Buzz
What does it mean to win a fight? It means leaving the confrontation unharmed, regardless of the opponent's condition. The easiest way to avoid injury is to avoid fighting altogether. However, if you're being attacked and have no other choice, your goal should be to end the fight as quickly as possible. Certain striking techniques can help you neutralize an opponent swiftly. Keep in mind that not everyone can execute these techniques, especially without practice.
Steps
Assess the Threat
Take a few seconds to evaluate the situation. This can make a significant difference. Thinking rationally, even for a few seconds, helps you stay calm and fight with both your body and mind.
- Determine if your opponent is angry (at you or for other reasons), looking for trouble, mentally unstable, or intoxicated. This information will help you decide the best way to end the fight quickly.
- Before deciding how to fight (or flee), assess your opponent's strength and size. There's a saying that goes, "The stronger person has the advantage." This doesn't mean you can't defeat a stronger or larger opponent, but these are factors to consider.
Avoid escalating the tension. If your opponent is yelling, threatening, or throwing objects but hasn't attacked you yet, you can de-escalate the situation to avoid a physical confrontation.
- Stay calm yourself. Responding to anger with anger will only make things worse.
- Let your opponent know you're willing to listen, and pay close attention. If they're in pain or frustrated, actively listening can help calm them down.
Be cautious with unpredictable opponents. If your opponent is acting irrationally and unpredictably, such as being drunk or mentally unstable, de-escalating the situation will be challenging but not impossible.
- An impaired opponent is less likely to fight you once they've calmed down. This should influence your decision on whether to engage or try to defuse the situation.
- To help calm an impaired person, listen to them, agree with what they say, and then request they do what you want (e.g., sit down or leave). The key is to repeat this cycle until it works—even if it takes dozens of attempts. This technique will fail if you give up too soon.
Exploit your opponent's weaknesses
Avoid your opponent's first strike. If they charge at you and throw a punch, step to the side and push them down from behind as they pass you. This technique uses their momentum against them.
- Stay calm and move quickly to sidestep. Your natural instinct to dodge will help, but you might also freeze.
- When pushing your opponent, try to use your leg to sweep them off the ground and your hands to push them down.
Don't fight the way your opponent expects. Most people rely on a specific fighting style: punching, grappling, kicking, etc. Avoid using this approach.
- If your opponent punches, try to take them down to the ground.
- If your opponent seems intent on grabbing you, do your best to avoid being taken down.
Fight unpredictably. Combat techniques like Krav Maga encourage striking your opponent's weakest points unexpectedly. Use the hardest and strongest parts of your body (knees, heels, elbows, palms, and the top of your head) to target the softest and most vulnerable areas of your opponent (toes, groin, stomach, face, and sides of the neck).
- Stomp on your opponent's toes.
- Kick or punch their groin, upper abdomen (just below the ribs), or the area around the navel (diaphragm).
- Gouge their eyes or deliver a strong punch to their nose, chin, or jaw.
- If you're under attack and can grab anything to use as a weapon, do so. You can throw anything at them, like keys, dirt, sand, or gravel, or use any object as a weapon. You have the right to defend yourself by any means necessary. Just remember that this rule excludes offensive actions.
Deceive your opponent. If you're skilled at trickery or acting, you can manipulate your opponent to make the fight easier.
- Assume a defensive stance and raise your fists to encourage your opponent to mimic you. If they're untrained, they might copy your stance, unintentionally giving you control over the fight.
- Fake a kick. Pretend to aim for their shin, but instead deliver a punch to their face, lower ribs, or diaphragm. Avoid looking at your feet to prevent giving away your plan.
- If your opponent doesn't mimic you, it suggests they have some training.
Borrow techniques from experts
Use techniques from top fighters. In UFC history, eight fights have ended in 10 seconds or less. While you may not be trained like these fighters, you can still mimic their techniques.
- MMA fighters are trained in various disciplines, including boxing, wrestling, and multiple martial arts.
- Professional fighters train full-time for years to fight effectively.
Start with a powerful and unexpected punch. This approach, popular among UFC fighters, can surprise and incapacitate your opponent. If you don't punch correctly, you'll hurt your hand instead of your opponent.
- Remember to keep your thumb outside your fist.
- Strike with your knuckles—specifically, the knuckles of your index and ring fingers—and keep your wrist straight. This method is more effective and less likely to cause hand injuries.
- While UFC fighters like Gray Maynard, James Irvin, and Todd Duffee often aim for the head, less experienced fighters should target the throat, sides of the neck, or ribs.
- Although fighters like Ryan Jimmo have knocked out opponents with a single punch, remember that such knockouts are rare, even in professional boxing and MMA.
Start with a kick. British fighter Mark Weir defeated his opponent, Eugene Jackson, by delivering a well-timed kick followed by a punch to the mouth. Jackson fell, and the fight ended in just 10 seconds.
- Don't imitate Jackie Chan. A powerful low kick to the knee is much faster and more effective than a high kick to the head.
- Use the edge of your foot to strike your opponent's knee—this method helps you maintain balance while causing maximum damage.
- Kicking has an advantage over punching because it allows you to keep your distance, making it harder for your opponent to strike back.
Advice
- Remember, injuring someone in self-defense or detaining a person committing a clear criminal act (especially a serious crime) is legally justified. However, injuring someone for any other reason is illegal.
- If you're harmed by someone who isn't a police officer and you've done nothing wrong, call emergency services.
- If you see someone who isn't a police officer assaulting another person, call emergency services for assistance and follow their instructions.
Warnings
- If you're threatened or attacked by a thief, the quickest way to escape is to give them what they want. Thieves don't want to harm you; they only want valuables. While you have the right to resist, escalating a theft into a fight can worsen the situation. If the thief isn't armed, you can throw the item they want in one direction and run in the opposite direction. This is an effective distraction, and the thief will likely chase the item instead of you. However, if you're threatened with a knife or gun, tell the thief you're willing to cooperate and follow their instructions to avoid a fight. Once they have what they want, they'll leave.
- If you're attacked by someone intent on harming or killing you, you must take control of the situation by choosing the location and timing of your actions—whether to flee or fight. Attackers are often calmer than thieves, mentally unstable individuals, or those acting out of anger. They may try to corner you in a secluded area. Once you realize this, the element of surprise shifts to you, becoming your greatest advantage. Whether you choose to run or fight, exploiting your opponent's distraction can give you the upper hand.
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Never engage in illegal actions, as others have the legal right to harm you if:
- You're committing a crime (e.g., in self-defense)
- You're fleeing after committing an illegal act (e.g., performing a citizen's arrest), especially if it's a felony, and
- You resist arrest if the person is a police officer attempting to detain you, regardless of your innocence.
- You're committing a crime (e.g., in self-defense)
