Doppleganger you are dead on right. It would also be good to verbalize things such as "stop fighting me" or "I dont want to fight you" loudly and repeatedly. You'd be supprised how many "eye-witnesses" will go to the cops on scene and say "Offica, I saw the whole thing... he told that man not to hit him anymore. He wouldnt stop so he had to_________________ [fill in gruesome scene of asskicking here] " Food for thought... just dont let your mind get obese. jd
Bingo.. fear is the great leveller, and can remove YEARS of martial arts training and turn you into just another victim. In your sparring/randori in the dojo, learn the art of staying calm and in control. If you find that easy, then ask your opponent to ramp up the velocity of the attacks etc.
Ok, couple of things. As Slip has been mentioned you had no plan and the wrong mindset. Simple plan and thought process could be. By approaching this guy I'm probably comitting to a fight. Do I abort or accept this. If I accept this I'll approach and try to calm things but expect that things will go bad. If by some luck things calm down great otherwise I'm keeping my fence in place and lining up the guy as it seems that he's not listening. All the while I'm making sure by speaking clearly and loudly that everyone knows I'm the peace keeper here and that "I don't want trouble". If it looks like he's trying to line me up or in anyway indicates that he's about to "go" I'll hit first and hard ( I have a trigger question that I ask to both prime him and set me off). Other than that I'd never go to ground by choice, it limits your options, leaves you open to attack from his mates and leaves you open to injury. Pretty much the only chioces you leave yourself by doing so is to either knock him out with a choke or strangle, break a limb or hold him till someone comes to your aide. You can't submit him ever. Even if he was to tap out are you going to trust him? Tapping out is something I would do if someone had me in a submission hold right before I got up and hit them again.
