Reply:"Other self defense tools: Kubotan as a daily protection‏"

Don Williams said...
Ferfal, I have been reading about Brazilian JiuJitsu (BJJ). Basically, the argument of the Gracies is that a fight will inevitably transition from striking to a clinch -- at which point someone skilled in grappling can throw or take down a boxer and take him out with a choke or joint lock.

Some highly skilled masters of the striking arts agree that this is a high probability -- although some MMA fighters have been good enough at wrestling to prevent the takedown and to win with strikes.


Some masters of pretty effective striking arts now say that grappling skills are essential to learn for self defense.

I myself have wondered about someone using eye gouges in a real fighter -- but the opinion of some people is that the time window for that tactic is so short that it is not a sure defense.

Do you have any opinion on this? Can a striker in a real fight avoid a takedown -- and hence should focus more on his striking skills than on learning groundfighting?

Surprise sucker punches obviously could be of value -- but the law frowns on the person who strikes first even when a preemptive attack is justified. Such is hard to prove, however.

January 24, 2010 3:11 PM

Hi Don,

It is true that fights on the street are not like the ones in the gym. That doesn't mean that gym training isn't useful, it very much is, the difference is the other variables that you can't control.

Some people that have little or no idea about either gym or street fighting will dismiss the first one as mere "sports" with no real world value. Apparently these guys think they can't beat the crap out of Tito Ortiz simply because they'd fight him in the parking lot instead of the octagon, as if some invisible force gave them extra powers because you know... its the streets and its no "sport". To those guys I'd say: Pick a fight with Tito, "Hiena" Barrios or any other pro fighter, and after you get your butt seriously kicked we can talk about it a bit more. :-)

The points of greatest importance in street fighting vs Sport fighting aren't kicks in the nuts or eye gouges, but rather the variables such as other people getting involved and weapons.

Try fighting someone with no rules, you'll soon see that the "dirty tricks" while some very effective, aren't nearly as easy to apply as they sound in theory.

Spike kick ?(that's a quick kick to the groin, straight up)

Certainly a fight finishing move, but sure isn't easy to land that blow against a smart fighter.

Eye Gouge?

Again, works, but not as well as you might think. I had a guy claw my face, going for my eyes. Keeping them well shut and moving around I still managed to force him to tap out with a neck choke. 

Had it been a street fight with no tap out, I would have left him unconcious on the floor or worse.

Breaking fingers?

Most often the hand is fisted, moving around fast. Like the spike kick, easier said than done. Still, you can do it in a street fight if you have the possibility, but of course its impossible to train such things nor does it make much sense. You dont train bashing a brick into someone's head but hey, if you can do it then more power to you in a street fight.

BJJ is a terrific martial art and I'd highly recommend it. That said, you do NOT want to end up in the floor during a street fight, no matter how good you are. That's why I recommend a combination of boxing and BJJ, along with armed self defense both knife and gun. 

A fight my brother had once relates to some of these things. He jammed his fingers into the guy's eyes, so hard he ended up with a permanent crooked finger, but that didn't end the fight: When the other guy was on his knees (both of them on the ground) a friend of my brother came running and kicked the guy in the head like a soccer ball, ending the fight for good. That's a street fight, that's the X factor that you can't control, no matter if your freaking Royce Gracie, you can't control the stranger kicking you in the head or stabbing you in the back or smashing your skull with a bottle.

About your question regarding grappling or striking. Learn both! 

Who wins?, Iron Mike Tyson or Gracie (both at their prime, not the broken Tyson we saw in his final stages). If Tyson lands a punch its bye bye Gracie, if Gracie tackles him Tyson is forced to tap out.

Now, an even better example, Gracie and Tyson, both with a month worth of training and pointers on the other ones respective discipline. My money goes to Tyson. 

There's a saying in Spanish about boxing; Big and mediocre beats small and good",

It means that strenght and size do make a difference in a fight. Some exceptionally talented fighters can overcome that (Royce did it often) but in most cases big and strong beats small and talented. That's why the physical part is very important as well, the bulk strength  you have.

All this boils down to one piece of advice: While any training is better than none, avoid the schools that base themselves on "dirty tricks" or "secrets only taught to special forces" or "No, this move is so deadly, it can only be taught when you reach this or that level...""That's why you'll never see this in sporing fights! This is too deadly for sports!" If someone gives you any of that BS, run from that place while grabbing your wallet just to make sure.

Most self defense classes teach eye gauges and other "dirty tricks". It can be explained to my 57 year old mom and yes, she'd feel safer and more confident. What's important to understand is: They do work, ok? but know the limitations of these tricks, know that a real thug probably has been eye gouged his entire life, beaten by his own foster father since he can remember and doesn't care nearly as much as you do if he loses an eye or not. Don' t be too over confident about your abilities because of these self defense moves you may learn. Better yet, try them against a non cooperative partner and see where it gets you.

FerFAL