knocked him to the ground first, and then do it. Watch your back legally though; such actions might have adverse repercussions.
When was the last time you had time to stretch out before a real fight? We certainly never have. No matter how flexible you are, it is fairly difficult to execute a high kick at full speed and power with cold muscles. Even if you can snap off a few high kicks, you’ll almost certainly pay for them later with strained muscles.
Further, you are not necessarily going to be wearing loose-fitting clothing such as a karate
Don’t kick about the waist in a street fight. It’s foolish, ineffectual, and tactically unsound.
Don’t Play “Tank”
Sadly, inexperienced fighters tend to stand in place while whaling away at each other without regard to evasive movement, stances, or mobility. You’re not a heavily armored tank. It hurts to get hit. Consequently, standing toe-to-toe and duking it out with your adversary is just plain dumb, particularly if he’s big, highly skilled, or armed with some type of weapon. Don’t forget that he’s attacking you for a reason, thinking he can win, so chances are good that he’s going to be big, nasty, and mean.
The only time Kane has ever been sucker-punched was at a college fraternity party in 1985. The guy who hit him was a 22-year-old, 310-pound Samoan football player, a guy twice his weight and strong as an ox. Although the football player’s blow caught him along the side of his jaw, knocking him to the ground, he was back on his feet doing his best Bruce Lee imitation seconds later.
Standing toe-to-toe with your adversary is just plain dumb, particularly if he’s big, highly skilled, or armed with some type of weapon. You’re not a tank, so don’t try to fight like one; keep moving, control the distance and the angles between yourself and the other guy, and you’ll have a good shot at taking him down.
The two flailed at each other for what seemed like several minutes trading blows, though it was probably much shorter than it seemed. While neither combatant realized it at that time, despite the Samoan’s strength and Kane’s agility neither of them could throw a decent punch. They didn’t move too well either. While Kane ultimately lost, he received only a sore jaw and a bloody nose. His opponent, who barely flinched under his best shot, wasn’t seriously injured either.
Closing is done by moving to the outside while blocking across the opponent’s body to tie up his limbs, forcing him to reposition before successfully counterattacking.
In retrospect, the thought of the two of them thumping on each other to no effect was pretty funny. By the time it was over, they held a grudging respect for each other’s ability to take a punch and even became friends after a fashion later on, yet not all fistfights end so sociably. Going toe-to-toe with a big Samoan was just plain dumb. Standing in place only exacerbated the stupidity.
If you don’t want to get hurt in a fight, you will need to move away from the strength of the other guy’s attack. It is imperative to not only get off line, but also keep your attacker from being able to reorient immediately at the same time. In a typical martial arts example, we often call this “closing.”
Closing is done by moving to the outside while blocking across the opponent’s body to tie up his limbs, forcing him to reposition before successfully counterattacking. Fighting down the centerline is advanced martial arts, very difficult to perfect, whereas moving off-line and closing is taught to beginners because it is relatively easy to learn. And it works pretty well too. It is even better if you can manage to get behind the other guy.
Punching his jaw with your closed fist is probably going to hurt you as much, if not more, than him. Strike hard to soft and soft to hard for best effect.
Use movement and distraction to imbalance and overcome. Stay balanced, upright, and mobile, keeping your weight centered over your feet. Body positioning and mobility not only keep you out of harm’s way but also afford opportunities to counterstrike, knock your adversary down, and escape. Good balance is also needed if you are to generate powerful, effective techniques.
Don’t let yourself get boxed in. Use mobility to control the distance and the angles between yourself and the other guy. While this is paramount for armed assaults, it is very important for unarmed ones too. You’re not a tank so don’t fight like one.
Don’t Hit With a Closed Fist… Unless You’ve Got Skills
Unless you are an experienced martial artist, don’t punch using a closed fist in a street fight. The odds are good that you’ll damage yourself at least as much as you will hurt your adversary. Even former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, a guy who clearly knows how to hit, broke his hand in a street brawl when he hit fellow boxer Mitch Green incorrectly. The incident took place in Harlem during August 1988. Furthermore, striking with a closed fist looks bad for potential witnesses, as it is clearly an offensive movement.
Go ahead and test it for yourself, it is easy enough to do. Find a brick or cement wall, make a good fist, and give it a light tap with your knuckles. Now, slap it good and hard with your open hand. Which one hurts more? The closed fist, of course. If you really insist on hitting with a closed fist, avoid targeting the other guy’s face. Body shots are much less likely to damage your hand, though you can still mess up your wrists if you do it incorrectly. Incidentally, that’s why boxers tape their hands and wrists.
Look at any teenage boy who has his hand in a cast, especially his right hand. If you see the two smallest fingers curled up in the cast, he’s got what’s called a “boxer’s fracture.” That means that he threw a looping right to the head and broke his metacarpal bones at the ring and/or pinky finger knuckles.
This brings us to the concept of contouring, a very important component of fighting. It is also an aspect that is commonly overlooked since it becomes pretty much irrelevant in tournament competitions where safety gear and heavy gloves dramatically change the dynamics of the situation. Contouring helps you identify the best target for any given technique. In general, hard parts strike soft targets and vice versa.
Here’s how it works: If you have ever punched someone in the jaw with your closed fist you undoubtedly know how painful that can be for both parties. Hard fist to hard jaw is simply no good. We have seen quite a few broken knuckles resulting from such mistakes. A palm-heel strike to the jaw, on the other hand, can be quite effective. Soft palm to hard jaw is a good equation. It not only meets the contouring rule but it is far more painful for the other guy.
Law enforcement officers are highly trained, yet they are frequently accused of overreacting and abusing the criminals they arrest. How much more likely is the average civilian, who has no policy or procedure to follow, to be similarly accused of wrongdoing in a fight?
If you take a close look at all of your striking surfaces, your feet, hands, knees, and elbows, you can see how targeting works at a more granular level. For example, the blade edge of your foot aligns best with the other guy’s joints (for example, the knee), while the ball of your foot makes a good fit with his groin or midsection, particularly if you use an upward arc when you strike. As you can see, different types of kicks are best for different targets.
The same thing applies to punches too. A single knuckle or finger strike fits the solar plexus better than the
