What is the best striking art for a street fight?

Geoff Thompson 27. JUL, 2011

When faced with the threat of a real street fight, you have a choice to run away or stand and fight.

Run away if possible! It’s usually your best bet to avoid the altercation.

However, if your choice is a physical response, my advice is to be pre-emptive…strike FIRST!


When left with no choice. you want to…

Strike FIRST
Strike HARD
And preferably on the JAW (it’s a direct link to the brain).
The concept of self defence at the point of your attacker first throwing a punch at you is not only unsound…

…it is dangerous and extremely naive!

Waiting for someone to attack you is strategic madness because blocks don’t work!

The Kwai-Chang-Cain theory of block and counter-attack is even more absurd, especially if you are facing more than one opponent.


There is no finesse about fighting multiple attackers.

They do not line up and attack you one at a time.

They strike like a swarm of bees and luck is the only thing that’ll keep a beat in your heart.

If you look at any contemporary CCTV footage of real street fights caught on tape, you will notice the immediate and ferocious nature of this kind of attack.

It is merciless and it often leaves people dead.

If you honestly believe that you are about to attacked, hit them before they can hit you.

Then follow my next piece of advice…


Once you have landed the first strike…RUN!

Many self defence gurus advocate a second strike – a “finisher”.

I advise not.

Your first strike buys you vital getaway time.

If you’re dealing with a determined attacker (many are very experienced in the street) or especially multiple attackers, and you don’t leg it out of there after the first strike, chances are he or they will grab you and snap you like a twiglette.

Self defence is about doing the minimum a situation will allow to ensure your own survival.

It’s not about defending a corpulent ego or misguided honour.

Having been involved in thousands of live encounters the pre-emptive attack was the only consistently effective self defence technique I could find.

 

There isn't one. people are people.

As Mr Thompson claims-the pre-emptive attack was the only consistently effective self defence technique I could find.

 

I would have to say that a pre-emptive attack is actually a very good response to any street fighting situation. However, the question now is whether or not pre-emptive attacks are actually unique to Western Boxing, or whether you can learn pre-emptive striking from any martial art system. Also, it can be argued that there really are no 'strikes' in Western Boxing, so I don't think that is the proper term you're looking for. Western Boxing relies on 'punching', not striking, and most if not all strikes are actually considered illegal in Western Boxing, if my understanding of the term is correct. Striking is extremely effective in street defense, especially if you are faced with a larger and much stronger opponent. Western Boxing does not allow you to strike with your fingers, thumbs, knees and elbows. So you need to re-evaluate the situation, and ask yourself if you're even asking the right question. Do you even want an answer? Or is this just a way for you to promote Western Boxing? Seriously.

 

Certainly in the discussions I've been involved in, punching is striking. Things that aren't striking include grappling, grappling and grappling.

 

Not really.

 

Jeebus.

Now I remember why I don't post here as often.

 

I hear you.

 

If you read his introductory thread, this wouldn't surprise you as much. "Long winded" is being kind. He also comes off as a self taught backyard ninja.

 

I'm sorry for being long winded, it's just that I already knew ahead of time that you guys wouldn't listen very well, so I thought I'd slow down a bit and emphasize what I'm trying to say. Of course, that doesn't work if the viewers cannot read very well. I never once said in any of my posts that I was a 'self taught backyard ninja'. Perhaps you should have your eyes examined. I'm just kidding around, of course.

Someone asked me if I was a 'ninjer', and I said no, quite plainly. I am not a ninja, nor do I even practice ninjutsu. What I really said, not what you said, but what I said, is that I happened to read a few ninja books here and there, but that ninjutsu is not really part of my training program.

I also never claimed to be self-taught, at least not in the same way in which you're trying to make it seem. I said that I train at home in my own backyard. I also said that I train with other intermediate level martial artists who have had some years of experience in training. I myself have been practicing martial arts on and off for almost twenty years now, so I'm not exactly what you would call a self-taught individual. I also said quite plainly that I do occassionally train in a classroom with certified instructors. I do not train with beginners, and I do not teach, because I myself am not certified.

But of course, it seems as though large JPEG images are easier to understand for those of us who cannot read...

Regarding what I said about striking, in the Gung Fu systems that I experienced, there was always a difference between striking and hitting. Striking usually involves soft-tissue attacks on the nervous system, whereas punching involves pounding on the muscles and bones. Strikes in Gung Fu are always aimed at the vital areas, such as the eyes, the throat, the groin, etc. These tactics are very street effective, but also very illegal in boxing, from what I understand.

Train on!

 

Pedantic Semantics - Jaw, solar plexus, temple, groin are all areas that getting punched can be a fight ender so your distinction is already looking pretty weak

Vital Point striking is typical fallback for systems that lack efficiacy - "Oh well in a real fight I would use my deadly striking skills" does not cut it when you flail around like someone having a seizure when fighting a mere "sports fighter" in a controlled setting. If you cannot hit someone with a 16oz glove on you certainly can't hit someone with a "Five Fingered Death Punch"

A punch IS a strike and no amount of linguistic or stylistic onanism can change that

 

wait a punch isnt a strike

well thats like saying an apple isnt a fruit, or a phone isnt an electronic device... its like saying humans are not animals, but they are ghosts or something...

it makes no sense. Punches, kicks, elbows, knees, etc... = strikes
throws, chokes, locks, submission etc.... = grappling?

 

"On and off" is very vague. I think you'd get more support for your opinions if other posters could get an idea where you're coming from. "On and off" could mean a TKD class here, a Judo class there, and a few weeks of boxing training within that 20 years. Since many of us train in our chosen systems several times a week, we like to see things in a more specific light as to someone's background before their argument holds any water.

From your described training, it sounds like the typical backyard ninja we get here from time to time, hence why we're not falling all over ourselves to try to pat you on the back for your posts.

 

I don't think I've read a single post from AmericanMMA that hasn't made me cringe. At this point a rundown of his training history is irrelevant.

 

Alright, well, it's not really a big deal any way. Different people train in different ways, and if you learned that boxing is the same as striking, then okay, there's no sense arguing over something so trivial. Like I said before, when it comes to me personally, I was trained in such a way to where punching and striking were considered two different things. However, I also have a different martial arts background than you have, so it's only natural to expect two different viewpoints on the matter.

As for my own personal training program, I often make a distinction between punching and striking that is actually quite simple. The way I learned it, 'punching' is done with a closed fist, whereas 'striking' is done with an open hand or some other sharp edge of the body, such as thumb strikes, finger strikes, elbow strikes, knee strikes, and palm strikes. Punching in my system involves a lot of your more common boxing techniques, such as straight fists, curved fists, hammer fists, shovel fists, uppercuts, etc. Because of the different methods and terminology that I use, I may have over-analyzed what you were saying. For that, I apologize.

However, a linguistic misunderstanding is not at all comparable to a flat out conscious lie, and you did in fact lie about me, consciously. So I don't think you're in a position to consider this a winful argument. Nobody likes a liar, especially a cocky one who just wants to hear himself talk. Yes, Hannibal, I am talking to you directly, and to your friends. The statement you made earlier when you said "your (refering to me) profundities are largely being dismissed by others here - myself included" implies that you are more important than you really are. You're giving yourself way too much credit. So my claims are being dismissed by blatant liars, and that is supposed to effect my opinion? I hate to be the one who busts your bubble, Hannibal, Kuma, Humblebee, etc. but honestly, I don't really care what you know, or what you think you know. I have my own way, and it works for me, and to me, you're just a group of knuckleheads.

I'm sorry.

Now when it comes down to my own personal understanding, I cannot picture boxing being used to strike someone, because when I myself practice boxing, it's usually while wearing boxing gloves. With boxing gloves on your hands, you cannot throw a thumb strike, or a finger strike, or a palm strike, because your fists are closed. But besides any of that nonsense, look at the title of this topic. "What is the best striking art for a street fight?" Seriously, is that really something we should be trying to figure out? Is it even worth arguing over? I don't think so. That is obviously something an inexperienced fighter would ask, straight up. If that offends anyone, I apologize.

 

Just use weapons.

 

So rather than take a chance at credibility, you instead now have none. Fine job. I now equate you on the same skill level and seriousness as backyard wrestlers.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpqIrO67a7Q&feature=related"]Backyard Wrestling Tribute - YouTube[/ame]

So you now can't use boxing without boxing gloves?

Too bad nobody told that to the bare knuckle boxers back in the late 1600s.

 

*yawn*

More meaningless rhetoric - hollow noises are always loudest from an empty vessel

And how did I lie about you son? Debate and logic not your strong points are they really?

 

Okay, first of all, I'm being vague for a reason. Anyone who honestly read my introductory post (without putting words into my mouth), would clearly understand the reason why I'm being vague. What makes you think I want you to know what I do? You don't train with me, I don't know you. I really don't care how often you train, either, because you don't know me.

To be honest with you, I think it's absurd that you would even care what anyone says on the internet. What if I said I've been practicing Gung Fu fifteen hours a day for the last two hundred years? Does that add any credibility to what I'm saying? I think your judgment of people is all wrong. It doesn't matter what my background is. If I'm right, I'm right. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. You shouldn't judge people based on who they train with, or how long they've been training. I'm sorry, but that's just foolish. "Oh, your argument doesn't hold any water because we don't know who you are". Are you kidding me?

Go train.