# How many ordinary guys could one real-life badass take? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 21, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216 "2009-05-21T18:41:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/41 "2009-05-22T19:56:10Z")
Would Jack Bauer give up his wallet? I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/42 "2009-05-22T20:49:12Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > …you can probably take out 2 or three guys before they even know what hit them. The other three are going to be taken aback… That’s how it “threw down” (like my tough street lingo?). The attackers didn’t expect an aggressive response. Badass guy responded instantly and aggressively, so it turned psychologically into 6 guys defending themselves against 1 pissed off psycho. They never had a chance to coordinate. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/43 "2009-05-22T22:05:33Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Would Jack Bauer give up his wallet? I don’t think so. No, but Kiefer Sutherland would. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/44 "2009-05-22T22:20:56Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > That’s how it “threw down” (like my tough street lingo?). “It” _goes_ down. People throw down. [/Tough street guy grammar nazi] As for me, I once cleared an entire room with a fart. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/45 "2009-05-22T22:31:28Z")
Are we 100% sure when Chuck Norris says he’d “give them his wallet” that “wallet” isn’t “roundhouse kick to the face”? ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/46 "2009-05-23T02:50:31Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > With that in mind, consider the following scenario. Our solo fighter is a 6’5", 250-lb psycho whose spent his life mastering Krav Maga, and in the prime of his life. Driven mad by the downturn in the economy, he decides to take out his ire at the local Morgan Keegan office. He walks in and shoots the security guards in the face, and and proceeds to lay into the workers there with bare hands (and feet & teeth & so forth) till he’s killed as many as possible, announcing his intention immediately after breaking someone’s neck. None of the people he’s attacking have any dedicated weapons. > > Assuming the psycho has room to move, and that none of the brokers are trained in any combat technique of any sort and that all of them are of average size and physical conditioning, how many brokers will it take to bring him down? This actually sounds like that Walter Mathau monologue in Fail Safe, between the Accountants and the Convicts. The Cons knew violence , while the accountants knew organization. But how many of those brokers are standing off to the side taking bets on who takes on who, with fists full of cash. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Casserole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b77776/32.png) [@Casserole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casserole)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/47 "2009-05-23T03:42:04Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > One to shoot him in the face with the fire extinguisher, and two to knock him down while he’s clawing at his eyes. That’s actually quite a good idea. I don’t think there’s an office out there without a fire extinguisher within quick reachable distance. Although, personally, I’d follow that with a blow to the head with said fire extinguisher. I’ve always wanted to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/48 "2009-05-23T04:08:13Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I can probably only take out about 7 or 8 guys. And even in my prime I could only take out 12. That leaves mmmm…30 men. The only answer is to find the Man in Black. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/49 "2009-05-23T04:16:54Z")
I personally am friends with a guy who is about 6’4, **BUILT** , and a professional wrestler (though he’s more Mickey Roarke from _The Wrestler_ than The Rock, hard core wrestling fans would know his professional name) who claims, and I have absolutely no doubts he’s telling the truth, that he and another wrestler once had to fight more than twenty bikers and roughnecks, some with knives, to get out of a bar fight one night. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/50 "2009-05-23T04:21:47Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I personally am friends with a guy who is about 6’4, **BUILT** , and a professional wrestler (though he’s more Mickey Roarke from _The Wrestler_ than The Rock, hard core wrestling fans would know his professional name) who claims, and I have absolutely no doubts he’s telling the truth, that he and another wrestler once had to fight more than twenty bikers and roughnecks, some with knives, to get out of a bar fight one night. That might mean something more along the lines of a general bar fight involving something like twenty other guys. A random free for all is a different situation from a concentrated attack on an individual. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/51 "2009-05-23T06:04:52Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I personally am friends with a guy who is about 6’4, **BUILT** , and a professional wrestler (though he’s more Mickey Roarke from _The Wrestler_ than The Rock, hard core wrestling fans would know his professional name) who claims, and I have absolutely no doubts he’s telling the truth, that he and another wrestler once had to fight more than twenty bikers and roughnecks, some with knives, to get out of a bar fight one night. Pretty much every wrestler from the kayfabe era has told that story. Bill Watts claims to have ripped out somebody’s eye and stomped on it. Ole Anderson claimed to be about the baddest guy on the planet. As did Kox, Brody, Fritz, Doc, Gordy, et al. Stories from wrestlers should be taken with heaping handfuls of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Fastidiots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@Fastidiots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fastidiots)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/52 "2009-05-23T11:42:47Z")
Do we have a wheelbarrow? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/53 "2009-05-23T14:56:29Z")
> [@tvvat](#): > > Do we have a wheelbarrow? I am not Inigo Montoya. If we had had a wheelbarrow, I would have listed that under assets. And, obviously, Inigo is not there. Inigo is going to have his sword, and Inigo with a sword beats anybody else (short of the Dread Pirate Roberts) unless guns are involved. ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/54 "2009-05-23T23:24:36Z")
This happened when I was in High School, One day my buddy Rudy and I were waiting on a city bus. A school bus turned Left at the corner we were standing at and somebody threw a rock at it. A window busted and a “Special needs girl” on the bus was showered with glass. The bus driver pulled over and we were identified as the rock-throwers, the bus emptied and about 12-15 guys beat the hell out of us. Rudy went to the Hospital and I was able to go home (with a little assistance). To make a long story short, all you tough-guys are full of it. reality and your Walter Mitty dreams are very different. Defending yourself against 6 or 7 average guys just ain’t gonna happen! Unclviny ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/55 "2009-05-24T05:58:02Z")
> [@unclviny](#): > > This happened when I was in High School, > > One day my buddy Rudy and I were waiting on a city bus. > A school bus turned Left at the corner we were standing at and somebody threw a rock at it. A window busted and a “Special needs girl” on the bus was showered with glass. > The bus driver pulled over and we were identified as the rock-throwers, the bus emptied and about 12-15 guys beat the hell out of us. > Rudy went to the Hospital and I was able to go home (with a little assistance). > > To make a long story short, all you tough-guys are full of it. reality and your Walter Mitty dreams are very different. Defending yourself against 6 or 7 average guys just ain’t gonna happen! > > Unclviny Did I miss the posts were “tough guys” here claimed similar feats? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/56 "2009-05-24T06:44:56Z")
> [@Wargamer](#): > > 1. > > (Since that is the answer to Everything.) 45, an automatic, a Glock that won’t register on metal detectors. But seriously, I always carry a laser pointer. Thing is a bitch in the eyes, even from across the room. And a lot of people carry pepper spray, regardless of workplace rules. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/57 "2009-05-24T07:14:50Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > 45, an automatic, a Glock that won’t register on metal detectors. > . Yes, it does. The Glock has plenty of metal, the barrel and the slide, not to mention other parts. ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/58 "2009-05-24T07:51:48Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > 45, an automatic, a Glock that won’t register on metal detectors. I really, REALLY hope that you know this is BS. Unclviny ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/59 "2009-05-24T18:21:16Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Did I miss the posts were “tough guys” here claimed similar feats? Also, it was not demonstrated that **unclviny** and his unfortunate cohort were tough guys. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216/60 "2009-05-24T19:21:09Z")
You get very different answers depending on whether • you want the number of ordinary guys who could _dependably_ take your badass guy down. not once but damn nearly every time / any time; or • you want the minimum number of ordinary guys who could _ever_ (ignoring flukes) take your badass guy down; fewer than that and the badass guy can _dependably_ not get taken down by them; or • you want the _average_ number of ordinary guys necessary to take the badass guy _more often than not_; fewer than that and the badass guy comes out the winner more often. One female accountant could probably occasionally take out Mr Badass. Every once in a while, Badass Mofo wipes the floor with the entire office building, floor after floor of them. Neither sitch is typical. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ordinary-guys-could-one-real-life-badass-take/497216.md?page=4)