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There's way too many variables involved in a fight... it depends on a lot. In my situation, the fight was pretty much even- the dude was probably 5'8 or so and maybe around 140... I'm 6'1 and 175 =p The other guy was pretty young, maybe two or three years older then I was, so he's not a hardened criminal who knows how to use a knife correctly in the most painful manner and how to use it without hesitating. Real muggers, the guys who are experienced, they know what kind of knife to carry around, what kind of people to mug, where to do it, how to approach, how to defend themselves, etc, etc, etc. IMO, there's a lot of luck involved. I probably wouldn't have tried anything if the mugger was bigger then me or much older (30s/40s), because chances are he knows what he's doing. Great tips for staying safe:

A: Know (at least a bit) of very basic fighting techniques. I don't mean you have to go pay 60$ a month to join some 'dojo' and listen to a 'master' talk about balancing your yin before executing an attack; just know about HOW to fight. Eg, learn about different attack/defense points in human anatomy- where you can grab to get leverage and break momentum or build it, where you can hit to make muscles lock up, where and when you need to let off an attack, how to block lethal hits or hits that could turn the situation potentially lethal, etc. Really, you shouldn't ever play with your life. If someone has a weapon and they're mugging you and look like they know what they're doing, chances are... they are. Whatever you give them will be less then what you would have to pay otherwise. Now, in the 1 out of 10 chance you happen to run into some stone cold killer who's planning on messing you up no matter what you do, you're gonna want to know how to do something besides flail around helplessly.

B: If you have to walk or bike, try to take paths that are in the midst of public areas. Witnesses are very, very bad for street muggers- they won't take the risk.

C: Travel in groups. Usually, muggers go solo. If they see two people together, and there's even the slightest chance one of them knows how to fight, they might reconsider it. The more people, the better (Having groups of >6 pretty much ensure you won't get mugged)

D: Carry a concealed weapon. Oh, and know how to use it. Real life isn't like the movies, you're not going to pick up a knife or gun and magically realize how to use effectively against a mugger trying to do the same thing! Stabbing someone is harder then most people may think. Guns are more reliable as weapons to scare off someone. The best to carry around would be something like a taser, or, less recommended, pepper spray. Non-lethal stuff that can still do damage will help you out a ton. If you can get in one spray or shock, the tide of the fight turns immediately; that one moment of weakness is what you can turn into a win. Very few people can resist the pain of non-lethal weapons, or the forced physical effects they inflict on the body.

Anyway, martial arts aren't going to help you in a fight. Submit yourself to El Wappo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3K-mrlYG7Y
"Create space, and grab a chair." Good advice, Bas.

Glabbit wrote:Galen P. Deering

Your name is win.

Count Roland wrote:you like dags?

I like dags.

At Starrz, in my experiance martial arts can be helpful but not helpful enough. I took tae kwon do for a few years and got a blackbelt but in a fight with a knife involved I would still be completely screwed. IMHO I think those classes can't be as helpful as they are harmful, they teach you a lot of good techniques but also make you feel like your a badass. You aren't. Your just fighting against people who are told NOT to kick the crap out of you, and to NOT stab you with a FAKE knife. But people think that the classes make them great and go try and start fights, then get put in the hospital.

If your being mugged, give them what they want and be glad you aren't dead, because there are a lot of people who would gladly take your stuff and stab you for the fun of it. Or, if you do have a weapon with you that he does not notice, you can TRY to outsmart him I suppose, like after giving him your possession tell him to freeze and pull out your pistol. But that may just end in death anyway. I'd say just let it go.

There's the alternative of just staring blankly at them until their brain explodes.

nerodx wrote:If your being mugged, give them what they want and be glad you aren't dead...

Truth. Your life isn't something you should be reckless with. There's no coming back from death. It's funny how when someone gets killed the first thing everyone starts thinking is "This is unreal, there must be some way to bring them back". That was a central theme in Full Metal Alchemist too.

Anyway, don't be a hero. Think of all the people whose life you would fuck with by dying.

shadow717 wrote:
In other news, guess who I ran into today by my school, the mugger. He walked up to me and tried to mug me again. He walked up to me and said "Hey Mate, give me your laptop, and your money." I Told him to "F k off". He said he was going to stab me, if I didn't give him my laptop. I said he was bluffing. He punched me, but I tackled him, then we got into a fight, that ended with me breaking his hand and kicking him in the face, and me with a black eye, and scrapes and cuts all over my elbow.

Moral of the story. Revenge is bitter sweet. It doesn't matter how much you win, you still lose, now I'm sitting here with a laptop that has a slightly cracked screen, and some guy in the hospital because of me.

Other moral of the story, if someone mugs you, give them your things, and make sure you have insurance for your stuff.

Is this some 15 kid trying to mug you? I'm just curious, according to your profile you are 14.

Ragdollmaster wrote:There's the alternative of just staring blankly at them until their brain explodes.

This is my favorite.

Ragdollmaster wrote:There's the alternative of just staring blankly at them until their brain explodes.

This is full of win.

Renegade_Turner wrote: Your name is win.

It's very rare for anyone outside my family to say that.. Thanks! =3

One more caution about fighting muggers: even if you win you might lose...
I got a good lecture from a cop once after one of my co-workers and I chased a shoplifter.

This guy was old, skinny and not too healthy looking. My friend and I followed him out of our shop and walked with him, telling him to stop. Now, here in north Cali, we grab him, hit him, restrain him, we open ourselves and our store up to a lawsuit-- (you just can't deliver a beating for petty theft, for some reason ) .

So we figure, we'll just stay with him 'til the cops show up. I'm 3 inches taller than the guy, 30lbs heavier, fit, have a little fight training, 30 years younger. My friend is a big fella, also fit, boxed in the Navy.

The old guy actually surprised the hell out both of us by winding up to swing! Probably would have tagged me if he hadn't reconsidered, and then we'd have beat the hell out of him, which I'd have been sorry to do over some dipshit bike light. As it was I thought the guy was on his way to a heart attack.

So that's the story, and the lecture from the cop was this: a frail, sickly looking person may be just that: sick. You punch him, get his blood in your skinned knuckles, he gets a bite on you, anything mixing bodily fluids, and you might wind up with AIDS or hepatitis (some of the heps are drug resistant).

As for the surprise, the cop just shook his head. He was a HUGE guy, maybe 250lbs, all muscle, well-trained, had gun, stick, metal flashlight, mace, knife, hundreds of similar gnarly friends, and the full weight of the law on his side, and he said he'd been attacked a few times by some thin and desperate looking people. He'd been stabbed in the forearm, too, and said it damaged a tendon, so his left hand didn't really work right any more.

Not that this has any real bearing on the OT, but something to think about when assessing risk...

For the OP, keep an eye on this jerk and his friends, and make sure the cops and school authorities know what's up. Forget all the bullsh*t about "snitching", this is school, not prison. And you'll need some real law backup if he attacks you again, because if he does, that'll mean he intends to do real damage, and you might have to really hurt him to defend yourself.

If he's smart, he'll learn something from the beatdown you gave him, but he doesn't sound that smart to me. Get help before hand. Have allies.

Allies: 300 pound neighbors, ex-marines, automatic rifles, bouncers, large blunt objects, and chairs.

Starrz wrote:I'm going to get a lot of shit from this, but karate can save your life. I'm guessing none of you have EVER taken martial arts,

For about 2 years.

And even my instructor, who could probably pick me up and snap me in half, stressed the dangers of knives.

Look at it this way- Your fist is a big flat solid object. It can hurt, but it's not designed to do so.

The knife is a thin, sharp object designed to cut flesh. It can cut flesh. YOU ARE MADE OF FLESH.

I got stabbed in the hand with a fork today. it's just a little bit swollen where one of the prongs hit and it's a tiny bit bloody. it's not much nowhere really noticeable or anything.

!

Starrz wrote:I'm going to get a lot of shit from this, but karate can save your life. I'm guessing none of you have EVER taken martial arts,

Bogshite.
I myself had about a month or two of karate, as well. Years before that I did a year of Judo, which I thought sucked. Since then I've returned to semi-actively practising Aikido, as I have done for 40% of my life, a martial art DESIGNED to defend yourself against anything ranging from fists through wooden knives to wooden katana's and Jo's, by means of evasion and disarming.

AND EVEN SO:

invertin's karate teacher wrote: The knife is a thin, sharp object designed to cut flesh. It can cut flesh. YOU ARE MADE OF FLESH.

When we practise techniques vs. a knife, the knife is still made of wood, and your opponent has no real intent on stabbing you, nor is he (usually) frucksed-up or desperate enough to try and slice you anyway. They just move the 'knife' forward and expect you to move away, grab their arm, and make the required movements to make the attacker end up on the floor, without their knife.

Even when we're practising like that, the 'knife' brushes against flesh, and pokes other people often enough. With a real, sharp knife plus a crazed idiot who's actually attacking you, this means you're being ripped to shreds.

Like I said:
Martial arts are useless, unless you're really good.
And I'm not going to say none of you have done martial arts, because that would be stupid.
What I am gonna say is that I'm 90% sure that no-one who has posted in this thread is good enough in any martial art to defend themselves from a sudden knife-attack unscathed.

On a lighter note, though, I am 100% sure that I, Glunnator, am the very best (and only) practitioner of the art I like to call Glun-Fu.
Not that that's a martial art or anything. It's just what I like to call the semi-imaginary 'fighting-style' I have developed after the experience with martial arts I have had.
It's never been tested.