Remember this is about "Dirty" fighting and not simply "Protecting yourself". While I agree about the force being used to stop the perpetrator I will give an example or two of how dirty fighting is the subject of this thread.
1. You are being attacked, you cannot seem to win as the person takes you to the ground. There is an opening for an eye gouge do you go for it or hope that you can escape first? When do you decide to do that, from the very start, after a few seconds?
2. You see a couple fighting, the man is clearly beating on a woman - possibly his wife. You verbally tell the man to desist he does not respond, you try to move the guy away from her but alone you do not have the ability - do you go for the vitals now or just keep trying to push him away? Now, let's say he is on LSD, and feels no pain from a groin strike or other common points do you go for hitting the back of the head, the eyes, the temples all of which you may risk seriously damaging the man permanently.
International Level: International Guru / Political Participation: 3231 100%
You are right I would not start a fight. IF someone called me names I usually just smile and wave. They do not know me therefore their words do not mean anything to me. It is hard to get mad because I was called a name.
I will only start a fight if I am stepping in to protect a person. Usually I do not start fighting but just step in to stop them from harming another. IF it turns into a fight it is on them. But I will defend myself with extreme violence if needed.
If I felt my life threatened by the man on top of me I'd go for an eye gouge as soon as I felt threatened.
For the guy beating his wife, I'd have to think about what to do. Am I alone? If I'm with my youngest child I might not even get involved. That sounds cold but if I get involved and the guy turns and pulls a gun he could hurt my daughter. This would go through my mind. If I'm alone I'd certainly intervene and again, I would do what is necessary to stop him. Now, in the case he was wasted I wouldn't know that until I see the actions I take having no affect. At that point I would most certainly escalate.
But I have to ask, why are these techniques considered fighting dirty? When I was young my father took me aside and he said the only dirty fight is a fight I lose. He said fight to win. Now, he came from a tough neighborhood full of Greeks and Italians in Newark and a fight could easily lead to being maimed or dead in his day… but that was what he said. The truth is, I've rarely seen a bar fight that was just two guys standing toe to toe and boxing, that's fiction. In a bar fight, there is punching, kicking, gouging, scratching, and biting.
International Level: International Guru / Political Participation: 3231 100%
JB,
That I understand. I won't go for the eyes or do any of a dozen other "Tricks" I learned in the Army unless I feel my life is threatened. Or better, I should say I will use these least debilitating trick and ratchet things up as the threat increases. Of course, I will always respond with more force than my attacker and when and if I truly feel my life or the life of a loved one is threatened at that point nothing is off limits. Of course, my first choice would always be to try to diffuse the situation or to simply walk away. Sometimes that isn't possible.
Many fighting techniques are called dirty because you are not just standing there duking it out fist to fist. When you add elbow blows, biting, pulling hair, kicking into it, it is now a dirty fight. I have only seen clean fighting when you watch it on tv or at a arena when tow guys get into a ring with a referee. I have never seen a clean fight out on the streets or in bars or anywhere else that did not involve a ring.
KN,
Exactly, and I think that is because this quickly devolves into a fight for survival. At least, that is how the participants feel. That is one piece of this too. If the guy fighting me decides to bite a chunk out of my arm you better believe I'm going to use my training and put him to sleep and do it quickly. Of course, I think I'd put him to sleep before he bit a chunk out of my arm.