Five Tips to Beat the Bigger Guy in a Street Fight.

It’s Monday morning. You’re on the way to work in your used Fiesta. Just as you’re about to hit the interstate, a guy in a Subaru is honking behind you. Then he cuts you off in traffic. You’re mad- fuming. You and the other driver exchange threats and expletives along the highway. He tries to cut you off again, while giving you the middle finger. You speed up to stop him. Oh no! He hit the car. You both come to a stop. You get out of the car, distraught at what has happened to your baby. He gets out of his car with a grimace! Oh my God, he’s seven feet tall…and he wants to fight. Here are five tips to beat the bigger guy in a street fight.

Be First. The other  guy already made threats bout how to harm you. He is moving closer. What are the chances that he want to all of a sudden talk about the weather? If he you don’t want to end up like Jordan Poole against Draymond Green, hit him first and  hard. While their brain is processing your attack, you should already be landing the next one.

Stick to the basics. Stick to your jab. Use the cross and hooks. Now isn’t the time to attempt a corkscrew kick because you spent to much time on video games. Low percentage strikes like that waste stamina, even if the land. Spinning attacks have a period where your back must be turned to your opponent. Use attacks that are quick to execute and get those hands back to guard immediately. Getting punched sucks. Getting punched by someone stronger sucks worse.

Move. The best way to fight someone bigger and stronger is to make them throw that power away. Dodge punches. Keep it striking. Don’t let them grab you. Land your punch and let them shadow box. They can hit hard, but it won’t matter if they can’t hit well. And keep your hands up. You are not Muhammad Ali or  Floyd Mayweather. You won’t be able to avoid 80% of attacks coming your way but you can minimize the damage by blocking if you can’t keep from avoiding.

Stand Your Ground. I know I just told you to move. But movement costs stamina. Also, too much movement gives the appearance of cowardice. This may prompt your opponent to turn up the aggression. You can still move intelligently by cutting angles. If you notice that your opponent is right or left handed, move to the opposite side. You can dip below punches or move off the center of your opponent. This will dodge the punch coming and keep you in range to counter. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Forcing your opponent to throw from angles will cut their reach.

Disengage. Once you’ve done your damage, leave. No not leave the scene of an accident, but any other fight. A street fight is a street fight and not a fair fight. They usually end with someone getting jumped or shot. You can’t get jumped or shot, if you aren’t there. Even better( 😂) is there won’t be a record online of you getting beat up. Take your win and leave. People hate to lose and who knows what will happen if you stay. Are they calling backup while you were celebrating? Is backup already there? Did someone call the cops?

I’m not an advocate of street fighting. But I will be easier to say that it doesn’t happen. The above advice is meant to be supplemented with actual fighting experience. By fighting experience, I mean learning actual martial arts and not doing weekly seminars for self-defense. For people who are untrained in martial arts, I believe the above advice should be basic level understanding on how to properly mitigate danger and save yourself from extreme consequences. Stay safe. Stay observant.