For all of you long term readers, you'll know I'm not a big fan of violence. I make plans and take steps to ensure I never have to hurt anyone, despite years of martial arts training along with the time (and money) I've blown through at my local shooting range. The absolute best way to avoid injury (or worse) is to stop a fight before it starts. If you can talk yourself out of the situation, or get a chance to escape, DO IT. Getting into a fight is extremely dangerous, as you have no idea of your opponents skills and capabilities, whether they've got a hidden weapon, or a big group of friends just around the corner. Always, always try to talk your way out a fight before you try anything else. But sometimes, you're going to be forced into a situation where you've got to fight back. Perhaps your life is being threatened, you're eye-to-eye with a crazy, or one of your loved ones is in danger. I don't know about you, but I'd move heaven and earth to protect my wife and my daughter, and god's speed to anyone who intends them harm, you'll have to get through me first. Now when it comes to fighting back, there's three fundamentals.
- Strike quick and fast
- Strike hard and brutally
- Keep striking until the threat is gone
These fundamentals apply to most situations where your life is in danger. Perhaps a mugger's stopped you in a carpark, or a thug is trying to drag you into his van. Follow these three rules to take the fight to your attacker and win. The key is that as you're in danger you've got to fight back with everything you've got. No matter what. If they overpower you or manage to kidnap you, your chances of escape get worse with every passing minute. You need to stop the attack in its tracks, and get yourself to safety. Here's how.
Get angry
Getting angry is the first step. We're conditioned to feel shock when we get confronted, which often leads to people "shutting down." They get a sinking feeling in their stomach, don't know how to deal with the situation, and end up getting beaten, robbed or worse. You can beat this by getting angry. Take a breath and tell yourself you can do this. Think about your family, and what this criminal is planning to do to you. Take control of your emotions, and channel them into a single scream, at the top of your lungs, as you make a fist and start swinging. Adrenaline will kick in quickly, as it's your body's natural reaction to situations just like this. Use it. Use it to start swinging, making a quick and sudden attack that catches your opponent by surprise. When you're fighting for your life you'll lose if you don't take action, so strike fast.
Get brutal
Next, you've got to be brutal. Tap all your built up aggression, frustrations and rage. You're going to kick, punch, head-butt, bite and fight back as hard as you can. The more damage you can inflict on your attacker as fast as possible, the better. It'll get the fight over quick. Of course they're going to be fighting back too, but taking a punch or two is better than whatever they've got in mind for you, so focus on hitting them as hard as possible. The more damage you can do, the quicker they'll realize their mistake targeting you in the first place. Remember it's a street fight. When you're fighting for your life anything goes, so target their eyes and throat, go for the groin, and don't hold back. Stomp on their toes, smash their knees, headbutt their nose. Do whatever it takes and be as aggressive as possible, so you can take control of the fight. Now if you want to give yourself an edge against a bigger opponent, my advice is to
get a strikepen. It's exactly what it sounds like, a fully functioning pen you can use to strike your attacker. Held in your hand it does a ton more damage than a regular punch, so you can end a fight that much quicker. It's one of my favorite items in my everyday carry as it mostly goes undetected, meaning I have a self-defense weapon with me at all times. That's the peace of mind I look for in my gear, and you should too.
Get it over with
Your safety is the most important thing in a street fight, so focus on finishing the fight as quickly as possible, and make sure it's really ended. This means eliminating the threat by whatever means necessary. If you give them the chance to recover you may find yourself overpowered and in real trouble. There's no room for chivalry here, keep swinging until your opponent is down for the count. My advice is to use whatever it takes, so you're able to "win" and then escape to safety. Grab a rock or use a weapon, stomp, kick and don't lay off until they're incapacitated. Only then should you try to escape. Otherwise you may find yourself followed, chased or worse. Of course, the best way to keep yourself safe is to avoid fighting if at all possible, but we all know there's situations which call for a little more violence. When someone is intending you or one of your loved ones harm, follow these three steps and ensure you win the fight. That's how to keep yourself safe and take the fight to your attacker.
