fight first. Less eye contact, walk away, don't verbally retaliate or just talk your way out if it. Mostly I've been lucky enough to see what is happening or who may be around then avoided engagements. Leave your ego out of it, your family is more important.

2. Learn how to take, read/block/dodge and throw a punch or kick. Sparring or fight experience matters the most not so much which discipline you follow.

3. Get your reflexes up to par and fight or flight responses sorted, staying calm and in control matters.

4. If it is life threatening be prepared to get nasty. You'll likely never be in this situation but throat, eyes, balls, nose, appendages, think quick breakage or damage. Understanding what and how to hit, grapple or twist etc will end things quickly.

5. Weight and height/reach matter, realise who you stand a chance against. Don't engage as much as possible.

6. Aim through your target, punch/kick through their face or stomach or legs to maximise damage. Aim a little beyond the actual target area so your full force impacts.

7. If you decide to or reflex engage then end it quickly and professionally. No wild actions and don't keep going once your enemy is subdued. Stay on your toes and hands up ready to go.
 
I have 2 years of BJJ and 4 years of Muay Thai training, but have never been in a fight once in my life. It was more for fitness and never had to use it.

A few weeks back I was out walking with my wife and our puppy. We were walking through a small parkette in our city and without provocation a 6'4" tweaker gets up from a bench and walks into our direction mumbling something (I'm 6'0"). He keeps walking directly into me and does this half-hearted push away (he is clearly out of it). I laugh and ask if he is alright. His eyes then go wide-open and he starts yelling at me for stealing his iPad (???). I say I have no idea what you are talking about and tell my wife to take the dog away while I turn the guys attention to me so they are out of his view.

He keeps screaming about the iPad and gets this rage in his face I have never seen in another human being before. I genuinely believe he wanted to KILL me. Again, he is high off his mind on something. Sure enough he puts his hand in a fist and I think "oh shit".

Everything from this point onwards is completely autopilot. Fight or flight, and adrenaline.

I swear to you everything went slow motion. I could see his punches coming, it honestly felt like I had 3 seconds to react. I just slipped backwards from each punch. I think he threw 3 or 4. Slip slip slip. This made him even angrier. Like foaming at the mouth angry.

At that point something inside me just commanded me to run. I jogged backwards away, he chased. I turned around and started jogging faster (while keeping him in my vision 90% of the time), and the fucker started full on sprinting after me. So I started sprinting myself and outran him very easily. Chased me for maybe 5 seconds (felt like 30), and I just kept checking over my shoulder to make sure he didn't pull a weapon out.

He realized I was too fast and yelled something then smacked a pole and walked back to his original place. I met back up with my wife and left. I found two cops a block away and told them what happened, they immediately went off to investigate and that's all I know.

In retrospect, I really wish I just kicked him full force in the ribs or head after his first punch. My fight or flight chose the latter. I think I definitely panicked because I have never been in an actual fight where someone genuinely wanted to hurt me badly. Really different from training in the gym with a civilized partner. And him being high on something subconsciously factored into my algorithm I'm sure.

I am grateful me and my family were fine. I am also grateful for Muay Thai which I attribute to being able to dodge his punches so effectively, and then having the fitness to outsprint him easily.

Now that my fight cherry has been "popped", I promise you I am head-kicking the fuck out of the next bum who attacks me.
 
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get really good at chokeslams



lol throw all the BJJ you want at me Joe ROgan but the Big Red Machine will choke slam you to death
 
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