Talk to me about fist-fighting.

I’ve been in more than my fair share by this board’s standard, and it always boiled down to the same thing: There was no better option. Walking away is fine if you can manage it safely. I learned early on that turning my back on aggressor resulted in getting hit from behind.

A high school chum of mine was convicted of murder when a man he struck at a little league game fell down, hit his head on the parking lot, and died

I would also posit that a majority of fights occur when people are drunk. When your judgement is impaired you tend to do things that you wouldn’t normally do when rational.

The first (and I think only) time I ever punched someone on the jaw, I was about 12 or 13. I didn’t know you’re not meant to have your thumb on the inside of your fist.

He went down, fortunately, and I was able to manfully walk off before doubling up in extreme pain with what felt like a broken thumb. :rolleyes:

Ah yes, a master of the art of Nike-do! :stuck_out_tongue:

My nephew likes to fight. He wrestled all through high school, state championships, etc. After graduating he missed it I guess. People underestimate him all the time. He gets a bit drunk, eyes up the competition, and insults someone. He lets the other person take the first punch, then decimates them.

The most recent fight led to jail/trial/probation. I helped him with the money for a lawyer, but I told him never again.

Me; I’m a lover, not a fighter.:cool:

When I was in the 5th grade, I used to get bullied by this kid in my class all the time. He would really kick my ass. One day I had enough and saw him walking down the street and I simply had enough. Well let me tell you, I beat the crap out of him, but good.

I wasn’t until about an hour later that it occured to me that he would also be in his 30s by now.:smiley:

I want you to be on my side.:eek:
I’ve mostly been in a handful of what I like to call “rich boy scuffles”. Basically, that’s when you get some college frat guy or douchey 20 something “associate” at some firm who gets a few drinks in him and decides to see how far he can push people. They typically realize that most people are not going to actually kick his ass because they are more worried about getting sued, kicked out of school, fired, arrested or otherwise suffer negative consequences. So these “fights” will typically consist of a lot of calling each other “fag” and “pussy” and maybe someone gets shoved and his South Carolina “Cocks” hat falls off. At least until everyone’s friends pulls them apart.

Ocassionally they can escalate though, especially if a guy starts getting in a person’s face, bothering their girlfriend, or are just plain nuts.

People who actively go looking for fights are usually psycho. They aren’t trying to “resolve conflicts”. They are starting conflicts so they can feel empowered by beating the crap out of someone else. Or they were possibly raised in a culture where that sort of behavior is acceptable.
Fist-fighting seems to have gone out of vogue in the past few decades, if movies and TV are any indication. It seemed like in the 50s, any disagreement was met with a quick rap in the mouth followed by a “WHATYOUDOTHATFO!?” Up until the 80s, a common plot theme was the little kid trying to deal with the bully fixing to beat him up after school. Usually with boxing lessons from dad along with advice that “bullies should be stood up to”. Now the parents lawyers would be on the phone with the school, cops, child services and who knows what else. It seems as if the schoolyard bully has gone from mild childhood nusance and rite of passage to something that is permenantly psyche debilitating and must be stopped at all cost.

About 5 years ago I was at a nightclub. I stood at the bar for about five minutes waiting to order a drink and talked to a pretty blond girl while waiting. Once the drink came, I said good bye to the girl forgot about her and headed to the bathroom. As I was standing up at the urinal with my hands full, I felt something smack the back of my head. Not knowing what was going on and being pretty busy I looked around quickly but still needed to finish up.

Then, wham, I got hit again. This time was stronger and rocked my head forward.

Turning and not waiting to zip I saw I guy aiming to hit me again. Somehow I was quick and threw my fist into his face and connected with his nose. I couldn’t tell how hard I connected but he took a step back.

In another surprising turn, a big guy in black flew through the bathroom door and tackled my assailant. I stood there dazed as the tackled man got dragged out by two bouncers.

With a headache, I zipped left the room and found a nearby table to rest at. Ten minutes late I was just starting to feel ok when one of the bouncers came back. He was all excited, “you know who that was?”

Well, I guess the guy who hit me was some once famous Hispanic rapper named “Kid” something. From what the bouncer said I guess the girl I talked to while ordering drinks was the rapper’s girlfriend and he was pissed she spoke to another man. He’d already been causing trouble that night and they had been keeping an eye on him, but not so close they’d followed him into the John. Then the bouncer bragged about how once they tossed the famous guy out onto the ground he gave the guy a couple kicks in the ribs (btw, the bouncer was also Hispanic).

I had a sore head the next few days and a little scalp cut from a hand ring.

This explains why I was in an adult fist fight.

The thing about folk who have never boxed, or are not familiar with scrapping, is that they are too focused on bringing big blows and impacts.

If you are stuck in a situation, the first thing to do is to supress the emotion, anger fear, but it really isn’t easy to do. Helps to imagine that you are now at work and you are simply doing a job, you don’t tend to get emotional about work, just just get on with what you have to do. Relax and you soak up their blows better, if you go in all stiff necked then you have more chance of getting a cracked jaw or cheek.

You really would be surprised at how small a punch needs to be to put someone down. It’s like using your fists as tools, perhaps like a stone mason or wood chiseller, controlled, steady paced and accurate - big power and accuracy just do not go together. Again, repeating, treat it as a job, your hands are tools that you use every day.

If you get one right on the button, especially if you get their head to turn, you can deck almost anyone, size is not as important as you think.

I don’t know about other people, but when I’m mad enough, I just have the desire to hurt someone (as I feel they have hurt me, and I want them to feel what I feel.). I also have an inability to think clearly enough to remember that I could get hurt, too. Or at least enough to care, as my adrenaline is pumping so hard that I don’t feel anything other than my anger.

Now, my cousin does like to hit, but not really in a fight sort of way. He just enjoys games where you test your pain endurance (and, in his mind, his manliness.) He’ll play games where you punch the wall, or even ones where you trade punches. (ant that’s the only type of punch I’ve ever actually taken.)

You’ve got to remember that not everyone strives to avoid pain. For some people, some pain is worth it. And then there are some like my friend in college who would only consider it a good date if he came home black and blue.

It sort of is as taller people have a longer reach. Bigger people also tend to be stronger, or at least have more mass behind them. There is a reason boxing and wrestling are divided into weight classes.

That’s sort of it. I was relating in another thread where I got into a bit of an altercation the other day. Basically some guy in a bar started getting in my face so I gave him a good hard shove. Some people commented that it was immature or that I should have walked away or ignored it. Technically I probably should have, but I’m not Ghandi. I would prefer not to get into fights at all, but like anyone else, if you get me mad enough, I may react in less than socially ideal ways.

This>>>

I grew up in a northern boom town where you couldnt even bring a girl to a bar without getting into a fight, period. So, you dont think about being hurt. You pretty much dont feel anything anyway when a guy smacks you and your blood is up. You take off your watch and rings and go at it.
There are really two types of guys, the wanna be’s and the bad dudes. The bad dudes have no problem hurting you at all so if you have a civilized bent then you are at a major disadvantage. i have never had a problem seeing, at a glance, the wanna be’s and the guys too stay the hell away from. Size doesnt mean a whole lot, training helps but the guy who really,really doesnt care if he hurts or kills you is going to win every time. Most bar fights are drunken scuffles and dont count. From what I’ve seen of the young fellows I hope most of them dont get into a serious situation. And if you SEE the knife then the other guy doesnt know what he is doing!