Opponents

Nick,

Out of the many people you have come up against in the street during your career,are there any opponents you remember who were particuarly formidable?Anyone who was very hard to put away,or very skilled?

Also,are there any types of opponent you find trickier than others?Style wise or bodytypewise?

(Of course I realise this could be a sensitive question as you still put it one the line.So apologies in advance if this question is out of order).

A couple spring to mind mate...

Only time for one...I'll pop on later and add the others..

My girlfriend had just walked out of the strip club ahead of me and was waiting on the sidewalk and I was still in the lobby saying goodbye to my mates. Some clown down the road must have assumed she was a stripper so he yelled out something offensive.

I heard it as I was coming out and yelled out "what did you say sir?" He yellled something back and started hauling arse up the street. As he got near and under the lights cast by the marquis I recognized the guy as someone who knew people in the club and hung around the fringe elements and was allegedly a very dangerous boxer with a rep for fighting dirty.

I immediately assumed he'd also recognized me, so I dropped my guard and queried "Dave?" right as he launched this huge overhand right at my head. I swayed back and started trying to talk him out of it, as were the doormen who'd stepped in to the doorway to see what was happening. They're all yelling out "Dave, it's Nick you twat" I really didn't want to fight this guy but he wasn't giving me much choice so I tried to grab him and clinch him and calm him down.

He drove me back across the hood of a car and then proceeded to try and bite my left nipple off at which point I said fuck it. I grabbed his wrist and flicked my right leg up over his head and pulled him off into a quasi arm lock normally done on the ground but now being done while I'm on my back on a car bonnet.

I shoved him away and when he came in again I footswept him and put a kick into his ribs to knock the wind out of him.

The doormen mates of mine were getting upset because they knew and liked both of us...I kept looking at John with a "what am I supposed to do look" on my face. He tried charging in to grab my legs and I said "fook it" figuring I'd do us both a favour and knock him out real quick, leave and, once he woke up he'd cool down and figure everything out.

He got to all fours and I shot a quick snap kick across the jaw which only fazed him and then he got u and started heading across the street. A barman nicknamed "Pommy" had come out at this point and said "Aw fook, Nick, he's got a gun in the car, you'd better stop him" I ran up beside him and kept trying to make him realize who I was but it was like talking to a zombie. I warned him if he didnt' stop I'd have no choice but to drop him again so, once he hit the median, I belted him. He went down, got back up and we repeated the sequence six or so times with him getting nearer to the car.

In the end he was on all fours crawling to the car and I kept kicking him but he would not go down (whether this was due to him being exceptionally hard or my pscychologically holding back because this guy was a friend to so many people I worked with I'll never know). Finally, three feet from the door of the car I kicked him with the mother of all kicks and he went out. (I know it was hard because I broke two bones in the top of my foot) At that point I went and explained to everyone what had happened but the bouncers had already explained it so nobody was blaming me.

When I went back the following week to find out what had happened it turned out he'd gone to hospital for about five days but, during that time, had discovered, due to his girlfriend, the Maharaji peace and love guy who fleeced the beatles and was now all about forgiveness. She had come down the club to say that "yes, he was going for a sawn off .22 he kept under the passenger seat, and had contemplated coming after me with it once he'd healed but he'd found religion and I was spared."

I guess I owe the Maharaji one!

Nick

Nick,

Didn't you once get beaten-up, quite badly as I recall, by a spandex-clad southpaw from Malaysia?

Mick

Bloody hell Nick,

That's an awesome story.I really think you should write a book about your door days,it'd be a bestseller.

After reading that,another question occurs to me.You said that you didn't want to fight this guy because you knew him, have you or any of the guys you worked with ever encountered anyone you didn't want to fight because of their reputation or connections? Gangsters or similar?

I ask because when reading about the exploits of yourself,Malcolm Anderson,and so on, it sounds like you were all prepared to fight anyone regardless.

Cheers,

BN

Yes Mick, I've always tried to put that one out of my memory...makes me cry whenever I think about it.

No, I've never worried about reputations or gangs etc. We're all human, whatever they can do to me, I can do to them. Just a question of who gets who first.

N

who gets who first, very true indeed...

Interesting story. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Nick,

If you have time would you add on the other incidents that you alluded to in your first post?

This is too good a thread to end now!

The worst one from an injury viewpoint was Michael's and my fight with the whole kung fu school but there was 75 or so of them and two of us so it doesn't really count as one opponent. (I think you can find details of that one over at Geoff's somewhere).

Another kid nearly got me when he shot in and took my legs (do keep in mind I was only seventeen and not hugely experienced at the time. He shot in and I got a choke on him (what they call a guillotine nowadays) and he went to throw me over. We did both hit the ground but I had the presence of mind to hang on instead of letting go so it all worked out ok.

the only other one that springs to mind was in Melbourne while filling in for a guy on a club door one night and working with a mate of mine. It's another long one and I wasn't the target, he was. No time now to write it so I'll get to it when I have a moment this week.

Nick

PS: I dont' think any one particular syle was harder than another to deal with. Some boxers were obviously good..epecially if you tried to fight them at their game. I had a lightening fast Tae Kwan Do guy once on a train and we were always told a good grappler would be a handful if you didn't stop him quickly.

Body types...the hardest for me personally is the little stocky guy but I've heard some experienced hands talking about the "whip" the taller than average lean wiry guy with long arms and loads of fast twitch fibre. (I used to fall into that category myself so maybe that's why I never found them that hard)

Hi Nuck,

Thanks for your responses so far.Appreciate you taking the time.Do please post the other story when you can.


Would it be right to say that most of the guys you fought in the street couldn't touch you skillwise?

BN

Sorry,

Just realised I called you "Nuck."

Danger Nuck sounds quite kewl actually!



Interesting Nuck/Nick - why did you find the stocky fellas so hard? One would assume with the hieght thing you'd have easy access to there heads and thus K.O.'s.....

Hi nick I'm tall and punch hard and I'm strong can you explain a bit more what is it about my build that makes me strong?


Steve

Pullup,

Small man = small target. Human bodies tend to be less resistant to force in an upward direction. Hit down on the shoulder and not much happens, hit up under the armpit, different story. Hit down on the solar plexus area, same deal, not much, hit up and you'll do all sorts of damage. Same applies for the head, the eyes, the ears, the kidneys, the groin etc.
So, for me to hit someone smaller in an upwards direction...well, it's harder than for someone a lot bigger/taller.

Now, that doesn't mean they can't be beaten...it sometimes means that they require a bit more work than someone taller and skinnier. If they're stocky they can also absorb more punishment (as a rule, not carved in stone).

Steve,

Not sure I understand the question mate. You personally or tall people in general?

Nick

Nick fantastic answer m8 - you know until you mentioned the high/low thing i didnt consciously know it!!!


Would there be any fave technique for taking out those nasty short types??

Fake over hand right followed by a double leg footsweep...then I'd hit them while they "hung" for that precious second horizontal in front of me.

Nick

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Nick Hughes wrote:Fake over hand right followed by a double leg footsweep...then I'd hit them while they "hung" for that precious second horizontal in front of me.

Nick

Reminds self not to spar EVER with Nick


What was your fave strike when they were hanging??

Some sort of kick or a hammerfist??

A left reverse punch and I'd try for a second before gravity took over..sometimes I'd pull it off, sometimes not.

Nick