Could you beat a street fighter?

[MASIsshinryu]

Street fighters do a lot of hay-maker punches.

Some do, but not all of them are this untrained. Be careful with underestimating them, as they may surprise you. Be happy if that is what they do, but don't expect it. I once had a confrontation with a guy who carried himself like he didn't know much about fighting, but he turned out to be a strung out, ex-pro boxer (not a great record, from what I heard, but a lot of training).

Edited April 3, 2005 by MASIsshinryu

[fangshi]

Street fighters do a lot of hay-maker punches. That leaves them open when they are winding up. Also, you can evade fairly easily, step behind, and do a take down and drop your knee into their chest.

Never bet on that !!! If you underestimate anyone

The street fighters that I know are Good , Very Good .

[karsh44]

I personally think a large part of the "street fighter" mystique is the mind set they gain from experience. If you go into the fight knowing you're going to open up on someone and expend all your effort on defeating them and inflicting maximum damage, it will magnify your skills. The ability to shake off a hit and keep coming makes a good fighter better. Thus, the value of full contact training. With the right "must win" mindset, I think even a small amount of training can go a long way.

(all of the above assumes unarmed confrontation. If you get weapons in the mix, the best mental preparation becomes less of a factor...)

[Shorinryu Sensei]

One thing I'd liek to point out about a street fighter, and I view it as a weakness that can be exploited, is that most often they will attack with 100% expendature of their energies right from the first thrown punch and try to knock you out or take yo uto the ground immediately. If you can survive the first 10 seconds of their onslaught, stay on your feet and evade/block their attacks, they will tire themselves out very quickly, drop any guard they might have (most don't have a guard when the punches start flying), and are pretty easy pickin's from that point on if you don't give them time to recover their energy.

The trick is surviving that initial 10 seconds. This is why we spar in the dojo. You learn to govern your energy output and to not waste anymore energy than necessary in a fight. Use this to your advantage. Let him expend his energy. Learn to move out of the way of his attack, or parry his attacks away from you. when he's tired, and this will happen quickly, then you can do what needs to be done...or just leave. I did that once about 8 years ago. A guy came at me hard and fast. I sidestepped his initial charge and he fell down. He came at me again and I pretty much just parried his punch and he fell down again. This went on for maybe 30 seconds (seemed a lot longer) and after his 4th time of picking himself off the floor, he was to pooped to continue. I just walked away without even trying to strike back at him. He was laughed and jeered at and pretty well embarassed. Not to mention the fact that a 45 year old man had done this to him when he was around 23.

[fangshi]

There are levels of street fighters just as there are levels of martial artists. There are white belts and black belts in both . Some are fighting from experience and some are fighting for experience . Never assume .

I don't want to dwell too long on this but this is what I have been taught about the history of the top level street fighters in my area .

In the mid 40's a large % of men came home from europe . These men are well schooled in combat (armed and unarmed ) because of the events of that time . As these men raise families they pass their fighting skills on to their sons . The sons practice on other men's sons , who also went to war , whom are freinds and neighbours . Soon a neighbourhood style emmerges . Some practice moves on eachother some fight with kids from other neighbourhoods . Some neighbourhood/family systems emmerge as domminant. Then those kids have kids and pass on what they have learned . And so on ...

With the popularity of the MMA I would not be suprised if in 25 or 50 yrs a neighbourhood/family style from North America is not as popular as BJJ is today.

With that being said . Never and I mean ever underestimate anyone ! Always make space between you and a bad situation ! Do it fast !

RUN !

duck and RUN !

strike and RUN !

finish and RUN !

Just get out as fast as you can , never assume anything but the situation in front of you is one you do not want to be in ! If you do not know , do NOT assume anything but your opponent is better than you .

Never count on luck because it runs both ways .

[AnonymousOne]

An untrained man simply cannot compete with a "properly" trained man.

In the same way a 3 cylinder Daihatsu car cannot compete with a formula one grand prix car. Theres no contest.

A untrained man:

Is physically slower

Lacks power

Lacks co-odination

Lacks mental speed

Lacks skills

Lacks speed and co-ordination in body movement/eye/brain reaction time

Lacks endurance

Lacks explosive power

And so many other things.

Would you want to have a sprinting race over 100 metres with the worlds best? Of course not, I wouldnt.

Its exactly the same thing. I am not talking about beginners, but someone who can be described as "properly trained"

In my younger days I got involved in back street bare knuckle boxing (illegal bouts). The trained man never loses.

Arrogance, temper and aggression will not see an untrained man through a real fight... period.

[Rank7]

i strongly agree with the bagua aikido guy . i feel by simply attempting to dodge by doing a crouch and sip your tea cup is rather insulting and you will have something learned the hardway. dont waste time folks

[MASIsshinryu]

Another thing to remember is that many Street Fighters, although not trained in the sense we are used to, have often had some repetitious practice. If they have ever been incarcerated, they have probably at least had the chance to learn some "tricks" from fellow inmates. Correctional personnel often find inmates teaching each other tactics for fighting, resisting attempts to handcuff them, or other skill useful in "their line of work."

Some of the people you might encounter have had other lives, before ending up where they currently are in life. That could have included any number of skill sets.

These are not usually as much of an issue with the younger offenders on the streets, but never rule out previous training as a possibility.

[Goju_boi]

While these are really good posts there is something that hasnt been mentioned much.What if he takes out a weapon of any kind,u also need street smarts and training in that situation

[Mr. Mike]

with any sort of altercation, you have to be ready to accept that a weapon may come out...but don't get in the mindset of thinking that just because we have MA training, we can school a streetfighter. One of the earlier posts about incarceration and a not so savory earlier life hit home...I've walked both sides of the fence. Without my MA training, I would have still gone up against a trained MAist and held my own. It all boils down to experience. I know how to take hits, I know how to look for openings, and how to srtike hard, fast, and lethally.

When I started taking my MA training, I was walking the higher belts in sparring class to the point that the only competition I had was the instructors.

Now, I teach my art to others, and also let them know what to look for in the streetfighter.

Bear in mind that in an altercation, we most likely wouldn't get picked by a streetfighter as mentioned in the opening post...most likely it would be a drunk idiot, some road rage Ahole, or a small group of grown-up bullies looking for a quick score.

Now that I'm done rambling, I'm going to eat my BBQ chicken before it gets cold