This plethora of rules is designed to prevent serious injuries and give competitors a sporting chance to succeed. In order to keep things moving (and more interesting for the audience), they also take points away from a competitor for “timidity,” including avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece, or faking an injury.
There is a huge difference between sparring, fighting, and combat. Think of it this way. If you are going to face former Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson in a match next Tuesday, you can approach it three ways— sporting competition, street fight, or combat.
• If you are thinking sports competition, you show up on time, weigh in, strap on the gloves, and go as many as twelve rounds until one of you is knocked out, the judges make a decision, or your manager throws in the towel.
• If you are thinking street fight, on the other hand, you show up at his house that morning with a dozen friends, jump him as he walks out the door, and beat him to a bloody pulp. Then you kick him a few more times while he’s down, trample his flowerbeds for good measure, and drive away.
• If you are thinking combat, you wait outside his house Monday night and put a .50 BMG caliber bullet through his head with a Barrett sniper rifle from half a mile away.
A bit of disparity between those scenarios, huh? Street fights are much more like combat than sports competition. Slickly choreographed Hollywood films only exacerbate the fantasy of what true violence entails. Beware these misconceptions. Don’t confuse sports with combat or misconstrue entertainment with reality.
Never Underestimate the Fighting Intelligence of Your Opponent
He must be able to mystify his officers and men by false reports and appearances, and thus keep them in total ignorance.
When you cannot be deceived by men you will have realized the wisdom of strategy.
Never underestimate the fighting intelligence, skill, or determination of your opponent. Make this error and you are almost certainly going to be down and out fast. He looks small, sure, but he may have been on the judo mat since he was four years old. He looks slow, sure, and so does a ginormous NFL lineman who can run a 40-yard dash in under five seconds. Your adversary may look stupid, but odds are good that he is not. Never forget that he’s not going to attack you unless he thinks he can win. You really cannot know how tough someone is simply by looking at him.
Ken, a childhood friend of Wilder’s, moved to Los Angeles to become a police officer. After a few years on the LA force, he transferred to Las Vegas where he spent the rest of his law enforcement career. They had occasion to see each other a couple of times over the years. During one visit, Wilder asked his friend, “What was the toughest encounter you ever had as a police officer?”
The six-foot-two-inch tall law enforcement officer said, “A big hooker I cornered in an alley. She bounced my ass up and down that alley before my partner got there. I got in trouble fast.”
Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifle. This puppy can hit targets as far as 1,800 meters (approximately 2,000 yards) away with pinpoint accuracy.
Stunned by that revelation, Wilder asked the logical question. Was she really a “he,” a transvestite? Ken shifted his eyes over to him without turning his head and replied in a monotone, “No, no she wasn’t.”
Never, under any condition, underestimate the fighting intelligence, or physical skill of your adversary. The fight that Ken nearly lost with the prostitute is a great example. He had a simple goal, to get her off the street. He was trying to get her into the car and down to the station. She, on the other hand, had flipped into combat mode. Her mindset was something along the lines of, “This psycho ‘John’ is trying to slit my throat.”
The prostitute did not have a restrictor that said, “Oh, it is a police officer. I’d better be quiet, pay attention, and follow his orders.” Her experience was working against her logic and common sense. It said, “Fight! Get it over with now. Hurt him fast before he kills you!”
The officer and prostitute had two totally opposing perspectives—one planet, two different worlds.
“Fighting intelligence” is a special kind of intelligence that comes from experience, intensity, and the root desire of the body to survive. It is not intellect or brainpower as we commonly think of when we hear the word “intelligence.” Fighting intelligence does not ponder, test, or audit. It instinctually acts and instantly responds to stimuli. There is no committee, no sleeping on it. It happens here and now.
The adage goes, “Don’t judge the book by its cover.” This is true. There is a reason this guy is attacking you. He has conducted an interview and you passed. To him you’re a victim. Unless he is delusional, drunk, or drugged out of his mind, he not only thinks he can win, but has done so before. Never underestimate the fighting intelligence or physical skill level of your opponent.
Never underestimate the fighting intelligence, or physical skill of your opponent. There is a reason this guy is attacking you. Unless he is delusional, drunk, or drugged out of his mind, he not only thinks he can win, but has done so before.
Size and Intensity Are Not the Same Thing
Other conditions being equal, if one force is hurled against another ten times its size, the result will be the flight of the former.
Small people must be completely familiar with the spirit of large people, and large people must be familiar with the spirit of small people. Whatever your size, do not be misled by the reactions of your own body.
There is a famous saying, originally attributed to author Mark Twain, that goes, “It is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.” Often quoted, this maxim is absolutely true.
For example, in 1942 Audie Murphy (1924-1971) tried to enlist in the military at the outset of World War II. He was turned down by both the United States Marines and the Paratroopers for being too small, underweight, and slightly built. When the Army finally accepted him, they tried to make him serve as a cook… until he reached the battlefield.
In two years of service at the European front during WWII, Murphy killed 240 German soldiers in documented firefights. He won the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star (twice), and the Bronze Medal (twice). He was also awarded the Purple Heart three times for combat injuries plus a variety of other honors totaling some thirty-two medals. This made him America’s most decorated WWII combat veteran.
How did a scrawny eighteen-year-old boy, named “Audie” from Texas do it? Despite his small stature, he was one tough SOB. His father deserted the family when he was a small child. Only nine of his twelve brothers and
