The real deal on the streetfighter, and streetfighting.

[goshinman]

As I read browse through this forum I read alot of posts about "what would you do against a streetfighter?" or "what is a streetfighter?" I have seen some good answers and some rather bad ones so as a person who was actually in a gang and has participated in violent acts and altercations I'd like to give you all my take on it.

For the most part, the street fighter is a myth that was made up by so-called "REALITY BASED" martial arts teachers. I won't say their names but they are all well known and you can see them in all of the top martial arts mags. When dicussing the topic of the streetfighter one needs to keep two things in mind. 1) Their is no person who trains in a style called street fighting. 2) when you train for the streetfighter you are not actually training to fight a person, but rather a WAY of fighting. What do I mean you ask? Streetfighting is a fast paced and chaotic brawl. It happens suddenly, and it happens anywhere.

From my experience fights usually go in the same sequence. Words are exchanged, followed by a walk up, and then fists start flying. On the streets you can expect to encounter 1 of 3 kinds of fighter.

1) Sloppy brawler types.

2) Semi trained

3) Trained.

Lets look at the first type. The sloppy brawler type is what I call a "likes to fight guy". An encounter with him usually goes like this. Loud talking or "woofing" as I call it, When punches are exchanged he attacks fast and relentlessly. He usually will swing wildly and put full commitment into every swing and kick/stomp. He will clinch and go for a take down and try to wrestle or stomp you while you are down. Usually when all is said and done there is very minimal damage to their victim. These are the easiest type of people for trained martial artists to prepare for because they are so predictable. But in reality they are very difficult when in an actual fight with them because of the furious nature of their attack.

2) Semi trained. This guy is well represented in the street. He may have had some training in his life such as wrestling in high school or boxing for a little while but for the most part he may have had an uncle or other relative who showed him how to fight. Either way he is a tough guy to handle because he has SOME skills.

3) Trained. This guy is the closet martial artist. He may have taken martial arts all his young life and been very good at them but he loves to get into streetfights because of his bad upbringing. I knew a guy like this who was a VERY skilled striker but had no regard for the philosophy of the martial arts. He was taught by his father who didn't give a damn about disipline or any of that. I seen this guy actually kick someone in the knee and tear the acl. Never mind the fact that this guy did not want to fight. This kind a of fighter is rare and you will likely never encounter him but if you do you had better be ready for a REAL battle.

Having looked at these kinds of fighters I can only offer this advice. On the streets you can NEVER ASSUME. You must always assume that your opponent will be just as good as you and NEVER underestimate him or her for that matter. This is the drawback of most martial arts because most TMA assume you are fighting an untrained opponent who is 6'0" tall and right handed. He in reality can be left handed or ambidexterus. Yopu just never can tell. So train with this in mind and you will be ok.

[pineapple]

NEVER underestimate him or her

I agree! I've said this before.......Never underestimate ANYONE!

[monkeygirl]

Very good points! Somehow or other, some or many self-defense trainers hvae lumped street fighters into this group of people that are all the same, fight the same, have the same weaknesses. That just isn't true and it's a dangerous assumption.

[Traditional-Fist]

goshinman,

Great post. I believe that what makes the so called street fighters "dangerous" is their willingness to dish out unnecessary and unprovoked violence together with strong intent.

Whereas the rest of us may need a justification to become very violent, and when it does happen then some of us regardless of our higher skill levels, may not have the necessary intent to see the situation through.

I believe this intent and the capacity to carry out extremely violent acts, with little or no provokation, make the street fighters so potentially dangerous.

Hence I believe that the "intent" factor should be a major training point in any martial art.

[judoguy]

goshinman,

Great post. I believe that what makes the so called street fighters "dangerous" is their willingness to dish out unnecessary and unprovoked violence together with strong intent.

Whereas the rest of us may need a justification to become very violent, and when it does happen then some of us regardless of our higher skill levels, may not have the necessary intent to see the situation through.

I believe this intent and the capacity to carry out extremely violent acts, with little or no provokation, make the street fighters so potentially dangerous.

Hence I believe that the "intent" factor should be a major training point in any martial art.

That is an excellent observation. It is for that reason primarily that some martial artists aren't prepared for an actual conflict. Being timid in the face of danger puts you at a severe disadvantage when in a conflict with someone who is prone to violence. I also liked how goshinman pointed out the 3 kinds of fighters and their tendencies. Alot of martial arts can prepare you for the first type of encounter but have no idea how to deal with 2-3.

I think that if any assumption is made, it should be that your opponent is skilled. And while your at it how about assuming he is armed and has buddies until proven otherwise. I think that goshinman could have talked alittle bit more about things that can happen while in a streetfight and about fighter number 2, but all in all a great post goshinman.

[Belasko]

One other thing that was eluded to but I rarely, if ever hear expressed about street fight scenarios, they don't have a moral line of things they won't do. Or at the very least you can't expect them to. So for those that study martial arts styles that say "no hand techniques to the head, no kicking to the knee, etc." Be prepared, those are often the targets of choice.

Great post.

[ravenzoom]

I agree with most of the things said. These so-called 'streetfighters' are really a bunch to avoid because they often hang out with buddies that enjoy doing the same thing, so things could get very ugly.

[Chirath]

So far all of the posts here have been top notch I was expecting a nooby topic. But this has been quite enlightening.

[WC-Strayder]

The socalled "street figter" has very often trained on just a couple of techniqes and do them very vell. They "pick" there prey, so use your "beware" sences when your out, allways be prepared for everything! And never EVER underestimate anyone thinking you CAN fight SOOO much better than him or start the fight with, "Don't do it, I'm a black belt in (insert your style)". It will most of the times trigger them to "pick" on you with more power just to "crush" that "karateman" Or even worse, they draw a knife or a gun on you just to make "sure" they beat you.

Don't say anything to anoy him, let his remarks on you or your girlfriend just pass you, he don't know you, just back out of it and if he attackes YOU will have the upper hand if he don't know you know how to fight.

It is soooo easy to "pick" a fight with someone!. A drink or two under there belt and most guys are suddenly superman with an ego likewice! One insult about his look or his girlfriends look is enough to start a fight and this I know for a fact, coz I have started tons of trouble back in my younger days! People are so stupid when they are under influense of alcohol. They do things there never did if they where sober and ignite for nothing and are easy picks for the fightpickers out there. Do what I allways do when someone insults me or trying to pick a fight with me: Smile and invite the guy for a drink or maybe a beer. It is very hard to hit a smiling, friendly guy who shows calm and friendlyness where others are mad and angry....

Just my five cents.....

(Sorry for the spelling, I'm, as you can read, not native american... indian? No, english..... )

[Traditional-Fist]

Streetfighing = State of Mind

Resulting in violent and immoral acts of aggression carried out by people in possession of the "Streetfighter State of Mind".