I've been punched in the face, have you?

Calibos wrote: »

Never thrown or received a punch. Have disarmed both a gun wielding and a knife wielding thug trying to rob our business though.

Random punches like those described here don't surprise me though. I am well aware of the type of people out there capable of it but equally I am well aware of the vast majority of people who seem to be in their own little worlds who seem incapable of picking up on the tiniest of cues that it might be coming or at least a possiblity. Am I just a terrible cynic or profiler of people or something. Drunk or loud lads coming towards me of any social strata? I give them a widish berth. Drunk Loud skangers? Other side of road. Time of day? On guard more at night than day. etc etc

Its not like I am some paranoid person suspecting everyone afraid of my own shadow etc But jaysus, Pay a little bit of attention to your surroundings and subtle cues and profiles people!

When people say someone just lashed out and punched them in the head out of the blue, I can guarantee you it wasn't two guys in suits on their way home from work quietly discussing the latest stock market values and then WHACK!!! as you walked past.

It might be a few lads in their glad rags on the way to or from the pub/party but I guarantee you heard them coming. It might have been some trackie wearing types chatting loudly amongst themselves who went suspiciously quiet as they approached you (SsshSssshh, watch this lads hehe!)

Theres always subtle cues that should alert you to the possibility that you might want to give them a wider berth.

You need to keep your wits about you but sometimes random attacks are exactly that - completely random. There are no signs. In my case I was walking down Dame St and these guys came up from behind so I didn't see them, they weren't making any noise, no yelling or shouting or anything like that to draw attention to themselves.. I'm not a lad either, I'm a middle aged woman, old enough to be their mother so not the profile of a normal street assault either. Most people avoid trouble and are savvy enough to spot the potential for it but a random attack can happen to anyone.

No ,but I got a headbut in the face during a rugby match once . Hits to the face are sore.

Once, when I was 12, something was on in school during the summer and I was walking down to it. Car parked up on the front meant you had to stop to leave the opposite side come through, bunch of lads were running up the road, knew them to see. 2nd last through punched me as he was running past, had a second to react so the poor fella in last got an absolute phunt of a kick, took both his legs out from under him and he hit the ground so hard.

The lads were too far ahead to come back, so I bolted.
Sorted it out afterwards as 12 years olds do.

Loads of times, although out of nowhere and for no reason only once. Was Patricks day a few years ago and was outside Connolly station looking for a taxi with a mate when this toe rag comes up breathing heavily in front of me and just punchs me in the face... I was twisted so for some reason instead of hitting him back I just started laughing and told him he hits like a girl, I think he wanted me to drop like a sack of spuds but I just got knocked back a little, he went to swing again then but I gave him an aul knee in the bollox first...ah junkie's...

Duck's hoop wrote: »

Think it's strange the number of people (especially men obviously) who never been in a row! Or got a slap 'once'.

Maybe it was the time and the place I grew up in, but fighting was something that was damn difficult to avoid. A lot of the time there was no option, no turning away, it was just self defence.

Have had lumps bet out of me plenty of times. It's ****.

Apart from a few schoolboy scraps which were mostly slaps and pulling and dragging out of each other I've never thrown a punch or been punched. As a kid I did nearly get attacked by a group of ferral little nackers and was kicked by them a couple of times but a passer by intervened.

I consider myself lucky, and at the same time not lucky at all as I'm simply not the kind of person that gets involved with lairy situations or people, unless you're randomly attacked such situations are usually easily avoided.

I did drop a mate or two that was more trouble then they're worth.
You know the type, everybody's had one of those mates who after a certian number of beers becomes a magnet for trouble and after more then one occasion when I've intervented to calm a situation when fists were about to fly I though to myself, you know what, I've never been punched or thrown a punch in anger, but if it's going to happen I'd rather the circumstances were of my own making rather then as a result of hanging out with a volatile drunk.

eviltimeban wrote: »

You need to do Krav Maga. You'd be aware of your surroundings and trained to instantly react to someone about to throw a punch at you.

Thankfully I have yet (touch wood) to be actually hit in the face, although I have been hit in the back and side of the head on one occasion each and been headbutted twice. I have also been glassed in the face mind you, which left a scar and perhaps a punch 'may' have been preferable to the latter.

The fact that I have never been punched is probably quite lucky on my part, I certainly don't look for fights but can be quite confrontational and have an unfortunate habit of generally not backing down if I see someone else to be in the wrong. Plus, given that I have lived a lot of my adult life in both England and Ireland (not to generalise, but would guess of the top of my head these two countries have more random attacks than most) and had countless drunken nights out over the years, I certainly have been fortunate.

Calibos wrote: »

Random punches like those described here don't surprise me though. I am well aware of the type of people out there capable of it but equally I am well aware of the vast majority of people who seem to be in their own little worlds who seem incapable of picking up on the tiniest of cues that it might be coming or at least a possiblity. Am I just a terrible cynic or profiler of people or something. Drunk or loud lads coming towards me of any social strata? I give them a widish berth. Drunk Loud skangers? Other side of road. Time of day? On guard more at night than day. etc etc

Its not like I am some paranoid person suspecting everyone afraid of my own shadow etc But jaysus, Pay a little bit of attention to your surroundings and subtle cues and profiles people!

When people say someone just lashed out and punched them in the head out of the blue, I can guarantee you it wasn't two guys in suits on their way home from work quietly discussing the latest stock market values and then WHACK!!! as you walked past.

It might be a few lads in their glad rags on the way to or from the pub/party but I guarantee you heard them coming. It might have been some trackie wearing types chatting loudly amongst themselves who went suspiciously quiet as they approached you (SsshSssshh, watch this lads hehe!)

Theres always subtle cues that should alert you to the possibility that you might want to give them a wider berth.

I do think what Calibos says here holds a lot of truth mind you. I am not saying I am a mind-reader or anything but I do tend to observe people's body language which can reveal a lot. Human beings on the whole have great difficulty in keeping their intentions under wraps. A good example is when you can tell a stranger is going to strike up a conversation with you, because you see him or her looking you at least 3-5 times out of the corner of your eye before they say something.

Same goes for these random attacks. If you follow your gut instinct and observe those around you, I'd say in the vast majority of cases you can tell if a person is up to no good or has devious intentions on their mind. They just have a certain aggressive look about them or walk in a menacing way. The two workers in suits being the exact opposite is a good example, you just know they will be harmless.

Recently when I was abroad, we were walking into town on a night out and we came across two young guys coming the opposite way, I would say late teens. Now we outnumbered them four to two, so I wasn't overly worried, but they did ask us something in English when passing and I have never felt such malicious intent coming off two people before. This is not to say they would have done anything, of course we were twice as numerous, but it overwhelmingly felt like the right thing to do not to stop when they spoke to us. Or maybe we were just unfriendly/cowardly of course

As one other poster said, naturally enough you can be extremely unlucky and receive a blow to the back of the head which you don't see coming, or simply don't read someone's intentions well enough in advance, whether this be through drunkenness, naivety, surprise or them just being a really good actor (can happen) and you get hit. I would maintain a lot of the time you can predict certain things however.

Yes. Can't remember how many times, but a few.

--LOS-- wrote: »

I'm kinda grateful that I'm not a guy so I at least avoid getting punched by strangers, I have that going for me....which is nice

it can happen i received a lovely punch from a eh classy girl and also a stilletto to the side of the head, for dancing too close to her in a niteclub!!:(

Twice- both times in Castlebar.

Once by a mouthy scumbag outside Supermacs who was just threatening random people and acting the bollocks - I drunkly said "I think he wants a dance off" - got a laugh of the crowd but also a smack under the right eye for it..

Second time was in a pub in Castlebar - got to pub late so was sober and all of a sudden a lad punches me from behind on the right ear.. I turn around and he goes to hit me again when his mate grabs him and shouts "Thats not him" and they walk off.. I was bemused, but jaysus my ear stung for a while..

TL;DR: Castlebar is a kip