the night I discovered what works in a
street fight let me tell you about when
I figured out what works in a street
fight it was not beautiful but it was
eye openening consider this a late night
pizza Drive evolved into a crash lesson
in Practical self-defense so it's Friday
night and I'm standing outside this
small pizza place with my friend James
now James and I were training Partners
me and BJJ and him in boxing we'd always
made jokes about who would Prevail in a
real fight but we never thought of
actually testing it Q the attacker this
individual abruptly emerges seemingly
seeking confrontation possibly slightly
inebriated and undeniably enraged he
gets in James's face and yells something
about how we looked at him wrong classic
nonsense at first we attempted to calm
him down situational awareness right
deescalate whenever possible but he
wouldn't have it the man squared up his
hands clenched as if he was an
experienced puncher round one James the
boxer James walked in first doing his
boxing thing James displayed Flawless
footwork maintaining a safe distance
from the opponent the guy swung
violently and James slipped a few
punches as if he were in the ring then
bam a quick jab followed by a solid
cross to the man's jaw it was impressive
but here's the deal the attacker
remained standing he staggered yes but
now he was much enraged the guy surged
and grabbed James resulting in a rough
grapple boxing not much assistance when
someone is clutching you and throwing
blood blows James tried to push him away
but it was evident he did not want round
two round two my turn BJJ to the Rescue
by now the guy had turned his attention
to me great it's time to evaluate if
those hours of rolling were worthwhile
as soon as he charged at me I dodged
under his wild hook and attempted A
double- Leg Takedown we struck the
pavement with me on top and inside
control now for the magic of BJJ Ground
Control the man was trembling but he was
unable to do much due to my pinning him
I moved to mount keeping my weight heavy
and waited for him to tire out when he
started to slow down I locked in a
simple arm bar I didn't overdo it just
enough pressure to make him understand
he was done what did I learn after that
James and I waited on the curb waiting
for the cops someone inside had phoned
them I was relieved that my GI was not
involved in the mess as he was nursing a
battered cheek we joked about it
afterward but it made me think boxing
and BJJ both had their advantages boxing
james' striking was good his ability to
hold the man at Bay likely prevented him
from suffering any significant strikes
BJJ once everything hit the ground the
game was finished control surrender and
maintaining composure were crucial
factors the verdict in a street battle
there is no perfect martial art boxing
has incredible power and distance
control but when the fight turns sloppy
as it nearly always does bjj's ground
domination emerges what is the best bet
train both knowing how to punch and what
to do on the ground makes you much more
difficult to control but honestly what
is the most significant lesson
situational awareness if you can avoid
the conflict completely do so no pizza
slice is worth a visit to the emergency
room or worse so that is my tale how
about you have you had a wild martial
arts experience I would love to hear it