Picking and choosing your battles.

[SteveBlaine]

I walked into a grocery store tonight and some "wigged out" vagrant looking guy was running his mouth. I heard him yelling as I entered the store (he was mad about something)but we didn't see each other until I walked in the front door. At that point this homeless, scraggly man came at me and said motherf*cking p*ssy! I looked at him, ignored it and walked on. They he stumbled into the door and walked out.

I was tired, short of breath, had stabbing stomach pain from not eating all day and just finished working out at the gym. I was running on empty. No energy whatsoever.
His "frame of mind" was on something that happened to him and he was ranting and raving about it. Which in this case his beef was not with me. Which is why I let it go.

I didn't want to get into a fight--which I could have easily done if he had smacked into my car in the parking lot or done something intentional that pissed me off. Plus, if I had been full of energy, pumped up and had food in me than I would have popped off anyway .....just because he directed his anger towards me out of the blue.(which was weird)

Anyway, are you guys sometimes not in the mood to confront and other times you are hell-bent angry and wish someone popped off at you? How would have you handled a situation like this? A wise friend once said..." pick your battles."

 

[Bible_Belt]

Almost all homeless people have some sort of mental illness, as well as substance abuse problems. The guy probably had both. There's no winning in that fight.

A great thing about training martial arts and learning to fight is that it keeps you from physically engaging aggressive strangers like that. When you know for sure that you can beat someone's ass, there is nothing to prove and no honor in doing so.

 

[SteveBlaine]

Almost all homeless people have some sort of mental illness, as well as substance abuse problems. The guy probably had both. There's no winning in that fight.

A great thing about training martial arts and learning to fight is that it keeps you from physically engaging aggressive strangers like that. When you know for sure that you can beat someone's ass, there is nothing to prove and no honor in doing so.

Good point. No point in fighting because of substance abuse or mental illness.
Does training martial arts teach you not to engage with aggressive strangers?
The only fights I have been in are with people who have done something to me to which I value.
A "vagrant" who is cursing just to curse has no beef with anyone but himself--which is why I don't have a dog in that race.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Does training martial arts teach you not to engage with aggressive strangers?

You quickly learn that people who have not trained have virtually no chance in a fight against people who have. So you know from the beginning that you would win, which exudes a confidence that tends to defuse arguments. Most guys are pvssies, which makes it easy to be a bully. But when the bully runs into someone who calls his bluff, he will almost always suddenly become much friendlier.

 

[SteveBlaine]

Interesting. So when you know for sure that you can beat someone's ass, there is nothing to prove and no honor in doing so---the best thing to do is call his bluff or walk away?

I once saw an MMA fighter walk into a 7-11 and this drunken idiot mouthed off to him calling him a faggot. The MMA fighter kept his cool, ignored him and walked out of the store. The drunken guy followed him outside.
5 minutes later the MMA fighter was on top beating the daylights out of him lol.

The MMA fighter gave the drunk guy a chance by walking away.

 

[logicallefty]

The advice I gave my teenage daughter about fighting:

-Never start sh!t first

- If someone is starting trouble say "I hate to break this to you but your not worth going to jail for " or "If we fight one of us is leaving in an ambulance and it won't be me". and try to walk away

- Know how to spot security cameras and try to get to one quickly if there are any. Or go where there will be witnesses

- If the idiot hits you first, know how to drop them to the ground and restrain (which I taught her)

- If they over power you then know a few critical places to hit and take them out.

She got groped by a boy her age a few years ago and he ended up face first in the mud in a creek. became a lot nicer of a boy after that to everyone, from what I hear