Fighting/Ethics

When it comes to self defence in the streets, it is helpful to have a set of ethics so when encountering a fight, you have both clarity and the appropriate mindset.

There are not only legal and moral considerations but also practical ones. A calm and clear mindset without moral conflicts helps you to not only assess threats quickly but to respond proportionally, and avoid unnecessary harm to yourself or others. This will requires forward thinking and knowing what to train for.

Right mindset

Lower cortical arousal

You should first condition yourself to aim for a lower cortical arousal in your general daily life.

High arousal is typically when you overthink or ruminate and your brain or specifically your prefrontal cortex is highly activated. This mode is great for slowly analysing complex issues but when it comes to a fight, it is not ideal. You need to be able to move instinctively without having to think hard. When you fight, your body and reflexes should take over. This allows you to:

• React to sudden attacks quickly.
• Execute defensive techniques fluidly.
• Maintain situational awareness without being frozen by overthinking.

Obviously high cortical arousal is good for planning but the issue is it's not healthy to have for most of the day. In fact, it overall increases anxiety and depression. So not only is this foundation useful in a fight but also for your daily life and mental health.

Training your mindset for low cortical arousal is not rocket science. The best way to achieve it is through regular Aerobic Exercise like swimming, cycling etc. After a hard consistent cycle, people typically are able to feel a difference in terms of less emotional reactivity and being able to better focus under pressure and smoother instinctive decision-making where actions become more fluid and less overthought.

There are also other ways such as deep breathing, Mindfulness Meditation, yoga, tai chi and being out in nature. Such activities are able to mute emotional spikes, allow focus to sharpen under pressure and decisions flow more instinctively. Doing these regularly on a daily basis can help rewire your brain toward efficiency and reduced unnecessary prefrontal cortex (PFC) hyperactivity.

In short, building this foundation benefits both combat readiness and overall psychological resilience. From an ethics pov, this is Very important as you are able to better control your emotions.

Fight plan

Unless it's a life and death situation where pretty much anything goes, the typical situation requires a reasonable fight plan. You should commit to the ideals that you are willing to defend yourself proportionally only to the extent that it makes the attacker stop attacking and not go over the line. If they are down for the count, obviously there is no need to continue attacking.

You fight only to stop a threat and that's it. Self-defence is about protection, not retaliation or punishment. If you decide to fight, it is essential to train for the typical attacks you are most likely to encounter, such as:

• Straight punches, hooks, or jabs – the most common strikes in street confrontations.
• Grabs or shoves – often used by aggressive or intoxicated individuals.
• Unpredictable behavior from impaired individuals – such as someone who is drunk or overly aggressive.

Your framework should be to neutralize the threat as efficiently as possible. Learning to block or dodge and weave punches and perform a controlled takedown, proportional follow-up hits and withdraw when it's clear the opponent is no longer a threat are an example of a fight plan.

Training

You should be able to be familiar with the moves that you intend to do and know when to stop or to continue.

Generally in street fights, most unarmed attacks tend to be punches and shoves. Recognizing these patterns allows you to respond efficiently and proportionally.

Counter Shoves

One effective counter to repetitive shoves is to open the attacker's advancing arms with your forearms; by inserting your forearms between the attacker's advancing arms similar to a boxer's stance - to stop the forward momentum and create space - then deliver a straight punch simultaneously.

You could ask your martial arts instructor for other ways to counter a push, but whatever skill you decide to learn. Practise it either with a partner or solo where you visualise the attack and respond accordingly.

Typically after a straight punch in response to a shove, it is best to stop if the threat is no longer active. If the opponent continues to advance aggressively, then you may proceed to defend yourself.

Counter Punching

Karate uses effective blocks only for attack that is both linear and predictable, such as a straight punch or jab. However in real world fighting, attacks tends to be less predictable and moves can be more erratic. For these real world situations, it is more practical to do counterpunching or dodge and weave to avoid incoming punches as used in boxing.

In boxing, learning proper footwork is essential for both offense and defense. Proper footwork allows you to;

• Maintain balance and stability which is key to reacting quickly to attacks.

• To control distance so to keep attacker's strikes out of range whole also closing the gap when necessary.

• Angling your body to make it harder for the opponent to land a clean shot.

• Setting yourself up for effective counter punching to respond efficiently to punches or aggressive advances.

Footwork works hand in hand with dodging, weaving and slipping punches and is essential to both stop a threat and discourage more attacks when the opponent is unable to land a clean punch while you are able to effectively deter them with counter punches.

Controlled takedown

One of the most effective techniques to win a fight is through a wrestler-style takedown. You aim for the waist or hip, lift and tip them down onto the ground. This however requires a fair amount if strength and proper training and not for everyone or any situation, but is highly effective when it can be utilised appropriately. For self defence, it quickly neutralise the threat and thus limits the amount of damage an opponent can inflict on you. Tho it must be done carefully as you should hurt the opponent but not severely damage them and requires common sense and ideally heaps of experience with takedowns.

Follow-up attacks like punches to the head after the takedown, may be considered if it's necessary to stop the threat. Do not continue to attack them on the ground when it's clear the opponent is no longer able to continue attacking or is clearly no longer a threat at that point. If they get up and still want to fight and attack you, then you can proceed with self defence.

To build the minimal foundation of strength for an effective takedown, focus on exercises like weighted squats, deadlifts, lunges to build leg strength and planks, medicine ball throws, hanging leg raises and russian twists for core training. You also need to build grip strength which can be worked on with dead hangs, kettlebell holds, towel pull-ups and farmer carries. Most importantly is explosive power - this is developed through exercises such as Medicine ball slams, kettlebell swings, box and broad jumps.

Technique is also just as important as strength and it's ideal to practise with a partner to perfect the takedown.

Stopping the Threat Only

Remember that your aim is merely to avoid getting hit and to stop a threat. Once the opponent is unable to continue attacking or is no longer a threat as you are able to defend yourself or if they are down on the ground as they have been knocked out, then you should mentally be willing to stop the fight and walk away. Not just morally but legally as there is no justification to continue hitting someone when they are clearly not a threat anymore.

Self defence should be proportional and not punishment. Knowing when to disengage is critical. Sometimes it can be easy to lose yourself to rage during a fight. That is normal but you must learn to control your emotions to prevent escalating the situation.

Techniques for managing rage include:

• Deep, controlled breathing to calm the nervous system.
• Mental rehearsal of disengagement scenarios to prepare your response.
• Focusing on the goal where it's about stopping the threat, not punishing the attacker.

Mastering emotional control ensures that your self-defence remains effective, ethical, and legally defensible.

Running away

Fighting skills may be important but your goal is to protect yourself. Not to prove your toughness or winning a conformation.

Especially when facing a stronger opponent who means to do you harm or multiple attacker, the smartest and safest form of self defence is to simply run away. This requires speed and good cardiovascular and a level of humility and honesty to know when you should remove yourself.

A fat guy out of shape however is too slow and an attacker can simply catch up and continue to assault. It's preferable that you do fitness activities like swimming etc to help you be more fit and be able to run far and fast when the situation calls for it. Do not hesitate or glance back too much but maintain momentum. Stay aware of your surroundings and try to use available cover such as going behind obstacles or moving into crowds, which can slow down or block the attacker, giving you more time and space to escape.