PRINCIPLES OF A FIGHT
A seasoned streetfighter placed in a ring with an experienced MMA fighter will lose the “match fight” – because the fight comes down to conditioning, training, and following the rules. On the other hand, an experienced streetfighter in his element will often win because the fight now comes down to:
- Surprise (deception and distraction) – a well placed attack can easily defeat conditioning and training. A well trained ground-fighter hasn’t trained for a vicious eye-gouge.
- Overwhelm (disruption) – forward blitz that gets him peddling backwards.
- Violence of Action (destruction) – using high damage potential strikes at high value targets.
This hasn’t changed since fighting was invented. As I mentioned earlier, once your work is done, you’ll want to get out of the area as quickly as possible. Don’t wait for him to recover ... don’t wait for his buddies to show up... and don’t wait for emotionally “jacked up” bystanders to attack you. Do what you gotta do, then leave the area as quickly as possible.
Let’s further flush out this formula for prevailing in a fight. There’s six in the formula... but just knowing the first two will put you far ahead of the game.
1. Combat Awareness – This is knowing when a fight is imminent. It’s a skill that few beginners seem to possess as the average guy doesn’t get in a lot of fights. It’s common to simply “deny” the obvious danger and ignore the flashing red signals your own intuition is sending out to you. If the fight is imminent this kind of denial can place you in a bad spot. Avoid this blinding denial so you can make “total commitment” to flight or fight. The key to combat awareness is to recognize (and not suppress) your own intuition telling you that a fight is imminent. The most powerful tool in your fight arsenal is your BRAIN – listen to it. Keep your head up, eyes open, and always aware of what’s going on around you.
2. Preemptive Attack (Hit First) -- This is HUGE. As any military commander will tell you, the element of surprise can often be the most important tool. It has allowed small bands of fighters to wipe out entrenched armies (remember Pearl Harbor... or D-day?). Okay... what do armies have to do with you? Well – whether you’re fighting in an army or in a back alley – one principle is the same -- the human factor.
The military machines are simply tools – the actual fighting is between people. Surprising your opponent by attacking first is the great equalizer for a weaker opponent and can often mean a quick victory.
You can use deception, distraction, or just immediate action to get the job done. Decisiveness is the key here as your objective is to “strategically end the threat”. Notice I didn’t say that your goal is to “beat someone up”. Your goal is to END the fight – not participate in it.
Unfortunately there’s often a strong emotional desire to “teach him a lesson”, and it’s a nice thought, but goes against your primary goal – to end the threat. Avoid the romantic idea that you will endure a long courageous battle to emerge the victorious gladiator who dramatically wipes away a drop of blood from the corner of your mouth while swooning women throw roses at your feet.
Simply remove the threat and get the hell out.
3. Sustained continued attack – This means fighting without pause – a forward pressure blitz. Now the word “blitz” did not originate from the NFL. No. It comes from the German word “blitzkrieg” and it accounts for the wild success that the Nazis had early on in the war. Essentially the fighting style consists of concentrating your forces on a small vulnerable area then attacking all out without stopping. As a result of the blitz, the Germans were easily able to punch a hole in the enemy’s lines, then defeat their divided forces.
Of course it’s unlikely you’ll be fighting armies of men, but the concept is the same. Concentrate your efforts at your opponent’s weakest areas – then stay with it. Don’t stop until the job is done.
As I’ve already mentioned -- rookies tend to stop and admire their work – they commit the sin of “stop and assess”. Big mistake. Keep the pressure on until you END the fight or escape. Don’t stop and let him regain his composure.
4. Target Awareness – I’ve already covered this pretty well – but here’s some more. This is a way of overcoming (not “reducing”, or “ignoring”, or “managing”) your fear by focusing on exposed targets. This gives you the kind of positive mental traction to constructively engage your thoughts.
Bomber pilots flying through heavy flak for example talk about being able to overcome their fear of death by simply focusing on the mission and the target. And when asked about a certain courageous act, combat soldiers often later recount that they were simply “trying to get the job done”, and were not trying to be heroic. This is “external focus”.
As I mentioned, if you can simply look at your opponent as a series of multiple targets, it will keep you from “freezing” and losing focus. Ignore the insults and mad doggin’ and keep your attention on open targets. If you’re not skilled with an arsenal of fight techniques, then just use any means necessary to attack the most vulnerable targets (remember... the face is rarely an open target).
In one of the “underground” fight videos I viewed in my research a fighter used a simple hammer blow to the side of the neck to end the fight instantly. His technique and skill wasn’t pretty -- and I doubt you’d see Steven Segal performing this in his next Hollywood movie – but the fighter was clearly focused on a target and used any means at his disposal to attack that target.
And because of this he won.
After reviewing countless videos, most real street fights look like a haphazard tangle of flailing arms – with fighters leaving multiple targets exposed. Kicking – which can be one of the most effective techniques – is rarely used (until someone falls to the ground). I’m not going to get into specific techniques – that’s where the Fight-Fast instructional packages come in -- but target awareness is the key. Do not spend your precious seconds trying to manage your fear, recall a specific karate chop, or any other type of “inward” focus.
The clever fighter focuses his attention outward.
"I have never advocated war except as a means to peace."
— Ulysses S. Grant
Til next time...
Bob Pierce
Head Honcho, TRS/FightFast
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P.S. Oh... there's something else.
Israeli commando Nir Mamen has perfected a short-cut teaching method that will force-feed these skills into you faster than you ever believed possible.
Best of all you do not need to be in shape... you do not need to have any previous skills (Israeli soldiers come from the civilian population, just like you)... you do not need to be quick, or agile, or strong... and... you do not need to be "blood thirsty".
Because the Israeli army had to learn quick how to take ordinary men (who have no special skills or advantages whatsoever)... and turn them literally overnight into super-skilled fighters who could face lethal combat with absolute confidence and mega-dangerous moves that would prevail over the enemy.