How to Brawl in Self Defense

Learning brawling for self defense is a solid strategy because you are learning a fighting style that is immediately practical because by its very nature brawling is designed to be used in an all out drag out fight, often in narrow areas or with unfavorable odds. I wouldn't take a brawler against a black belt in an open field, all things being equal, but if you want to learn more self defense or learn any at all, then learning even the basics of how to brawl will make a huge difference.

Part of getting through a brawl is knowing your surroundings before the actual brawling takes place. Tables, stools, chairs, and bottles can all be quickly used as weapons, or used just to stumble up a group and make your escape. Being familiar with what's around you can buy critical seconds, an also help you if things go bad and it's brawling time.

Using anything at hand as a weapon isn't just a main stay of learning how to brawl. Many other self defense techniques teach the same, and even certain styles of Kung Fu are renowned for teaching this aspect of fighting.

Brawling is a natural part of self defense because most fights don't break out in a ring with a referee. Learning to fight in an actual fight setting is a critical part of self defense. Even when it's a quiet night, look around your favorite bar or hang out and study your environment to see how it can be used in the future. Getting into this habit can also help teach you to be more aware of your surroundings and therefore help to stay out of bad situations by recognizing them before they start.

Before starting this section, I need to start with the caveat of don't take this section as legal advice.  This advice, and this hub by extension, is not about legal definitions of assault or self defense, but merely deals with real life self defense and brawling.  Many people get hurt because they let up, and they let up because of the "what if" fears.  "What if I hurt him?"  "What if I get arrested?" "What if I get in trouble later?"

My issue with these thoughts is simple: they don't keep me alive.  In fact, they might kill you if you hold back during a really nasty brawl.  You learn brawling to keep yourself from getting assualted or worse.  DUring a fight or an attack, that should be your one and only priority.

After brawling your way to a successful self defense, then you can worry about the rest, but during a fight, if you die then the rest doesn't matter.  Even in an absolute worst case scenario (and if you're defending yourself most likely you're going to get through a brawl completely free of any legal reprecussion), better two years in jail than dying.  Better getting sued for hospital bills than being sexually assualted.

When you're in a self defense scenario, worry about defending yourself and nothing else.  If you're truly defending yourself, then there's more than a 90%+ chance you won't have any legal problems.  Many people are amazed at the sheer number of brawls or fights that never get the police called - and if you're defending yourself, then legally you're in as good a position as you could ask for.

Survive first in a self defense situation, and don't worry about the rest until you're safe.  You hope it never comes to defending yourself or needing to know how to brawl, but if you're in that situation, hurt your opponent (or opponents) and get out as healthy and unharmed as possible.  Deal with any reprecussions later.

Brawling can be harder to learn for some because there are no hard and fast rules as there are with different styles of martial arts.  That said, brawling is a natural fit for self defense because it's a natural style of fighting that comes from the normal assumption that you are going to be in a fight.  In many ways, effective brawling comes down simply to this idea: inflicting as much damage as possible as quickly as possible.

It doesn't matter if the attacker is 6'8" and 280 lbs - a kick to the groin, an eye gouge, a punch to the throat, and a knee to the face will put down about anyone.  If you want a practical method of self defense, then learning how to brawl is a very solid choice in getting that education.