How many fights have you been in, so far, in your life?

[Zoran]

I guesss it depends on where you bounce. In the eighties, where I started, I was paid (including being tipped out by bar and witresses) 25.00/hr. Later transferred to "Genterlemans Clubs", where I could make as much as $350.00/night.

That's interesting, it was about the same for me too (I miss that money sometimes). It was a whole different world going from a local bar to a gentlemens club. At the bar, I spent most of my time trying to keep the patrons from killing each other. While at the other, the patrons where usually very angry at the bouncers and wanted to fight us. Plus add to the fact you have to deal with all those "big money people". This included business men, politicians, celebrities, and your garden variety shady character with a lot of cash with no visible means of income. Made for an interest life experience.

 

[Dronak]

Wow. That's an interesting split on the votes. At the moment, over half the votes (~54%) are for 5+, then about 19% for 0, with 1-4 picking up the remaining ~30%. That means a large majority of people here (~80%) have been in at least 1 potentially serious fight. I'm one of the zeroes though and hope to keep it that way. I can't really remember getting into any fights at all. If anything, it would have been the kids on the playground sort of thing or with siblings which was never anything really serious. And I can only recall one threat of a fight which ended up being talked out. As for my age, I'm finishing up a PhD in graduate school so that should give you a good general idea of how old I am.

 

[Flatlander]

Wow. That's an interesting split on the votes. At the moment, over half the votes (~54%) are for 5+, then about 19% for 0, with 1-4 picking up the remaining ~30%. That means a large majority of people here (~80%) have been in at least 1 potentially serious fight. I'm one of the zeroes though and hope to keep it that way. I can't really remember getting into any fights at all. If anything, it would have been the kids on the playground sort of thing or with siblings which was never anything really serious. And I can only recall one threat of a fight which ended up being talked out. As for my age, I'm finishing up a PhD in graduate school so that should give you a good general idea of how old I am.

I was in the 1-4 range...I can only hope that from this point on, those stats won't change for me. I'm really too old for that garbage.

 

[TIGER DRAGON FIGHT]

since i have begin studying i have not been in any fights. before on the other hand in my lifetime only 2 and that was when in was in grade school.

 

[Mark Lynn]

I only voted for one and then was when I was assualted. However I had a minor fight at a job sight between a co-worker and I in 81/82 when I was an orange belt in TKD. I hit hit him once and got him in a sort of head lock in the back of a pick up truck bed.

But I had a very near fight that could have been extremly serious about the same time. On a double date driving along Northwest HWY in Dallas on a Friday/Saturday night going to see ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW a Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am (77/78 module) drives up along side of me with a car load of college guys (big as well). Well the dude swerves in towards my beat up 72 Ford Countrysquire Stationwagon and they are yelling they are going to kick my (our) a$$. I asked the other guy in the backseat if he knew these guys and being just released from the Marine Corps, promptly rolls down his window ask "what's your problem?" and proceeds to start making funny faces at the guys. But we get stopped at a traffic light, so out they come and the driver walks in front of my car as he is coming around to my side when the light turned green and I hit the gas. Clipping the driver's leg, but getting a lead on them in the process.

They catch up to us a couple of lights away, when I decide we'll make it to the movie house and there would be police there and maybe we won't have to fight. So when they get abreast with me I turn across incoming traffic about killing everyone in the car in the process and turn down the street for the movie. So we escaped that one.

But on the same night now driving home in Plano TX, 25 miles away taking the other couple home a Duster pulls up and this guys starts yelling that he is going to kick our a$$e$ (I must have had a kick me sign on the car or something ). So the marine has had enough he wants blood. So we pull up to the apparment parking lot he jumps out with a piece of electrical cable that I had as a weapon (I was an electrican at the time) and runs out in the road to meet the guys (2 of them) in the Duster. I (being the gentleman that I am ) walked around to the ladies doors and opened their doors for them, and told them to go to thier room and that the marine and I would finish this.

Anyway as I go to find the marine, I'm hearing this Duster coming roaring down the street with this nut yelling and everything and I think. Here's the marine with the only weapon, the guys who's trained to kill, (you know like in Alice's Resturant), been trained to fight in battle and all, and I'm an orange belt (yeah I had a clue about fighting). Anyway the marine scared the crap out of the driver cause this guy saw him standing in the middle of the road ready to take them on and he makes a U turn and speeds off a again about killing his vocal partner in the process since he tried to get out before the car stopped. The guy drove up twice the first time the driver chickened out before he got to the parking lot, the second time the passenger who was the one yelling must have talked him into it again because there were coming back when I saw the marine standing in the middle of the street waiting for them. (He looked like a minature HULK only not green GRRRRRRRRRRH)

It was these two incidents in the same night that convinced me I needed to learn how to fight and learn some real self defense. That was 22 years ago and I haven't been in anything since (except being assualted once, but I covered that on another thread).

Time for bed

Mark

 

[OC Kid]

I fought a lot all through school starting about 3rd grade. I even got kicked out of HS for punching a principal. The army well I puched a aj sargent and so on. Since Ive been in the MA not to many mostly ones I couldnt aviod. Now Im a older person and with todays technology I just fial 911 on my cell and let the police deal with the idiots. Actually I think having a family helpped settle me down.

 

[Shogun]

Most of the times when I have been in fights have been when I was younger. My first "real" fight, I was in 3rd grade. It was real because thats the first time ive bled from someone's fist. I got into many many fights in school, but most of them couldnt be considered real fights. I got into a very violent fight in 10th grade that involved machetes. I was in a forestry class, and someone in my group was stoned and not working. it was my job to motivate them to work so I yelled at him. He threw a stick at me and started swinging his machete at me, so I defended my self with mine. blood was drawn but nobody was seriously hurt.

 

[jaymo]

i've only been in one and it was quite traumatic. it was when i was 12. i was a fat kid that got picked on quite a bit. the class bully with two first names kept throwing spit wads in my hair on the bus and calling and endless potpourri of obscenities. since this was a daily ritual for her, i got fed up with it and said, "okay i'll fight you!" because i was sick of her picking on me.


well....she beat my a$$. big time. broke my nose, left me with a couple of black eyes and a chipped tooth. i don't think i even got a punch in. the first hit, i felt the blood run down my face and froze. i stood there like a deer in the headlights. the girl never got into any real trouble, my parents weren't comforting or consoling at all-(they're fairly abusive themselves which could start a whole new thread!), and because i didn't do anything, i was an even bigger joke. no one ever taught me how to fight or defend myself...i just knew i was sick of being picked on. to this day it really messes me up when someone hits me in the head during sparring. i don't know why, but i freeze up and go back to that freaky little place in time when i was 12.

the second fight i was in, (i didn't count on the poll) because i was attacked by a disabled student of mine, and i figured that didn't count because i didn't strike him. i had a couple of years of MA under me at the time and it paid off. he didn't get at my glasses and didn't hurt my face or my vital organs. i was able to keep the other students from getting hurt and remained calm and protected. he did get me in a weird position for a moment and bit my leg, but i applied a non-harming DMH approved move and he let go.

 

[kanjc]

According to my school record ( 7th - 12th grade) 187 fights. I lost 60 +/- of those, I used to have a mouth and a temper which were a bad combo. Since then (16 years ago now) I have been in only 2 fights , I have since learned to keep my temper and my mouth shut. I just turned 33 and started MA in August.

 

[PeachMonkey]

Just out of curiosity, how did you stay out of juvie with that many fights in school?

 

[kanjc]

It was a different time back then, fights were, sad to say, consider normal and rather common. The area I grew up in was rather rural therefore the school had the nick name "Cow pie High". Things have changed alot though around here, now days if a kid mentions that he is going to beat somebody up he is immediately suspended from school for intent....

 

[5 hand swords]

I'm interested to find out, from the Martial Talk community, how many fights each member has been in his/her life.

Any fight, meaning serious situations where you had to physically defend yourself from a person or persons because a)you thought there was a chance a person might seriously hurt you physically, or b) you thought there was a chance a person might end your life at that moment.

If you want, please tell us your story and your age now(approximate if you want).

You need more definition in the question.

I define a fight as unplanned and unasked for true physical combat (This mean intent and means to kill or disable)
Since I developed this definition and a awareness of how to avoid or win such situations
3-7 depending on definition
Still here.
40's now was in teens when I figured out what was (and was not) a fight.
That said and after viewing poll results gonna go back and choose Zero or 1.
Because I'm still here and the other guys can't vote.

 

[Sin]

When I opened up this thread I thought that most people would be in the highest number of fights, cause I am in there as well.

There are 2 kinds of people that get into fights.

the Bully- The person looking for any little thing to blow there top about

the Bullied- Guy whos the bully's target

The target either fights back and totally beats the daylights out of the bully, or gets beat up, These are the targets reasons for getting into MA.

The Bully on the other hand gets into MA to either cause more damage or to control him/herself. More times that it should they get into it to cause moe damage, hopfully the bully learns through the classes that what he/she is doing is wrong and quits bullying people around. But other times with a bad teachers the bullys get worse.

fights start with an emotion, and if you can get those emotions under control that makes you a true MAist

 

[Erik]

Does taking down and/or choking out a drunk count as a fight (I was the bouncer)?

 

[*sic]

Does taking down and/or choking out a drunk count as a fight (I was the bouncer)?

not likely, as he was probably not much of a challenge in an altered drunken state.

hmm fights yes there have been a few scuffles, but none where i have feared for my life, so i would then have to say none in that respect.

 

[Raewyn]

Im am sure if they had been good ones, they wouldnt have stood a chance against you!!!!!!!

 

[Paul Genge]

When I opened up this thread I thought that most people would be in the highest number of fights, cause I am in there as well.

There are 2 kinds of people that get into fights.

the Bully- The person looking for any little thing to blow there top about

the Bullied- Guy whos the bully's target

There is a third catogory.

3/ The proffessional.


Paul Genge
http://www.russianmartialart.org.uk

 

[5 hand swords]

There is a third catogory.

3/ The proffessional.


Paul Genge
http://www.russianmartialart.org.uk

When was the last time a Professional (assume you are talking so called modern professional fighting) fought in a Death or Permanent Disable type fight for pay.

sorry I don't think so.

 

[Paul Genge]

Soldiers, LEO's ect.....

Paul Genge
http://www.russianmartialart.org.uk

 

[5 hand swords]

Soldiers, LEO's ect.....

Paul Genge
http://www.russianmartialart.org.uk

Ok My Bad ). (look what happens when you assume)
I don't think of most of those people as in it for the pay, but ok that is a pro if he gets in the fight in the Line of duty. (on the job so to speak)
Thats really where most of M.A. came from as bullys and bullied in the single person sense don't have the organization and managment training needs to develop complete MA systems. Pro's did it a long time ago.
Like I said before "the question needs definition" but the Dialog is providing it.
Good simple Question and a nice Thread.