# Should you show off that you know muay thai?



## Giorgio (Aug 26, 2007)

Now as most people here will have studied and practised muay thai, you will know that as students of muay thai, we are much more self-confident and much less afraid of situations that could end in physical violence. However, often the best possible result is avoiding a fight entirely. 

I was in such a near-violent situation with a group of young guys in the clubbing district of Rome the other day, and although nothing happened that time, it made me wonder. What's the best way of letting someone who wants to fight you know that the fight will probably end badly for him, without wounding his pride and forcing him into the fight in order to defend it?

Also, do you think there are any situations where it's just better to have the fight and be over with it, to save future trouble? or should we always look for the peaceful way to resolve the situation?

A bit philosophical, but it's been bothering me for awhile.

thanks for your opinions!


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## aplonis (Aug 27, 2007)

These are general MA questions, I think. So I too will answer...



Giorgio said:


> What's the best way of letting someone who wants to fight you know that the fight will probably end badly for him, without wounding his pride and forcing him into the fight in order to defend it?



Suggest that no matter how it ends both your evenings will end badly if they are spent making statements to the police. Also, no matter who wins, the worst thing that will happen to either of you will be the lawyer's fees which might follow.

Also, do not agree to take it outside. There is only one time and place to fight in self-defense...right then and right there. Anywhere and anytime else is pagentry and pride, not self-defense.



Giorgio said:


> Also, do you think there are any situations where it's just better to have the fight and be over with it, to save future trouble? or should we always look for the peaceful way to resolve the situation?



Simply refuse to strike the first blow, even if only for the sake of lowering your own fine with the constabulary and making less work for your lawyer. This does not mean you must let the blow land, simply let it be seen as the first agressive move. 

Not agreeing to meet outside or at a later time you guarantee more witnesses to the fact that you refused to strike the first blow. If, despite all, it does come to blows, you stop when they do. Continuing on is not self-defense and will not be arguably so in court.

Always think to the end result a week or a month from now. This alone shows that you are confident of every outcome. It is the measure of your self-control. Why else study MA?


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## tshadowchaser (Aug 27, 2007)

simply put I do not belive that any martial artest should show off their art to build their own ego. I do belive that when push comes to shove and fists start swinging that a person should use wht they know to protect themsleves and their loved ones


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## Flammie (Aug 27, 2007)

I just walk away from agressive people. I never had one fight outside the ring in the gym where I train and I want to keep it that way.

I never show off that I do muay thai. I hardly speak about it even. There is the world and there is you with an interesting hobby. Better keep it a secret before every toughguy out there wants to prove himself in a fight etc. On the other side you can be stronger just by knowing you CAN fight but without letting anybody else know. 

So to conclude:

- Walk away at first hand. Only when there is no way out kneebust his groin
  and leave him on the ground. (a streetfight should be short imo altough
  I have never been into one and as said before, i wanna keep it that way)
- Don't fight on the street for your or viewers pride/pleasure. Fight to 
  defend yourself and leave it as such
- Never show off you do martial arts X . Dozens of morons out there 
  who want to prove you wrong without any reason whatsoever. 
- You have the advantage with the knowledge you can end fights on
  a quick base without letting your opponent know you can

this is my humble opinion

cheers


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## theletch1 (Aug 27, 2007)

Giorgio, the most dangerous opponent you will ever face is yourself.  There are two things fighting with in each of us, ego and self doubt.  Both of them can and will get you injured or dead on the street if either takes control of the way you live your life.

Flammie had a great point.  Just knowing that you know how to defend yourself will keep you safe in many instances, especially if you don't let anyone else know what you know.  Having the ability to defend yourself will give you self confidence and that will show in the way you move.  The trouble is when that self confidence becomes ego and you begin to get cocky.  The trick is to find the balance between the ego and the self doubt that is within all of us.  The self doubt will keep us from getting cocky and the ego will keep us from being the next victim on someones hit list.


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## CoryKS (Aug 27, 2007)

My take is that, no, you don't show off that you know how to defend yourself.  What you do is to make a good faith attempt to defuse the situation, even if at times that means swallowing your own pride.  If, after your best efforts to make peace, the other person still feels the need to attack you, let him reap the whirlwind.


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## Flammie (Aug 27, 2007)

In this post (mayb a bit long for some of the readers) I will tell something about myself and how I think about martial arts. Please bear with me. 

*About me

*I know that this could have been posted in "introduce yourself" but alas here it is. I am a guy , currently 23 years old, living in holland. I don't see myself as an exeptionally gifted guy or exeptionally smart or strong or whatever the hell. I try to be as ordinary as possible. I don't say I am a good muay thai fighter. I don't say I am good at anything but everything I do I enjoy a lot (otherwise i wouldn't be doing it in the first place). 

*The streets

*If I have to count the times I could have end a riot with a fight.. it's an ENORMOUS amount! So what did I do most of the time you might wonder. Simple, I walked away. It's better for myself (to keep myself at temper), for the people I walked with (Nobody wants to end an evening out with a streetfight), and not to be a bragger but, probably it would be better for the health of the agressor as well. You KNOW you can handle an agressor with ease if you want to. Mostly you can see it. They are there, being drunk, dizzy and slow and you are trained to strike with knees elbows and whatever the hell crosses your mind to finish it off. Nobody, exept my friends know I am training muay thai. As said before, I am wearing ordinary clothes, I am looking quite ordinary but I know how to fight and how to end a fight. That is your strength. You don't HAVE to fight if you don't want to. It has nothing to do with being brave or being cool. Face it, 9 on 10 opponents are just drunk and don't even think about the fact you could , I DONT KNOW, BE TRAINING MUAY THAI OR WING TSUN or WHATEVER FOR A LONG TIME AND COULD KICK THEIR *** WITH THE BLINK OF YOUR EYE. 

What I am trying to say is (or mayb not). Imagine you are the muay thai master of the century. Wouldn't it be much cooler if noone exept your friends know what you are doing? I think you have so many advantages over your opponent if he doesnt know wtf you are doing in your freetime than when they DO know. *An unprepared opponent is the kind of opponent which is the easiest to beat*. Remember; you don't want a streetfight to last for 3 hours displaying all kinds of skills. You want to end it fast and go home. 

Though my tip of the day still reamains: walk away. Tht's what I did all the time (for keeping my own pace, for ending the evening in a nice and peaceful way and to protect the drunk bastard from myself). I don't see this as being a coward. I see this as staying out of trouble where there isn't trouble. I see this as being more powerful than your opponent in a different way. it's hard to explain in english since I am from holland But i sure think some people know what i am talking about. 



> *Oskar Schindler*: That's what the Emperor said. A man steals something, he's brought in before the Emperor, he throws himself down on the ground. He begs for his life, he knows he's going to die. And the Emperor... pardons him. This worthless man, he lets him go.
> 
> *Oskar Schindler*: That's power, Amon. That is power.



The real power is knowing you train muay thai for yourself without displaying it for every small stuff coming across your path. The real power lies within the fact you know WHEN to fight and WHEN not. 

All I can say = Have fun practicing muay thai. It's an awesome martial arts, both in the ring and for self defence. I am not THAT good at it, but i think i have the hearth on the right place to be a disciplined fighter. 

Cheers


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## meth18au (Aug 28, 2007)

Very well said Flammie!!!


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## warxjournal (Aug 28, 2007)

tshadowchaser said:


> simply put I do not belive that any martial artest should show off their art to build their own ego. I do belive that when push comes to shove and fists start swinging that a person should use wht they know to protect themsleves and their loved ones



well put. but i was thinking more along the lines of stomping someone out if they screw with you. its good to avoid those types of situations, cause you"never know" but if someone swings on you, by all means.


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## Drac (Aug 28, 2007)

Great post Flammie...Volunteer NO information...If forced to use your skills and questions arise about your knowledge use the answer I have used many time*..." I saw it in a movie "..*


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## Khannie (Sep 1, 2007)

Drac said:


> *" I saw it in a movie "..*




LOL. Good one.


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## Kieran (Sep 13, 2007)

Giorgio said:


> Now as most people here will have studied and practised muay thai, you will know that as students of muay thai, we are much more self-confident and much less afraid of situations that could end in physical violence. However, often the best possible result is avoiding a fight entirely.
> 
> I was in such a near-violent situation with a group of young guys in the clubbing district of Rome the other day, and although nothing happened that time, it made me wonder. What's the best way of letting someone who wants to fight you know that the fight will probably end badly for him, without wounding his pride and forcing him into the fight in order to defend it?
> 
> ...


 

I started Muay Thai so I would know how to protect myself, my friends, family and girlfriend. I'm not a fighting person, I rarely even get angry or aggressive but I felt extremely useless because I didn't know how to fight, or defend myself aside from running away.

I've been doing Muay Thai for a year now and I would still choose to run away but that's the point, it's a choice, an option, before there was no option. I will almost always choose to leave or try to escape a situation because I do not like physical confrontation but I feel a lot more confident knowing that I could fight if I needed to.

I personally think that (not directed at anyone btw) if you are wanting to show off you have to really question why you are doing (enter martial art).


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## OUMoose (Sep 13, 2007)

A teacher of mine once told me "There are no winners to a fight, because once you decide to fight, you've already lost". 

Diffuse the situation peacefully, smile, laugh, remove yourself, whatever.  The absolute last thing you should do is let on you have training in anything.  Posturing and bravado will only serve to instigate your opponent further in most cases.  Nothing is worth risking your life, unless it's your life then intend on taking.  

@Drac:  I'm so using that quote...


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## USP45CT (Oct 22, 2007)

no i don't think you should show it off.  You have to remember with the techniques you are learning if you kick someone with good form in say a leg kick they are going to be *****ed and so are you when the cops come.  Thats not completely true with say Judo or BJJ. You can do certain techniques that will either get them to pass out or just give up and really with MT thats not usually an ending thats going to come.


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## zDom (Oct 24, 2007)

USP45CT said:


> no i don't think you should show it off.  You have to remember with the techniques you are learning if you kick someone with good form in say a leg kick they are going to be *****ed and so are you when the cops come.  Thats not completely true with say Judo or BJJ. You can do certain techniques that will either get them to pass out or just give up and really with MT thats not usually an ending thats going to come.



Be careful. Some people WON'T give up, and a technique that gets a submission on the mat may end up maiming someone on the street.

And a choke that causes someone in good condition to pass out may cause someone who is not in good condition to go under and never wake up.

Just some things to be aware of...


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## terryl965 (Oct 24, 2007)

tshadowchaser said:


> simply put I do not belive that any martial artest should show off their art to build their own ego. I do belive that when push comes to shove and fists start swinging that a person should use wht they know to protect themsleves and their loved ones


 

I have to agree with this statement as a whole.


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