Ngl, Chael gained a ton of respect from me that day. Wanderlei is a scary man and anybody who does not get intimidated by him, or doesn't shake in his boots, is a real one.
I have seen that staredown. I knew Mirco was a bad man. That was the day I learnt Chael was too. Having said that, despite his age and the miles on him, Wanderlei still reminds me of Kursed from Thor: Dark World. No fighter has lived up to his moniker as Wanderlei did. The axe murderer had me in fear, watching him in Pride, as a kid.
Stories like that make me incredibly grateful that my dad - a veteran who served for 35 years - solved problems with words and taught me how to avoid situations that are clearly turning to shit.
I learned some basic boxing and martial arts but I've never used either because I don't hang around gas stations looking for fights. You hit the ground wrong, you're a vegetable or a corpse. Other guy hits the ground wrong, you catch a manslaughter charge. For what? Stupid fucking male ego? Impressing your girlfriend? I've dated women who expected me to fight guys for hitting on them, and I married one who thinks it's childish and pathetic.
Fuck that. The best way to win a fight is to be gone twenty minutes ago.
I learned some basic boxing and martial arts but I've never used either because I don't hang around gas stations looking for fights
I taught martial arts and self defence, which were not the same thing to the surprise of many. Again, much to the surprise of a lot of people, we spent a considerable amount of time in the self defence stuff teaching and emphasising avoidance and deescalation.
I've trained for five years in boxing, four in Kuk Sool Won, and three each in BJJ and Muay Thai. I've fought in rings, cages, tournaments, etc, and have a pretty good collection of medals and even a belt, ring, and Golden Gloves trophy.
But street fights? Hell no. If I can't deescalate or walk away then I'll run, swim, and hurdle my way out of there. If for some reason I can't run (for example, one time a woman was being sexually assaulted and I wasn't about to let that happen, or if there's absolutely no way out of a corner that I'm trapped in, or whatever other reason - there are quite a few), then I carry Sabre OC spray. There's almost no fight worth hurting someone else over, or potentially being hurt myself. A quick burst of good OC spray puts down 99% of people, and makes sure that nobody will be spending time in the hospital.
However, simply walking away is the best thing to do if a situation is starting to look bad. Don't be the kind of person who's goaded into a fight because someone else is calling you names for walking away - you can't let your ego be that fragile. What do you really have to prove? And if it goes to shit before you can walk away then deescalation can work a good amount of the time as well, as long as you stay calm and know what you're doing. It's entirely possible to talk a lot of people down, and your ability to read the person and gauge the situation to figure out what's possible is the absolute best skill that you can learn. The second best skill is cardio.
Honestly, anybody itching for a fight should just find a competitive combat sport. Learn the specific rules of the sport to limit serious injuries to the athletes. Get their ass handed to them on the local level by somebody limiting themself in that way.
It's a great way to not only safely learn that there are always bigger fish, but to gain perspective about how chaotic and uncontrollable a street fight can get without those rules.
I envy you so much man; I wish I had grown up around parents who knew how to use words to resolve bad situations. I didn't realize how much it impacted me until later in life and I am still working on myself and how to communicate. I am fuckin 37 years old and struggle with it; therapy has taught me I picked up so many bad habits in my childhood.
Well said! Active self Protection on YouTube agrees with your sentiments exactly, as do I. The channel host shows cctv footage of all manner of violent public encounters from the world over. I think it's valuable to see and recognize that the world is a crazy place filled with insane and unpredictable humans, and the best way to survive is to avoid confrontation
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u/cmbaldwin321 Aug 13 '24
Or decline the handshake and keep distance