The first rule of street fighting is don’t get in a street fight. There is nothing to be gained when compared with what you could possibly lose. Losing a street fight could be fatal, even winning a street fight is still going to hurt and not just in the swollen hand and a headache type of way. The most painful part of a street fight happens afterward. It’s the part nobody talks about or thinks of in moment of anger. The only people to win street fights are those who don’t participate. Failing in that here’s how you get out of a street fight alive.
RULE NUMBER 1 -Be aware of your surroundings.
The most typical type of street fight is probably the classic had a couple at the pub and a loudmouth who’s also had a few starts getting out of hand. It’s rare it truly goes from zero to brawl in a blink of an eye. There are usually clues that a person is ramping up to fight. There is the usual posturing. If somebody is getting in your space and talking shit. If the chin goes down and hands go up. If somebody was screaming in your face suddenly gets calm or looks away. If you see them go pale. Weather you want to believe it or not a fight is probably imminent.
You need to act accordingly. Long before this person gets in your face you should be making mental notes. Specifically you want to keep an eye out for associates. Somebody who might sucker punch you as you handle your business with this loud mouth. If you are outnumbered. Or drastically out sized, or you have any sense at all. Get out of there before the first punch is thrown.
It’s better to walk away and fight another day than to get stomped or bottled by a group who hopefully stops before they do any serious damage. There is absolutely no guarantee they will. Depending on an opponents forgiveness is never a safe bet. Assuming you are fight one person is a great way to get beat by 3.
RULE NUMBER 2- Mobility is king
This one goes out to all the grapplers, unless you are TOTALLY sure fight is going to remain 1 vs 1 using that ground game of yours can mean you are now stuck. Even if you are able to get a take down or slam. By their nature in grappling exchanges it becomes much to easier to get tied up in a clinch and lose the option to flee or escape as needed. Even if you get top position.
If the loudmouth decides to just hang on for dear life, chances are pretty good you are both spending the night in jail. Which means a black mark on your arrest record, court fees, laywer fees and possibly losing your job. Or worse yet one of their friends cracks your ribs with a kick and since you can’t untangle yourself from this loudmouth, you are stuck taking it. Throw a hospital bill on top of those fees too.
Our goal to keep our ability to move as freely as possible. So in case Loudmouth had a friend we didn’t know about, we can square up or run as needed. If you can get away, then you can’t avoid all the legal and financial struggle a simple bar fight can cause.
Also by staying mobile it becomes much hard for a group to work effectively on a retreating opponent. If you stay backing up, they are forced to charge or give up. If they charge all their momentum will add power to your strikes and it largely negates the advantage of a group. For a moment at least.
RULE NUMBER 3- Everything is a weapon if you’re desperate
Say it’s too late for the first two rules. You are now involved in a street fight. Congratulations?
Too late to walk away, too late, to late to run. Now you have a problem. To be solved by just about any means available. To quote the great Dutch Van Der Linde “If it’s between me and you, it’s going to be you.” If that means picking up a bottle or pool cue, to get that split second where you can still MAYBE get away from this possibly fatal comedy of errors. So be it.
The best weapon which you might not think of is a bar stool. Not in the old west “crack over the head with it” type of way either. The best use for a bar stool is a means to keep distance. If you can get a moment to pick one up, point the legs at your opponent. They can’t walk through it to get to you. This will keep the distance especially if you use it to jab straight. Tame loudmouth like a lion. Make your way to the nearest exit, never taking your eyes off your opponent.
Take off running ASAP. The cops are coming at best. His friends are coming at worst.
RULE NUMBER 4- Corners are coffins
There is a reason why every pro fighter is taught to cut off a ring. If you can use the geometry of the ring to trap an opponent, they are forced to exchange to make their way out into open space. The human body operates to keep itself safe with the classic fight or flight response. Getting stuck in a corner cuts your options in half. With no room to run you are now forced to fight. Forced to risk injury and jail time just to get home.
Just like the rest our street fight scenario, the best way out of a corner is not to get put in one. Failing that the arm drag is an excellent way out. This simple technique use 2 arms against 1 to pull an opponent across your body. This means if all goes well they are facing away from you. In grappling terms you have forced them to give up their back. In bar fight terms, you just opened up a way out.
Rule number 5- Threats (usually) come from the hands
The opposable thumb is easily the deadliest weapon in a human’s arsenal. The fact we can pick up and use weapons put us far above the animal kingdom in terms of sheer lethality. You always want to be able to see and preferably control your opponents hands. It is much harder to get shot or stabbed if your opponent can’t reach for a weapon. Combine that with the fact most people aren’t Muay Thai masters who are going to be throwing high kicks down the pub. It’s pretty easy to understand why the hands should be the top priority.
This is just as true before the action kicks off. If you see somebody reaching into their pocket or waist band. RUN. You will not win a fight against an armed person. Much less a possible group of them.