You’re in love with your sport. I get that. I’ve been in love with 4. Not any more
Eh, I just hit up occasional open mats these days. The new gym is too far to train regularly and I’m competent enough for practical purposes. I just know what works and what doesn’t, which is why I specifically listed wrestling, judo, boxing, kickboxing and old-school BJJ (shown in video above) as effective.
Have you ever ended up in a clinch in all of your many scraps? Against a wall? On the ground? Arm ties? Bodylock? Otherwise grabbed or tackled?
I guess it isn’t surprising you’ve been beaten up so badly. I know what that was like too, which is one of the reasons I got into strength training and BJJ. Hasn’t happened again, with a perfect bar encounter record on the job, to boot. No lawsuits, no arrests, no lost fights, just some bruises from getting hit, the worst of which were all on my back during a particularly memorable biker brawl I broke up. I didn’t even register getting punched in the back while it was happening. I noticed the next day when someone asked me what happened in the gym locker room.
Good times at the old dive bar.
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Generally a result of saying the wrong thing. Even worse knowing the wrong thing to say and saying it anyway. I have an arrogant attitude which I try and humble through self deprecation but sometimes the mask slips. I’m actually quite physically adept but probably not as good as I think. However generally I adopt a meek and mild attitude. Dude some people will like you and some wont. The faults I’ve listed most men have to a lesser or greater extent. In some cases what kicks off fights are traits that are lauded such as courage or bravery. Also people have reasons and don’t want to tolerate anymore
Maybe something relaxing like Tai Chi or meditation would help you avoid those situations in the future.
Anytime I feel like mauling someone, I ask myself, “What’s in it for me?”. The answer is always nothing of value. If you want the satisfaction of banging someone around and prevailing, training a martial art with realistic sparring is the best way to scratch that itch. You’re just going to get your ass whooped a lot before you start prevailing, and even then somebody’s always going to have your number.
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- Glory. Battle glory none the less.
- To slake the blood thirst.
- To express dominance to the women (prior to dicken’ dem down).
I’m being facetious of course.
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Eh you’re not too far off on any of that for being facetious. Most of the guys I trained with are big fans of actually throwing down, which is why so many take jobs working bar security. You’ll get the opportunity eventually, and it makes me giddy thinking about it.
Only one guy who swung on me at work had ANY actual fighting skills, and he was the guy who showed up at last call to cause trouble. He’s the only guy who defended a rear naked choke (standing) when I had already taken his back, then he escaped my side control after I gave up on the choke and just dragged his ass backwards to the ground. I had to put him down again, take mount and secure an Americana (which he recognized right away) to get him to say those sweet, sweet words “I’m done”. He got a thrill from it all too and shook my hand when I allowed him to stand back up and get the hell out of there before the cops that the bartender called showed up. I think the cops were glad I let him go, too. One rookie cop even told me I should’ve finished the joint lock and I actually ended up sitting next to his parents on a flight to Florida a few months later. I didn’t tell them that their son encouraged me to maim anyone, just told them I had good interactions with him.
Rag-dolling chumps in front of a crowd is an awful lot of fun and a big ego boost, even if the financial rewards are meager for the risk involved.
I’d feel way differently if I still sucked at fighting and just got my ass beaten as a bouncer, which has happened to plenty of guys who take the job out of raw confidence.
Good times.
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Don’t forget the free beer!
If you woop the right ass, you can’t buy a beer in that place for at least a week.
I had a last call experience once. A guy I had kinda strangled a good bit (ok, a lot) came into my usual haunt about a week after I got out of jail for throttling his esophagus and breaking my girlfriends face (another crack story!).
He said we should let bygones be bygones, and got me a shot of Jim Beam. I reciprocated. Many shots were done, with many beer chasers. Then he left, last call was called, and it was time for me to go too.
So out the door I go, and who’s behind it? His big dumb buddy, with a big freakin hunting knife.
So I stepped back and drew my .380 that I started keeping in my pocket for all kinds of not good reasons.
He was surprised. He started blubbering about how I shouldn’t have done what I did and a bunch of other crap. I couldn’t just shoot him cuz even though he was there to kill me- he was just a big dumb moron. I held him at gunpoint until he was thoroughly on his way in the other direction and went home.
Those last call shit stirrers are a special kind of special.
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He was my only last call shit stirrer who 100 percent was there to start a fight. He wasn’t drunk, only ordered one Miller Light, and was a defiant asshole when I was just being cool and asking him to finish the 3 oz of beer left in the bottle and head home. He did the “Are you going to make me?” spiel, which I was happy to oblige.
I learned from the other bouncer that he had a long reputation of bar fights going back years, usually with drunks. I have never been particularly intimidating compared to a truly hulking bouncer, but I was still 270ish at the time and one of the strongest guys in town if you measure it by barbell lifts. He was probably around 230 or so. He definitely misread me, and unless someone has cauliflower ear or a disfigured face, it’s hard to read someone’s actual skill/experience by their appearances.
I also learned from a few gals that he fancied himself the King of Planet Fitness, which would explain why I never ran into him at any of the serious lifting gyms in town.
Still, he was crafty enough to escape my side control and defend a choke. He was particularly clever with how he posted his feet against a corner wall we landed nearby and definitely surprised me with how he got out. I invited him to come train at my coach’s home mats but he never showed up. I think he preferred fighting easy targets and feeling like a stud.
Cocaine sure is a helluva drug, and I grew to really, really dislike coked-up people when I worked the door. Just shut up already.
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A lofty honor! Especially when bestowed upon one’s own self!
I always got a kick out of the guys that mean mug at the toddlers playground when my son was a tyke.
Like “Whoa! We got a real badass over by the swingset! Oh no!”. 
No “street fights” since high school. Even then I wasn’t a hot head, just a couple scraps. I boxed for a few years in my early 20’s. I was a light heavyweight (175lb) and the only guys who’d ever spar were the big heavyweights. I wouldn’t say I got beat up, but man when some of those dudes connected cleanly it hurt. One guy in particular I remember feeling his knuckles (through wraps and 16oz gloves) against my cheek bone.
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Gretchen. Big black german shepherd. She was my dads dog. Super smart and obedient, so when she did something she REALLY did it.
She jumped in on a fight between me & my older brother once. Grabbed me by the leg and yanked me out of the room, but put big tears and punctures in my quad & hamstring in the process.
Good dog though. She never was the same after my dad passed.
Your confidence is based off your experience. No one’s trained like you have,they weren’t there sweating,they don’t have the knowledge. Right? I’m not fully convinced you grabbing my arm and me allowing you to go thru your build order would happen. I’m sure it’s worked for you in the past.
You sound like a riot man. Literally. Good friend,worse enemy. Ex meth addicts still feel the hankering to adrenalise,you slowed down in your old age or still feel the need for speed
I am a good friend. I really like and value the people in my life. I’ll go to the ends of the earth for the people I care about.
On the other hand- yeah, when I deem it necessary to hurt somebody it’s really bad for them. I have no love or kindness for certain kinds of people. Bullies, predators, etc. I kinda like to prey on them.
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Well I don’t work that job anymore, so it won’t happen even if you made the flight to Maine, got drunk and belligerent, then demanded entrance to the bar.
The bouncer who works there now might try to stop you, but he isn’t a grappler. Legend has it he trained with The Black Dragon Society high in the mountains of Tibet. A 160 year-old grand master taught him all of the forbidden scrolls, so he would probably just use the dim mak on you.
In Jiu Jitsu and judo, we spar at full effort as part of the martial art. Unlike other striking arts, that are basically just dances. Since we are sparing against people who also know what we are doing, we have to adapt and create dilemmas for our opponent. Even the most technical and experienced get caught. Now, take an untrained person who has no idea where our next grip or weight shift is occurring, you don’t stand a chance. To be clear, you wouldn’t be in control to ‘allow’ anything.
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Not every one is some inebriated barfly who got too rowdy and you caught by surprise. I still think it’s a sport. A decent 1. Perhaps suffering from my own hubris,but I still maintain going to ground is suicide with multiples and admit it,You do go to ground. I stand by my assertion that outside a controlled environment,it’s not that great.
How many freestyle fights have you had throughout your life. Strikes kicks grappling, anything.
The other thing is a lot of you Americans are on steroids. Same ability when Ur off or na?
You do sound talented and know what you’re talking about
I haven’t mentioned going to ground. Every match starts standing, and every good school teaches standup. The only time I’ve mentioned being on ground is a foot sweep to knee on belly
I already mentioned in this thread and your other. I’ve been in no less than three instances where I used self defense for myself or someone else in a brawl. All three of these instances were while working.
And endless sparring sessions leading into them
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For the untrained steroids arguably just over inflated one’s perceived abilities against someone trained. I don’t know if this is true or not. I don’t know many people who use our have used anymore.
At the elite level of grappling steroids are very much at play. They do not test and athletes openly discuss cycles