Bedz,
There are many good posts here, and I am actually glad you got into the fight…it was a wake up call. I have been in many styles of martial arts and boxing my whole life, but, I hate fighting… it’s just that sometimes they find you.
The simple fact is this: our society has created laws so little people can shoot their mouths off, and not have to face up to waking a sleeping giant.
In the 50’s, the guys who needed a good ass kicking got it. Now, you get sued.
When you are in court, the judge and jury will never ask the one very important question: Did the guy deserve to get his ass beat? Was he being a little F’er? Did he hit his woman, and need to be beat senseless?
Never…
Our society is based on justice, but not really. A guy grabs your girl’s tits at the bar. In the present situation, there is really nothing to do… he might get bounced, but probably not. Try to bring that case to court, and see how far you get, but, if you take justice into your own hands, you will end up in jail and sued.
What he really needs to get his hands broken along with his jaw, a few ribs, and maybe your thumb jammed into his eyesocket…possibly an ear bitten off, or maybe a finger from each hand that grabbed her tits needs to be bitten off… maybe, depends on how much you feel for the girl…
This way, he may think thrice about grabbing a lady’s tis or ass… There will be a reminder… a corporal reminder.
The same situation goes for wife beaters, trash talking little pusses…the whole lot.
But, they will never be forced to respect another human… they have lost all fear of repurcussion.
Same really goes for little gang-bangers with guns… there is a thread on here about hard-core lyrics.
I literally laugh out loud when someone talks about shooting someone as being hard-core. Wrapping your hands around someone’s throat is hardcore, head-butting someone until they stop twitching is hard-core, biting a hunk of flesh out of someone’s face is hard-core (and, more difficult than you’d think) but shooting someone… please.
A 6 year old girl can shoot someone, if she wants to… simple. Just a bunch of scared little people hiding behind guns… hard-core…LMAO.
The truth is that our society dictates that your only recourse is to file charges and sue… be a pus.
Instead, you are a T-man, and realize that hey, I am little, and they were big, and all other things being equal, I will lose… especially because your situation seemed to give them the advantage of suprise…or preparation to fight. But, do not be hard on yourself… you said first off that you have never been in a fight before…
If you never had benched before, how well would you do? It is that simple.
That is why guys who bounce, or really fight do not take traditional martial arts as a sole form. In order to learn to fight, you must, well, fight. It is that simple… and you must be coached. The problem is, many “experts” at fighting (black belts), have never even been in a fight. So, you must be careful who, and what you choose. There were many suggestions for BJJ on this thread, and that is a good style, but not a complete one. If you would have tied a guy up and broght him to the ground, what would have happened…boot camp.
The reason why so many fights go to the ground is because they are two dopey drunk guys who are exactly like you: they don’t know how to fight. So, they go down as soon as they lock up.
I would recommend this: If you are serious about learning to fight, then do it as a conditioning tool…a change up to your training. Go a couple times a week. You may love it, or you may just keep it as a hobby. Will you be Jet Li or Frank Shamrock anytime soon…nope. But, you might have some ability to handle yourself if the situation ever comes up again.
You won’t be blocking jabs and trapping and limb destroying punches, but really, who does?
Soon, you might be able to throw a really nice punch combo, and maybe even some nice low-line kicks, or a door opener kick, and you might even learn to slip a jab and triangulate all other attacks. Then, maybe learning a couple throws, and a sprawl, and maybe some basic understanding of groundwork. As you saw, none of those guys was down on your chest…in real brawls, they just kick you…if they lock you up, your friends kick them, so they stay on their feet…as you should also.
I love UFC and Pride as much as the next guy, but I have seen too many guys go to the ground only to be taken to “the camp”. And, I have too many scars between my knuckles to ignore experience…
Bringing a guy down is sweet on the mat, but a big ugly drunken guy needs to be circled (possibly the most imporatnt thing), shin kicked with steel toed boots (a fight stopper in itself, ever see a 280 lb guy cry like a girl in public…hehe), jabbed (eye-jabbed), kicked in the nuts, and when the time is right, you must eventually close the distance, and elbow, knee, and headbutt that big-boy 'til his knees buckle. If you are in close quarters, F circling and go to work low-line and start working the elbows and butts.
Fighting most guys is a simple thing…most guys that get into fights are like you, except bigger. They are ex-football players who are still a bit amped up, and, think that fighting is pushing. The problem is, many ex-football player types can take a beating pretty well. That is why I recommend the elbows, knees and butts. Work that fat pony-keg right above their belt with your knee a few times, and all that rage drains out of them.
Anyway, if you want to learn to fight, then great, but, like anything else, you make great progress early, and then plateau unless sacrifice and discipline are embraced. So, don’t think that you are going to beat some ass instantly… you won’t. But, you might be better prepared the next time you have to protect someone…or yourself.
Things to look for in a MA school:
Muay Thai, Savate, BJJ, Sambo, Jeet Kun Do, boxing, certain forms of Kun Tao, and, make sure that when you go watch a class… people are getting hit if they mess up a block. You want to learn to kick some ass, not kick some air. TKD guys are the best in the world at kicking air, but, well…the rest is obvious…
Things to avoid: Any blocking where you reach out toward the attacking limb. This is great if you are a master, but, who is. Try traditional blocking versus a good boxer, and call me when you get out of the hospital. If you could rising block a jab, Ali would have been rising blocking like a mad-man. Avoid almost any school wearign Gi’s. I know this is a bold statement, but you don’t wear a Gi to the bar, you wear a T. If the instructor needs the extra honor of wearing a different colored belt than his students, then he has ego issues. He is there to teach, you are there to learn. I always bow and respect my instructors even though it isn’t required, but it is because they have earned respect… not because we do it as a ceremonial part of warm-up and cool-down. There are as many bad martial arts instructors as there are bad teachers. Would you bow to a crappy math teacher? Then why would you bow to a crappy martial arts teacher? Just a different subject.
Also, in lines of teachers, make sure the instruction is progressive. You can’t block combos until you can avoid the first punch. You can’t stay on your feet if you don’t know how to circle a bigger guy… simple logic.
I will let this rest now, but, I think we could help many people out here if we, as MMA people listed some very good, quality instructors from our areas… that might be a cool thread…
Just my .02
Coach H
CSCS