"Remember those schoolyard fights that started as name calling, then shoving, and finally an almost real fight. They never escalated too far for fear of really hurting the other guy. Then there is the movies, where a fight scene can go on for 30 minutes or more with the characters beating the hell out of each other the whole time. In reality, a fight never goes for more than a few minutes. To fight longer requires top physical conditioning and extreme mental preparation.

Given these facts, what makes a great street fighter that is able to put down adversaries in seconds? Violence of action. When someone puts their hands on you with the intent of doing you physical harm, it's not time for a shoving or shouting match. A great fighter knows that it is the time for maximum violent force against the opponent. The victor is always the one who strikes the hardest and the "mostest". Physical conditioning also dictates that about all of us will run out of wind about a minute into a physical altercation, further requiring a quick and decisive end to the fray. Never allow an altercation to proceed as far as a shoving match, because you are running down the clock on your stamina. When a violent altercation starts, it is time to hit back with maximum power, and hit areas with the maximum damage potential such as the throat, groin, and the base of the neck. When someone has the intent to do you bodily harm, there is never any rules and never any playing fair. The US Military finally discovered that "Shock and Awe" was an effective strategy to win a war. You should use the same philosophy when dealing with someone who means you harm.

In the past when teaching unarmed self defense, there was always the "what-ifs". My favorite was what if it is a cop, or the person has a gun, or a knife? Let me address that:

Cops are always on yellow alert, but if they have no reason to believe you intend them harm, they can be taken down easily. Violence of action beats the super-cop bat-utility belt every time, and I would demonstrate how even the smallest in our classes could easily overpower a dressed out police office with extreme violence. All it ever took was the mental determination to succeed, and once demonstrated, no one had a problem putting down our "officer" before he had a chance to use pepper spray or draw his weapon.

If someone has a gun already drawn, your chances are not as good, but if the person does not have the mental mindset to pull the trigger without hesitation, they are an easy target as well.

A knife is a different story. Most folks view knives as less-than-lethal and are quick to use them. If you prepare yourself mentally that you are probably going to get cut, you still have the upper hand when executing violence of action.

There are no classes, no special moves, and no special knowledge required. If you commit to total expenditure of all the force you have within you to destroy your opponent, you will win. You will likely get hit, probably get hurt, and may even bleed a little. If you apply violence of action and without hesitation employ every method at your disposal to hurt, cripple and even kill your opponent you will be victorious. So prepare your mindset today, be absolute in your resolve to win, commit to maximum force and maximum damage, and you will win almost any altercation.

Now, as a final closing thought: Don't go in like a windmill, blindly flailing away. I will block 99% of your efforts and allow you time to start running out of wind before I destroy you. You must make effective strikes. You must grab me by the throat as you knee me in the groin. You may want to sink your finger in my eye until you feel brains on the other side, then wiggle it for good measure. You may even want to bite a chunk out of my neck and sever my carotid artery so I bleed out. Make yourself mentally able to do all of this and more, before I do it to you. There is never a second place in a street battle, only first and dead.."

stanceforfreedom.com VIOLENCE OF ACTION

good post! i totally agree, the one who will win a violent confrontation is the one willing to do whatever is necessary to survive. if it comes down to it, biting, scratching, eye-gouging, groin strikes are fair game..

remember in a fight to the death there is no referee...

Excellent!
Unless you have a place to really practice all out hitting, kicking, and cutting, your real life attacks will be way below the threshold level you are capable of.
Try this.
1. Wrap a Steele building support pole with 3 inches of padding. Focus on the pole and strike with everything you can muster. Note the sound the building makes.
2. Remove the wrapping and stand about what you consider your arms length with the palm of your hand touching the pole. Focus all of the power in your body on the palm contact. Then pull back your opposing shoulder while swiveling your body at the waist toward the post.
Did you hear the difference in the reaction of the structure to the power. Why?
Your subconscious knew that you could hit the pole and at some power level injure your striking hand.
In the palm pressure strike the same body saw no danger and went with more power.
The other reason is that we are "Civilized" human beings who regardless of our military training abhor the taking of human life . This will always give the other guy a small reprieve unless total hatred takes over.
When total hatred takes over the unprepared mind loses the ability to plan and perform preplanned actions.
When total hatred takes over the adrenaline flow goes off the chart and we revert to the guy on the cave wall beating the one on the floor with a stone.
The best fighter can navigate between the two without giving in to either. That ability creates the perfect warrior. It also create the possibility of schizophrenia and someone who is a danger to himself and his friends.

I suppose not only our disinclination to use deadly force is what keeps us from shooting somebody who cuts us off in traffic.

I think the only reason we're not at a shooting war is the fact that as humans we are hardwired to believe in the supremacy of the human condition. We don't kill people because we believe in the creation of a positive human when he or she does nothing to harm, or when the harm can be mitigated.

That said, you shoot or harm my kin, all bets are off. That's what prevents us from rolling over when a foreign power (ie the Japanese in WWII) attacks our people. We as patriots have a terrific warrior past and an ability to react with deadly force. The natural reaction to a direct attack is to respond with sufficient force to neutralize. It isn't a shoving match anymore.

CK