Fight Or Flight?

[danbong]

Im still in high school so I don't really have to worry about getting stabbed or shot, so when I have good reason I fight. I would rather give up my wallet than be stabbed if I were being mugged, then again my Uncle was mugged, and when the robber bent down to pick up his wallet he kicked him in the face and got away with his wallet. You should probably avoid violent confrontation in most cases.

The world can be a much more dangerous place than you realize. And there are probably fewer "good reasons" to fight than you might think. An unfortunate example of these two combined together: the son of a teacher of mine, a high school student at a private school, got into a fight with another student of that private high school. The fight was over a girl both students liked. Hey, just a good old fashioned high school dust up right? Maybe it was, right up until the point where the other student pulled out a knife and stabbed my teacher's son to death.

[DaveAbramson]

I like the notion of using passive deception to take control of a situation... if needed. Obviously these scenarios don't arise often, but I'm rarely, if ever, the first to throw blows...

[sensei8]

As it should be DaveAbramson...throwing the first blows, that is. One of Karate's biggest maxim states that their is no first strike. Nonetheless, sometimes one might have to do just that...strike first and strike with a purpose that's undeniable; circumstances dictate actions, and only the individual can determine that by ones perception.

[bushido_man96]

Im still in high school so I don't really have to worry about getting stabbed or shot, so when I have good reason I fight. I would rather give up my wallet than be stabbed if I were being mugged, then again my Uncle was mugged, and when the robber bent down to pick up his wallet he kicked him in the face and got away with his wallet. You should probably avoid violent confrontation in most cases.

The world can be a much more dangerous place than you realize. And there are probably fewer "good reasons" to fight than you might think. An unfortunate example of these two combined together: the son of a teacher of mine, a high school student at a private school, got into a fight with another student of that private high school. The fight was over a girl both students liked. Hey, just a good old fashioned high school dust up right? Maybe it was, right up until the point where the other student pulled out a knife and stabbed my teacher's son to death.

Wow, that's a terrible thing. So senseless.

[T3chnopsycho]

Interesting subject

My opinion: Fight (using what you learned) is always the last resort.

If you are in a club or bar and someone wants to start a fight with you. Starts to provoke you etc. I always try to talk it out. Usually in most cases the other guy is drunk and it's not that difficult to talk your way out of the situation.

If someone wants to mug you. Well try to run. If that's not possible give him what he wants. You never know if he has a gun or a knife or something.

The only time I would fight is to protect someone else (girlfriend, family, friends) or if I don't have any other choice (i.e. cornered or something like that).

[lowereastside]

If you can avoid the fight - avoid it - no need to escalate it. If you cannot avoid it - then its on - remember never underestimate anyone.

[SifuGazz]

Even though I have some years' experience in martial arts, I always tend to avoid fights. Even when I was an actual MAer as a kid, I was wimpy and tended to stray away from fights - especially those involving people bigger than myself. That is still true today. If I see some bloke arguing with a girl and getting really harsh with her, I will step in, no matter the guy's size (they're usually drunk anyway). But other than that, I will still go for flight over fight whenever I can. I would not win in a punch-up (I'm 140lbs for f's sake!) but I could probably do some damage with what little I remember of Shorinji Kempo, plus my coward's instinct to block block block dodge dodge dodge (I'm pretty quick, which you have to be as a small guy). However, I prefer to not get hurt if I can help it.

However, I've noticed a large segment of people who seem to think MAs are for kicking butt, period, and worthless if faced as a sport/fitness programme/after school activity. Now, this may just be the gung-ho minority (there's always one), but I thought I'd ask you guys:

Do you think an MAer should go in all guns blazing whenever they see a situation where their MA knowledge should be applied (say, a case of bullying, a direct challenge, etc?) Or should they avoid confrontation whenever possible? Or maybe they should balance the two?

In short, fight or flight? What do you guys choose?

I have stepped in several times when a guy(s) were messing w/girls. One situation was just a few months ago.

If it is two guys fighting, it can be hard to tell who was the initial aggressor, perhaps the guy beating the other down was the guy who was accosted initially. Depending on the State you are in this can be a legal problem, some states allow a reasonable mistake of fact in the defense of others, and some do not... (I have a law degree).

If a fight is about to happen, I would call the cops, and perhaps try and De-escalate the situation, especially if one of the parties does not want to fight. In the case of a mutual aggression combat situation, I would stay completely out of it, except of course for the call to the police.

G

[ShotokanMaster]

MY family would always say its better to walk away into the fight then being hurt or being injured or you can call it flight hehehe but on the other hand you need to fight too because some people are just plain old hard headed you are already walking away and he chase ya and want to fight ya or he corners you again you need to defend your self no matter what size if you really need to used your Martial arts skills go ahead used it but its better to walk away

[FangPwnsAll7]

I would say to fight. However I unwillingly seem to run away when it comes to fighting