I agree with everything said and would’ve posted the same exact things. Rather than repeat, I’ll just add...
Back when I frequented bars, there was a very interesting phenomenon. People would typically let the fight play out. Until it went to the ground. If a guy knocked someone down and then went to the ground to keep it going, others got involved. The guy who grounded and pounded typically got punched, kicked etc. while there. Often enough to say so got a bottle to the back of the head. I guess it was the mentality of he’s had enough if he’s knocked down. Two other caveats - this was when two guys squared up and were both willing instead of a sucker punch situation, and it was what could be considered a relatively fair fight (really small guy vs huge guy, guy vs woman didn’t count). This was the mid 90s-mid 2000s, so take that as you will. Also, obviously bouncers broke stuff up, but there was a bit of a gap often enough between the start and them doing their thing.
I feel like we've all heard or felt this notion of it being dirty to take the fight to the ground.
In my neighborhood growing up, pretty much everyone and their father mostly expected fights to happen and for you to let the other guy up. And when they didn't get up, they didn't want anymore and you helped them up.
Sometimes real fights kept going, but you pretty much knew it was going to go that route when it did.
Now, I feel it's best to always expect some ground and pound to be headed your way.
But where to heck did this unspoken standing rule come from?
Is it the difference between fighting to "settle something" and fighting to seriously injure the other person?
What's your take on this?
That was when we were kids. The reasons for fighting were quite different than now. Most adults (and I’m not including even college aged guys) aren’t fighting over petty BS to make a point. Adults are fighting for over far more serious things, and the consequences are far higher. Usually and hopefully. If I’m fighting today, it’s because I’m being robbed, someone’s trying to hurt my wife or daughters, stuff like that. I’m not fighting over a parking spot, someone looked at my girlfriend the wrong way or said something to her, someone spilled a drink on me, etc. If I’m fighting today, it’s serious enough where I’m going to make sure it’s fully over and not give him the chance to get up and do it again.
Last “fight” I was in, a guy pulled a gun on me without any provocation. Long story short, I punched him, then kicked him while he was down. Looking back, I’m pretty sure he was out cold before I started kicking him. I kicked him a few times because I guess I instinctually wanted to make sure he couldn’t shoot me while I was running. No way I was letting him up without him being fully incapacitated. Had the situation dictated it, I would’ve grounded and pounded, choked him, etc.; whatever it would’ve taken to survive.
If it’s a mutually agreed fight between myself and someone I know won’t keep going, I’ll let him up. Not going to foreseeably happen, but you never know I guess. If it’s someone I don’t know, I’m not taking the chance of them getting up and trying to finish what they started. Not a chance.