Sparring/Fighting Drunk

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Zenjael

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I think today I learned a fairly good lesson about why one should be particularly cautious when sparring with people who are intoxicated. This would not be the first time (I'm a bit of a southern boy in some senses, and at our parties these sort of things always happen). As of right now I am sporting probably the fatest lip I've had in half a decade- but considering the person intoxicated received no injury, and the non-intoxicated a mild abrasion to the mouth, I think this among the better results of any boxing while intoxicants are involved.

I write this article- firstly to say that yes, at 22 I am in college and still act immaturely at times, even with studying martial arts. But moreso to emphasize this point; if you ever are in an altercation with someone intoxicated, it doesn't matter how things are going, they might, and probably will turn mean at any instant, and you must be on your most protective guard. You don't get to choose who you are attacked by, nor what they are on when they do, and hopefully you are not the one in 100,000 who do statistically get mugged... but I have been, twice, so I don't leave chance up to statistics. Not when my life is concerned. And being 5'4" means a lot of people see me, think 'small', and associate the word with exploitation. Hence how I can oft have such an unbecoming manner on these boards, and I am apologetic in those times I am more confrontational than is necessary. We all have our demons we work with ^_^.

I can adequately say we had 3 bouts where we stepped back, and got our breath. I was very happy the first two bouts went without any injury, and was enjoyable. But the third turned ugly, fast, with shots aimed directly at my mouth and teeth. You never know when the trigger gets pulled, and the worst thing is, the intoxicated don't either. Escalation has a totally different meaning when it comes to drugs- and you have to be aware of that. Hence why I didn't use kicks at all- I can only imagine the assault from a drunk individual who truly feels overwhelmed, and forgets where they are, in a safe location. You aren't fighting a man then, you're fighting somebody reduced to instincts- animalism.

When against the unreasonable, it is your reason which will protect and save your life.

Having been mugged by people on PCP, I feel I must say this; the most dangerous, scary fights are with individuals who are drugged. They no longer know their limits, nor their normative operating abilities. Proceed with caution, and protect your face at all costs. I might have received a couple of cuts on my mouth, and a fat lip- but I lost no teeth, and that was with thinking, as I raised my arms against the other, that I should prolly put a mouthguard in, at least.

And that thought wasn't wrong.

Safety to you all- hence this post.
 

ETinCYQX

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Forrest Griffin will tell you he used to spar and train drunk a lot because when he got into street fights he'd be drunk. Forrest also isn't that great of a fighter, his skill lies in his toughness not any particular flash of brilliance. There's nothing wrong with being a super tough brawler though if that's who you are.

I completely get what you're talking about but I'd avoid people who want to spar when they start drinking personally :)
 

Gnarlie

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I agree with ETinCYQX. Avoid people who want to spar drunk. Also, avoid drinking. Smart self defence.
 

WC_lun

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I don't even know where to start with this. Messing around drunk is pretty stupid and if all you got out of it was a fat lip then good for you. The rest of your post and advice...well it reeks of inexperience and some fantasy. We've all been there and understand, but you really should re-examine what you think you know about fighting and self-defense. Maybe listen to some of the martial artist that are a bit longer i tooth than you are and take to heart what they tell you.
 

chinto

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WOW REALLY???! lets see, being drunk, not a good choice. "Sparring Drunk" well that should say it all... hmm the term stupid comes to mind, but perhaps more accurate would be Darwinist! very much not a good choice!!! well stupidity is what it is.:soapbox::dalek::flame::iws::hammer:
 

elder999

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I drink. I drink to get drunk. At home.. No drunk driving, no drunken brawling. No "sparring" with friends.

Usually, too, not that "drunk:": no falling down, no throwing up, no mumbling tear jags, no hangover in the morning.

Or fat lips.
 

oaktree

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I don't know why you would want to spar with someone drunk at a party. I can't even understand how this occurs.
I would have avoided sparring and focused on finding cute girls. :ladysman:
 

Buka

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If a black belt of mine sparred drunk people at a party, I'd kick his *** and wipe the dojo with him. If he was foolish enough to tell people about it on the internet, I'd bust him to yellow belt, take away his toys and make him go to his room.
 

frank raud

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So was this a highly skilled, deadly martial artist drunk who was able to penetrate your sober and solid defense, or is this your roundabout way of telling us you cant even handle a drunk?
 

frank raud

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Why someone with an aversion to contact would voluntarily spar not once, not twice but THREE times with someone who was intoxicated is mind bottling. By your own description, you are the size of many 13 year old boys, why would you volunteer to be a walking cheeseburger to a drunk?
 

Bill Mattocks

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Ah, well. For some reason, I actually kind of get it.

When I came home from Marine boot camp, the first thing I did was go find everyone who had given me a hard time in high school and kick their asses. It was fun. My best friend from high school was in college in Fort Collins. He had a few guys who were giving him trouble and he wanted me to take care of them, too. I was feeling pretty cocky, so I said fine.

He took me to a dorm party and pointed me at the guy who had been giving him the most trouble. I got into a drinking contest with the guy (for some reason, that seemed like a good idea at the time).

So we took turns doing rum and cokes until the rum ran out. Then we switched to Canadian Club and coke. At some point, I decided it was time to fight. I stood up, announced my intentions, and took a big swing at the guy.

That's pretty much all I remember. I saw walls, ceiling, floor, faces, faces, faces, then nothing.

My buddy took me back to his dorm room; I remember getting up at one point to puke; my glasses went down the toilet and I let them go. It was winter; the next day, I woke up, staggered outside, and puked in the snow; it was mostly blood.

I was told later that I gave an okay account of myself. It was apparently a slugfest, the two of us trading roundhouse punches to the head until we both fell down. It certainly wasn't a proud moment.

I can't say I got smarter right away; I made a lot of stupid decisions after that too. Eventually I got old, and when I got old, I got smarter. I'm glad I lived long enough to get there.

No major life-lessons here. Young men get drunk and fight; whether they have martial arts training or not.
 

Josh Oakley

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Some of you guys might be being a little too hard on the kid. (Chlorine in the gene pool? Really? Come on.)

That being said, Alex, you learned the lesson, tight? Now don't RELEARN the lesson. You have nothing to gain by sparring a drunk guy. It's stupid. You know it's stupid.

So don't be more stupid by repeating the same mistakes.

While I am at it, limiting your alcohol content is a good saves on hospital bills, bar tabs, and the embarrassing moments that tend to coincide with alcohol and being young and stupid.

Now don't let these old bastards fool you: many of them got wise by being young and stupid... And alcohol played a part in that. But because of that, you should listen to us so you don't repeat those same mistakes.

Plus, since you want us to take you seriously here, "I am young and do stupid things some times" doesn't really mitigate anything. We KNOW you are young and will do stupid things. That is a part of growing. But that being said, that is how we will look at you for other things too.

So if you want real respect, set the bar higher for yourself.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk
 

Jenna

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@zenjael, I would only want to say a big congratulations to your friend who is able to stand for three rounds and fight you drunk. Does he practice Drunken Monkey KF? :) j/k

I always found the tipsy girls that got crazy over who was looking at whose bf easy to put on the loo floor. It is the alcohol you see. It affects balance, yes? Anybody who was drunk fell down easily for me. Maybe it is different for boys or men that can tolerate more alcohol in their system?

At least you did not damage each other. Perhaps that is lucky. Anyway, well done to your friend.
 

Bill Mattocks

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Now don't let these old bastards fool you: many of them got wise by being young and stupid... And alcohol played a part in that. But because of that, you should listen to us so you don't repeat those same mistakes.

Word. And I'm *still* stupid, I just make different stupid mistakes now.

As far as listening; when did anyone ever learn from the experience of others? I know I didn't. Sadly.
 

oaktree

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Thats right Jenna no amount of security can
Save a girl who looks at another girl's baby daddy
I learn this from watching Jerry Springer.
 

elder999

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Josh Oakley said:
Some of you guys might be being a little too hard on the kid. (Chlorine in the gene pool? Really? Come on.)

That being said, Alex, you learned the lesson, tight? Now don't RELEARN the lesson. You have nothing to gain by sparring a drunk guy. It's stupid. You know it's stupid.

So don't be more stupid by repeating the same mistakes.

Yeah, but his posts.......they kind of make this one compound stupidity....:lol:

Some of the things I did when I was near his age....okay, I was 20....you won't hear about the worst of them here, though......

When I was 22, I was married, had a baby on the way, and was running a nuclear power plant......
 
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