Originally Posted by
tallpaul
No, I think you misunderstood my point. There is always someone out there who is harder than you, the day you think nobody can bring you down is probably the day you get seriously hurt.
Most weekends I went out, someone would try it on with me, I was a bit of an arsehole when I was younger (I like to think at 41, I'm a bit more grown-up now!) and I'm sure occasionally I deserved the odd slap. I never started trouble, but whenever I found myself in a situation where I could either back down and we could all walk away, or stay and get into a fight, I always chose to fight. I started training in Full Contact Karate and gained a lot of discipline (& self respect) from it, that translated into a pub fight scenario by altering my mind-set to a confrontation. If somebody who I felt I could fairly easily tackle, confronted/ squared-up to me, 99% of the time, I wouldnt even get annoyed, I'd just let them have their vent & then walk away- What do I have to prove, I know I can hurt him more than he could hurt me. If, however, someone who was a bit more ready tried it on, I'd stand my ground, I'm not going to be pushed around by someone who thinks they can bully me. Most times (but not always), drunken "big men" are very reluctant to actually get into a fight.
Thats what most martial arts disciplines instil in you, the confidence not to fight. TBH, Muay Thai (unless you take it really seriously) and to a lesser extent, MMA (cage fighting) is a bit different in that it does seem to be more geared to the actual fighting & not the "mental" aspect.