Fit to Fight.

Hello all,

Quick question with a long answer.

How fit do you HAVE to be.....?

given that I believe that if you are 'fighting' for longer than 10 seconds you are possibly losing, then not so fit at all really

this is for street defence only ... an all out BLAST requiring minimal fitness should suffice...

other physical attributes are all nice extras..

when all else is equal the bigger, stronger and fitter person will prevail...
but take a champion decathlete.. incredibly fit... but a nice power slap will sort him out quickly

you are NOT nor should be matching peoples fitness on the street

It's a bit of a tricky question because I can follow Dave's logic and I can play devil's advocate.

Given there are plenty of pork pie munching, lager swilling yobos who fight every weekend around the world the obvious answer would be you don't have to be fit at all.

However, if you want to fight well or be better at it then it behooves you to be in shape.

To begin with it was always harder to fight and knock out guys who were in phenomenal shape as opposed to slobs when I worked the doors. The fit guys seemed to be capable of taking more punishment and had faster responses etc.

Next we have to factor in adrenalin and stress which can absolutely tax someone without their being aware of it. Fit people again handle stress better than their unfit counterparts.

As for fights going ten seconds...yep, against one person maybe. The big one outside Camden Tube went way longer than that and there were plenty of times in Oz when I had running battles at clubs (for example chasing someone who'd grabbed money out of the till or threw a bottle through the club window)

So I don't know...I'd say very important if you want to make a living out of it or expect to do it more than most.

Nick

Fitter than the other bloke!

Don't forget the running option,therefore you must be fit.
In these days packs of chavs attack in group,your chance can be escape from them and sort them out one by one.
I still have Nick's article in Fighting Arts International talking about multiples and the need of roadwork.

I personally dont put 'running' high up on the list of ways to stay safe..

The only person alive who can use that safely is Usain Bolt
if you are not faster than your pursuers, then they will catch you, and if you are over 40 (32% of our population) then if caught you will be too tired to fight

OK it can be useful, but t can also make it worse