So, I got attacked...

Danpad

...badly. To cut a long story short: Driving down the road, 5 youths walk into the middle of the road and stop the car in front of me. A Woman gets out of the car to tell them to move. They start banging, kicking and, strangely I thought, punching the car! I notice there's a child on board and both mother and child are petrified. I get out approach them and got a dig. I hit back and caught two of them nicely. What I didn't expect was the other 10 rats to come running out of the woodwork. Suffice to say I got a good hiding. I ended up looking like a racoon, limping with a bent nose and bruised ribs. Called cops-nothing came of it.

I'm 42, not very fit but not banjaxed either(boxed til i was 23) and want to get training in something that's going to work. I have two choicesthat work for me geographically, there's Kenpo and Krav Maga. I'm raring to go! Any opinions?
Cheers guys.

slammer187

Running would be a good sport to start

RedXIV

Fair play for stepping in when there's a kid and woman involved. Probably would have been better to run your car into them

If I had to choose between the two you've listed above, I'd pick Krav Maga, just for viciousness sake. Does this happen alot where you are?

Peetrik

RedXIV wrote: »

Fair play for stepping in when there's a kid and woman involved. Probably would have been better to run your car into them

I'll echo the above, fair play for stepping in and also using your car to run down scare off a group of lads attacking a woman and child would be totally justified IMO.

Any club that has regular, full contact sparring and that competes (full contact) against other clubs should be fine.

Danpad

RedXIV wrote: »

Fair play for stepping in when there's a kid and woman involved. Probably would have been better to run your car into them

If I had to choose between the two you've listed above, I'd pick Krav Maga, just for viciousness sake. Does this happen alot where you are?

Thankfully no, it doesn't happen often in the area, it was Halloween when all the usual ghouls come out to play.

Stark

Danpad wrote: »

I get out approach them and got a dig. I hit back and caught two of them nicely. What I didn't expect was the other 10 rats to come running out of the woodwork.

Reminds me of a joke we had as kids. Holding up two fingers: "These are two scumbags, hit one of them". Open hands: "Now you have 10 scumbags to fight off".

Ddad

Fair play to you. It takes guts to put yourself in that situation.

I've been doing Krav for three years a couple of times a week and I wouldn't be confident it would have saved you from that hiding. A lot of the situational stuff we do deals with trouble avoidance and threat elimination. You'd want to be Bruce lee to eliminate fifteeen threats and like you said yourself you did the right thing and walked into it. I'll bet the spineless toerags mobbed you as well.

Having said that I'd feel a lot better with the fitness and skill levels I have now in a situation like that, than I would have felt 10 years ago.

I've been in a few minor scrapes in the last couple of years and the Krav helped to keep situations under control. Once, it became physical and he wasn't long in exiting after a well aimed kick..that was a last resort though and I had mixed emotions about using violence but the situation warranted it.

SBG Ireland

Danpad wrote: »

...5 youths walk into the middle of the road and stop the car in front of me. A Woman gets out of the car...

Dyr

Cars make pretty good weapons against groups I'm told...

Stephen_King

Indeed. Best option would have been to run the little chavs over.

Niall0

Stephen_King wrote: »

Indeed. Best option would have been to run the little chavs over.

Probably lead to jail time

Mr. Grinder

Stay in the car and phone the cops.

Niall0

Mr. Grinder wrote: »

Stay in the car and phone the cops.

This

Pride Fighter

Mr. Grinder wrote: »

Stay in the car and phone the cops.

He did call the cops and they did nothing. I think he did the right thing. You never know what they would have done to that woman and child, they could have killed or raped her, you'll never know. Being beaten black and blue is a small price to pay. It just goes to show you the cowards that exist in this country, that gang up on a middle aged man and attack a womans car. Absolutely shameful, and absolutely shameful on the authorities to do nothing about it.

Dyr

Mr. Grinder wrote: »

Stay in the car and phone the cops.

Call the cops on halloween? "good idea...execution is flawed"

Mr. Grinder

Bambi wrote: »

Call the cops on halloween? "good idea...execution is flawed"

Go out and engage them then... Hope you have good health insurance. He was very lucky not to get stabbed or kicked to death... If your in a car you've at least got some protection and maybe a bit of time to call for help (wheather they bother to come or not is another story). It's a bad situation all round...

Dyr

Mr. Grinder wrote: »

Go out and engage them then... Hope you have good health insurance. He was very lucky not to get stabbed or kicked to death....If your in a car you've got some protection.

I suggested that staying in the car might be a good option..

Mr. Grinder

Bambi wrote: »

I suggested that staying in the car might be a good option..

Right, sorry...

focus_mad

Fair play OP for hopping in.

I think an aul bat should be carried the car from now on!

Stephen_King

Niall0 wrote: »

Probably lead to jail time

True. Would make quite the youtube video though.

How about just letting down the window and shouting at the woman to get her arse back in the car and drive?

In response to the OP, I don't think any training would have helped you too much in that situation, self defence or otherwise. Bad idea to get out of the car but fair play to you for at least trying to do something.

Niall Keane

Fair play OP! no art guarantees success, but some exist that give you a lot better chances. "experts" whose chosen style / field does not consider these matters will of course disagree, being like the proverbial toad in the bottom of the well, believing their own limited horizon encompasses all.

Its a real pity Ireland doesnt have somthing like the French law of "non-assistance à personne en danger" (deliberately failing to provide assistance to a person in danger), which can be punished by up to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000.

this would protect the victims and deter the attackers further in my opinion. If those scum knew you were not only in your rights but obliged to run them over or take an iron bar to them or whatever was lying in your car or you would face prison time, I dont think they would be stopping cars looking for trouble.

Napoleon once commented that he regretted dueling being banned as he felt that people then lost respect for one another, sometimes it seems laws and security measures (such as cameras) protect the scum from retribution and fail to serve the public in any meaningful manner.

The Bored One

To be honest with a situation like that there's not really any training that can help you "win", there's too many variables. The best you can hope for is that it might help you survive the situation a little better, by being better able to take a hit or roll with the punches.
Fair play for looking to help the person out.
With regards which club, check them both out. Whichever seems to train more actively is probably your best bet.

SBG Ireland

Danpad wrote: »

5 youths walk into the middle of the road and stop the car in front of me. A Woman gets out of the car...I get out approach them

if after reading this your advice is anything other that both of you should've stayed in your 1ton steel boxes and kept driving then you are living in a fantasy land.
to suggest there's any training he could do to go out and kung fu chop 15guys is both childish and irresponsible. the guy's lucky to be alive.

...now im not suggesting either of them purposefully mow down a group either. but seriously what did the woman expect would happen? "ok ma'am, we'll move out of your way"?
slow down
beep
try to avoid them
BUT if they insist on getting in the way then yes hit them
i'd like to see the judge that convicts a woman trying to protect her baby in those circumstances.

The Bored One

SBG Ireland wrote: »

if after reading this your advice is anything other that both of you should've stayed in your 1ton steel boxes and kept driving then you are living in a fantasy land.
to suggest there's any training he could do to go out and kung fu chop 15guys is both childish and irresponsible. the guy's lucky to be alive.

...now im not suggesting either of them purposefully mow down a group either. but seriously what did the woman expect would happen? "ok ma'am, we'll move out of your way"?
slow down
beep
try to avoid them
BUT if they insist on getting in the way then yes hit them
i'd like to see the judge that convicts a woman trying to protect her baby in those circumstances.

Problem there is he could have done the smart thing and stayed in the car, but thats no guarantee that the other person would. At which point it just gets really messy again.
Yes, not getting into this type of mess is the best plan in the first place, but if they do end up in it there aren't any really clean sensible ways of dealing with it.
Its just a sucky situation.

SBG Ireland

The Bored One wrote: »

Problem there is he could have done the smart thing and stayed in the car, but thats no guarantee that the other person would. At which point it just gets really messy again.

no that's just darwinism.

seriously though, now its a good idea for him to go out and face 15?

back to the real world here, 3 options
1 - go out, be a hero and get a hiding. regardless of how many gouge the eyes/kick the nads warrior classes he done
2 - use his car to run them over/scare them away - accept consequences
3 - stay in the car/drive away and call the cops (it'd be all over by time they got there).

that's it, nothing else.

The Bored One

SBG Ireland wrote: »

no that's just darwinism.

seriously though, now its a good idea for him to go out and face 15?

back to the real world here, 3 options
1 - go out, be a hero and get a hiding. regardless of how many gouge the eyes/kick the nads warrior classes he done
2 - use his car to run them over/scare them away - accept consequences
3 - stay in the car/drive away and call the cops (it'd be all over by time they got there).

that's it, nothing else.

I never said it was a good idea. And I also said that training will at most help him take the beating slightly better, I'm under no illusion of someone going out there and kicking ass and taking names.
The issue relates to whether the woman is in or out of her car at the time.
If she's in the car, then using his own car makes perfect sense
If she's out of the car, then she's in as much risk if he tries to use his car as a weapon/threat.
"I ran her over while trying to protect her" would go down pretty badly as a defence I'd say

OLDMAN1

SBG Ireland wrote: »

if after reading this your advice is anything other that both of you should've stayed in your 1ton steel boxes and kept driving then you are living in a fantasy land.
to suggest there's any training he could do to go out and kung fu chop 15guys is both childish and irresponsible. the guy's lucky to be alive.

...now im not suggesting either of them purposefully mow down a group either. but seriously what did the woman expect would happen? "ok ma'am, we'll move out of your way"?
slow down
beep
try to avoid them
BUT if they insist on getting in the way then yes hit them
i'd like to see the judge that convicts a woman trying to protect her baby in those circumstances.

I agree with you , but bjj wouldn't do you much good either, Why do some people mention Kung Fu when they try to mock?

Niall Keane

The woman was already out of the car, no point in speculating that the prudent move would be to stay inside, we all know that!!! but should have would have etc. means squat, situation was a woman was alone with a child facing 15 agressors.

you have two choices, you cannot use your car as "The Bored One" said you might hit her.
Choice is simple:
sit back in your cozy car and watch the fireworks, (police response time makes calling them an excercise in catching them not protecting her) or try to do something about it, I dont know but I couldnt sit back and watch a child get hurt, or maybe the car jacked with the child inside?
The OP survived! what if he had been selfish / prudent would we be reading about a woman in critical condition? or a child?

Musashi has written about multiple opponents and lining the ducks up in a row to hinder each other, but what would he know?

Many systems do train such skills, they are no guarantee but are significantly better than having no idea.
not that its just a style thing, its a fighter thing too, take boxing, Muay Thai or Kung Fu (sanda not wushu), you have figters in each of those arts who brawl successfully, they hit hard, swallow punishment and shuffle around the ring, they make for crowd pleasing pros, you have others who "float like a feather and sting like a bee", someone who can move dynamiclly, and has trained to "line the ducks up in a row" will do a lot better when facing many. Also the old Ba Gua saying should be remembered "anymore than 5 attack you at once and they hinder each other".

I'm sure the OP is a bit annoyed, thinking he might have done better, but one thing for sure he's not losing sleep cause he let a woman and child get attacked.

Peetrik

Niall Keane wrote: »

Its a real pity Ireland doesnt have somthing like the French law of "non-assistance à personne en danger" (deliberately failing to provide assistance to a person in danger), which can be punished by up to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000.

I have to say I find it hilarious that the French of all people have a law against surrendering/running away hahaha

yomchi

SBG Ireland wrote: »

no that's just darwinism.

seriously though, now its a good idea for him to go out and face 15?

back to the real world here, 3 options
1 - go out, be a hero and get a hiding. regardless of how many gouge the eyes/kick the nads warrior classes he done
2 - use his car to run them over/scare them away - accept consequences
3 - stay in the car/drive away and call the cops (it'd be all over by time they got there).

that's it, nothing else.

Simple as that, I agree. 1 versus many = bad idea. Screw drivers have been jammed into people's heads in similar situations. Lucky guy to be posting here about it.

K.O.Kiki

Niall Keane wrote: »

[...]

Musashi has written about multiple opponents and lining the ducks up in a row to hinder each other, but what would he know?

Musashi had a sword.

Dyr

Peetrik wrote: »

I have to say I find it hilarious that the French of all people have a law against surrendering/running away hahaha

When you consider that
a) Most military terms and ranks are based on french words for a reason.
b) They've a better record of knocking the crap out of other european countries than anyone else.

Then it makes perfect sense, despite what some americans would have you think :pac:

Danpad

To be honest guys, it's one of the biggest regrets of my life. I walked around in bits for quite some time after it. Why did I get out of the car? Well I sat and watched for a couple of minutes while the woman 'remonstrated' with these idiots. She took out her phone suggesting that she was going to call the cops. That's when the gang turned on her and the car.

I'm a father and i just couldn't accept the thoughts of a child scared and screaming in the back of the car. Call it a rush of blood to the head, whatever, before I knew it I was out and amongst them and it turned nasty. I just got the woman back into her car and then I slipped and fell in the middel of the road, that's when the others joined in the kicking frenzy. I managed to get up and get away and back into the car.

What i wish would've happened was that the woman stayed in her car and just drove around them, I would have followed suit. When i called the cops I told them that if i see them again and they jump in front of the car I wouldn't stop, the gard told me I'd be done for it. I give up, I really do.

To end on a positive note I haven't seen any of them in the area since, hopefully the two of them that I did land digs on have influenced the rest of them.

Dyr

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Musashi had a sword.

He had two

Peetrik

Bambi wrote: »

When you consider that
a) Most military terms and ranks are based on french words for a reason.
b) They've a better record of knocking the crap out of other european countries than anyone else.

Then it makes perfect sense, despite what some americans would have you think :pac:

All very true I'm sure but at the same time its quite funny just because of the stereotype, bit like the Irish having a law against potatoes

Niall0

Niall Keane wrote: »

Many systems do train such skills, they are no guarantee but are significantly better than having no idea.
not that its just a style thing, its a fighter thing too, take boxing, Muay Thai or Kung Fu (sanda not wushu), you have figters in each of those arts who brawl successfully, they hit hard, swallow punishment and shuffle around the ring, they make for crowd pleasing pros, you have others who "float like a feather and sting like a bee", someone who can move dynamiclly, and has trained to "line the ducks up in a row" will do a lot better when facing many. Also the old Ba Gua saying should be remembered "anymore than 5 attack you at once and they hinder each other".
.

They also could give you a false sense of confidence, its all well and good until you get stabbed by a drug addict.
Personally I think self defence is a con.

Dyr

Niall0 wrote: »

They also could give you a false sense of confidence, its all well and good until you get stabbed by a drug addict.
Personally I think self defence is a con.

Probably shouldnt be posting in a self defence forum so. Head into the soccer forum, tell them that you think soccer is a pile of pish and see what happens

Peetrik

Niall0 wrote: »

Personally I think self defence is a con.

I'd say a lot of it is, in the same way that a lot of the music we get today is just plain garbage. You have to sift through a lot of crap to see something worth looking at/listening to.

mongdesade

Danpad wrote: »

I'm 42, not very fit but not banjaxed either(boxed til i was 23) and want to get training in something that's going to work. I have two choicesthat work for me geographically, there's Kenpo and Krav Maga. I'm raring to go! Any opinions?
Cheers guys.

In answer to your question...IMO Krav Maga would be the best discipline for close quarter multiple opponent combat & it will get you fit if you stick with it & complement your training with a cardio workout regime as well.

The Bored One

Bambi wrote: »

He had two

And an oar.

Stephen_King

The Bored One wrote: »

And I also said that training will at most help him take the beating slightly better,

Couldnt help having a chuckle at that one. If I was planning on training a martial art, I wouldnt think 'helps you take a good beating off a group of chavs slightly better' would be a selling point (I realise your point was that training would have only helped slightly but anyway...)

mongdesade wrote: »

In answer to your question...IMO Krav Maga would be the best discipline for close quarter multiple opponent combat & it will get you fit if you stick with it & complement your training with a cardio workout regime as well.

No. Just...no. Look if your that worried about groups of people attacking you take a chance, buy a gun. Its the only thing I've seen that can effectively deter fairly large groups of people in quicktime. That or maybe invest in a few Westlife CD's for the motor-theres only so long anyone can put up with those boyos blaring at them. Taking up some crap art that encourages you to think you can fight more than three people at once is asking for trouble.

CIARAN_BOYLE

If you have two choices that work for you geographically I would try both and do the one that you enjoy. There isn't really a massive difference in the capability that either will provide you with so it comes down to which do you enjoy enough to keep at

Niall Keane

Quote Bambi:
Originally Posted by K.O.Kiki
Musashi had a sword.

He had two

Yea once you can use two together, you feel a bit empty with just the one. More often than not I have 2 sabres and 2 jians in the back seat, to and fro classes.

OP:
I'm a father and i just couldn't accept the thoughts of a child scared and screaming in the back of the car. Call it a rush of blood to the head….

No I’d call it being a man not a boy, I think every father understands.

OP:
before I knew it I was out and amongst them and it turned nasty. I just got the woman back into her car and then I slipped and fell in the middle of the road, that's when the others joined in the kicking frenzy.

So you must have done the damage to them on your feet? Got them to back off somewhat so you had time to get the woman into her car? And they hung around liked cowed vultures, only attacking when you were on the ground?

OP:
To end on a positive note I haven't seen any of them in the area since, hopefully the two of them that I did land digs on have influenced the rest of them.

In my youth I was a punk rocker with green and red polespiked hair, it seemed to “ask for a beating” or so every gang of scumbags seemed to have thought as did every Police officer if any of the incident was witnessed reported. So I guess the scum knew they would have a safe – repercussion free target. I lived in colourful areas.
I remember a friend of mine from Ballymun telling me he always fought back, cause though he’d lose and be hurt, by doing so he wouldn’t become an easy target, and next time they’d choose someone else to play victim. This is very true!

Nillo:
They also could give you a false sense of confidence, its all well and good until you get stabbed by a drug addict.
Personally I think self-defence is a con.

Really? “drug addict” most are aggressive beggars at worst, emaciated and weak, never seen a “flock” of smack heads out on the prowl. From my own limited experience most group attacks I’ve dealt with were made by drunken youths (17-25), and none were trained fighters, nor could weather hard hits, and I find the OP’s tale familiar in that he was able to get the woman safely back in her car after hitting one or two of them. Basically their whole strength is based on numbers, strategically that means to overwhelm. Having the goods and dropping or seriously hurting a couple of them turns the tables, I’d say conversely feeding their egos by backing away or cowering only encourages them. Plenty of scum I met definitely wanted to impress each other, a friend of mine got stabbed by a gang of lads in Phibsboro years ago (he survived) but though it was the same gang who always tried stuff with us “punks” none of us ever got stabbed. He was a gentle lad, and the cnut who stabbed him was the weasel amongst the scum, who always hung back in a fight, I guess his fear had him carrying knives. Anyway, the way my old friends I figure it, my gentle friend cowering had actually encouraged the scum to step up with his blade.

Either way, so we should not step in to protect a woman and child in case we are stabbed? Better the kid I guess? Why do people practice martial arts? If it’s not for fighting? Maybe it’s the thick “Mayo Man” in me who takes things at face value, but is fighting not the entire point?

The Bored One

Danpad wrote: »

To be honest guys, it's one of the biggest regrets of my life. I walked around in bits for quite some time after it. Why did I get out of the car? Well I sat and watched for a couple of minutes while the woman 'remonstrated' with these idiots. She took out her phone suggesting that she was going to call the cops. That's when the gang turned on her and the car.

I'm a father and i just couldn't accept the thoughts of a child scared and screaming in the back of the car. Call it a rush of blood to the head, whatever, before I knew it I was out and amongst them and it turned nasty. I just got the woman back into her car and then I slipped and fell in the middel of the road, that's when the others joined in the kicking frenzy. I managed to get up and get away and back into the car.

What i wish would've happened was that the woman stayed in her car and just drove around them, I would have followed suit. When i called the cops I told them that if i see them again and they jump in front of the car I wouldn't stop, the gard told me I'd be done for it. I give up, I really do.

To end on a positive note I haven't seen any of them in the area since, hopefully the two of them that I did land digs on have influenced the rest of them.

You went into a messy situation and came out battered but mobile. Don't go second guessing yourself now looking for what the right answer would have been. Situation like that, there isn't a right answer, just different wrong answers with different consequences.
You stopped someone else getting hurt, and thats something I have respect for. The important thing now is to recover and try not to let it mess with your life.
Its a very common feeling in this situation to want to somehow get even, to train till you're in a position to do something about the people who hurt you or others like them.
Try not to put too much energy or emotion into that, try to let it go.
You came out of that situation with a result thats sore, but one you can live it with alot better than some of the alternatives.
So try to focus on that, and not play what-if too much. Just rest, recover, and possibly beat the crap out of the heavy bag if you do start training again.

Triangla

Only thing to do in that situation is shout at the woman to get in to her car and drive away. Appeal to her instincts and tell her she's endangering her child by staying.

Film them if you have a phone and honk your horn to get their attention to draw them to you and then just drive off, not too fast to ensure you don't kill some idiot by mistake. If they dent your car as you pass so what, you think you'll care about that in ten years time?

No point pleading with a crowd of louts, it will get you nowhere.

It was a heat of the moment decision you made and shows you as having the instincts of a good person. You were trying to help. A worse person may just have driven away.






H

Niall Keane

You stopped someone else getting hurt, and thats something I have respect for.

+1

Dyr

Niall Keane wrote: »

Y
I remember a friend of mine from Ballymun telling me he always fought back, cause though he’d lose and be hurt, by doing so he wouldn’t become an easy target

Guy named Rory?

Barry.Oglesby

Bearing in mind I haven't read many of the responses, just breezed through, but I thought I'd add my experience to this.

I teach self defence/martial arts to youth groups and schools. This is a basic synopsis of the intro talk I give.

Number 1
No one ever comes away from an attack thinking "damn I wish I knew Krav Maga/Karate/BJJ". They come away thinking "why did I take the shortcut? Why didn't I stick with my friends? Why didn't I walk away when I had the chance?" or dwell on some other decision they made well in advance of the incident. Initially someone with limited maturity like a teenage boy might say "grrr I should have thumped the first guy then the others would have run", but most rational people understand that it's not the attack, but their behaviour leading to it that is the difficulty.

Number 2
Your chances of being attacked if you are not involved in criminality are very slim. You can further decrease these chances by making good decisions about the company you keep, the places you frequent and the choices you make in a given time frame- for example walking home drunk late at night and so on. There are factors that you can't change, for example a career choice like security, or if you live in an area that has a high crime rate. However how much you wish to curtail your freedom to reduce the chances of attack is 100% a personal choice. As an example, if you never walk alone at night, then you will never be attacked at night, but then again you can never just pop out for a night time stroll. Equally if you like to spontaneously explore new places to drink or dance , or prefer to stick to the known places where you know the crowd, then you are, by some people's reckoning, making a choice about your safety. This is all personal choice, and I don't think either choice makes anything other than a minuscule difference to your safety.

Number 3
Attackers have a number of things in their favour, and only an idiot would attack someone if they weren't sure they could win. Firstly, they are the attackers, and this automatically makes you the defender. That's a big deal. Secondly, they have an element of surprise or shock. Thirdly, they will give themselves a tactical advantage- either through weaponry, situation or weight of numbers.

So in the OP's case, I think you did about all you could. The woman got out of the car which was a mistake on her part, but once that was done there was nothing you could do but do likewise. Personally I would have had the phone in my hand calling the cops as I got out. After that there's not a Krav Maga, self defence, martial arts thing you can do against 5 or 6 lads. I don't care what anyone says- you are going to lose that fight. Coming out of it not stabbed or without serious injury is the goal. There are things you can do to minimise damage to yourself, or maximise damage with every blow you land, but I would bet on the boxer/experienced sport-fighter every time in that situation.

That's all I have to add. I know there'll be some ninja types telling you how flying monkfish dragon technique can floor the first guy but rational thought should tell you otherwise.

Barry

Danpad

Emotionally & psychologically I'm over it, perhaps boxing in my younger years has kept me mentally fit, but not physically capable. The first dig I got came when I ushered the woman into her car. I knew then that it wasn't going to end well. I turned to face them and got another one, that's when I lashed out.

They backed off and so did I and that's when I bloody fell! They steamed into me and I could see bodies running over and joining in.

In a statement to the gards I gave them a play by play account. They pretty much told me that it was my word against theirs and that the two I had walloped could make a complaint if they wanted to.

I'm not looking to take up something that would enable me to get revenge, that ship has sailed. I suppose I'm considering training just to feel a bit more enabled.

The bottom line though is that I don't ever intend on putting myself in that kind of situation again....not if there's more than one or two of them anyway.

Niall Keane

I don't care what anyone says- you are going to lose that fight.

Depends of what you view as winning, laying 15 people out cold without a scratch, isnt realistic. But I never fought an international sanda fight either, expecting not to be hit or pick up some bruzing. Thats just fighting.
I'd mark it:
OP V 15 scum, OP winner, picked up a badge of honour or two for his troubles but rescued the woman and child, and drove off into the sunset?

There are things you can do to minimise damage to yourself, or maximise damage with every blow you land, but I would bet on the boxer/experienced sport-fighter every time in that situation.

+1

it just struck me that people out there may actually expect martial arts to allow one to do some movie stuff, successions of one touch kos etc., and I guess any of us coaches here all have to admit that we know charlatans that sell such nonsence quite successfully. So I would agree totally Barry, about sport fighters, at a basic level it means not being fased by being hit or hurt, and being able, fit enough, to dish out punishment as long as required. I dont know how someone can have the strong intent, so necessary in fightining, and so hope to "win" (or never give up) without being throughly accustomed to violence?

Ush1

Niall Keane wrote: »

I dont know how someone can have the strong intent, so necessary in fightining, and so hope to "win" (or never give up) without being throughly accustomed to violence?

Depends what's at stake.