Sucker punch defense

[Kittan Bachika]

Saw this on youtube.

As soon as that kid dropped his bag, the other guy should have been on his guard.

A better solution would to be avoid this situation in the first place.

What would be your defense against a sucker punch?

 

[Dirty Dog]

I don't think I'd classify that as a sucker punch. By definition (or at least, the one I use) a sucker punch is without any real warning. This was, from what I can tell, totally avoidable, and totally predictable.

While you can train to dodge/block sucker punches, I think the most realistic approach is to assume that a sucker punch WILL land. That being true, then the only real defense (after the obvious avoidance/de-escalation etc) is to suck it up and counter in whatever way seems most appropriate under the circumstances.

I got hit with a sucker punch in the psych hall of our ER last April, and did exactly what I say above. By the time help arrived (less than a minute) I had him down and in a position from which he was no longer a significant threat. He was in jail 30 minutes later, and is still there, serving an 18 month sentence for felony assault. I finished my shift and two weeks later took off for two weeks diving in Cancun/Playa del Carmen/Tulum. I think that counts as a win.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

First, that wasn't a sucker punch. You can't defend against a sucker punch, because you can't see it coming.

Second, both were willing participants in this fight. And it *was* a fight, from the moment the camera recorded it. Both were chest-to-chest, in each other's faces. That's a fight right there. The fists just haven't started flying yet, but the fight has started already.

Third, the moment the puncher guy started to drop his backpack, I'd have dropped him like a bad habit. That's the 'assault' right there; you don't have to wait for the actual punch before you are legally allowed to defend yourself. People fail to understand that and think they have to wait be hit.

The man who got hit wanted to be aggressive, but did not want to fight. He got what he didn't expect, but it wasn't a sucker punch; it started at 00:00 on the tape, he just didn't recognize it. Notice he did not defend himself from the subsequent blows, and later attempted to save face by shaking hands with the man who just handed him his ***.

Finally, this would not have happened to me. I won't put myself in the situation of the guy who got hit; he got all up in the grill of the other guy and wasn't prepared to fight. I would hope I would not get in someone's grill to start with, and if I did, it would not be to run my mouth, but to take him down right here, right now, no discussion. And if someone gets in my grill, he goes down immediately. No chest-bumps, no trash-talk; he gets in my face and he's already assaulted me. Down he goes.

 

[Buka]

Four unimpeded shots to the head and he didn't even knock the other guy's cap off.
Kids. Gotta' love em.'

 

[MA-Caver]

I don't let a person get that close to me. I try to automatically gauge how far their reach is looking at their arms and keeping myself at that distance...particularly if there's some sense of aggression or impending aggression. I agree with Bill, the boy dropping his pack should've been taken right then and there, quickly, decisively before the pack even hit the ground. Dirty fighting? I don't think so. You don't know what the other person knows or who their friends are in the station or what they may be carrying.
From the description of the video, the guy who got hit, instigated the whole thing,

from the comments... (if true) Man exits turnstile, pushed kid out the way, kid said "What the hell" man returns, states "I'm waiting" the kid gives him a beat down.

If you're having a bad day... don't make the mistake of taking it out on total strangers. Your bad day could get much worse.

Agreed, cannot defend against a sucker punch unless you're expecting it, then it's not a sucker punch. This is where situational awareness comes in. I've been suckered before and learned not to take ANYONE for granted.

 

[seasoned]

The guy that got hit was holding his eye glasses in his right hand. Makes no sense to me.

 

[seasoned]

If he put his guard up his glasses would be in his fist. This guy should stay home. He was looking for a whopping and got one.

 

[Haakon]

Well, I don't think that was a sucker punch. By definition " to punch (a person) suddenly without warning and often without apparent provocation". It was clear where this was going, it looked like what Rory Miller calls “the Monkey Dance”. The guy in the white jacket didn't defend himself at all, there is a lot he could/should have done once the other guy dropped his backpack, keeping his hands down at his waist and standing there waiting to be hit isn't one of them.

I think Dirty Dog is on the mark about a real sucker punch. You probably won't dodge or block it because you won't know it's coming, your best bet is to learn to function after being hit and not freeze.

 

[MJS]

Saw this on youtube.

As soon as that kid dropped his bag, the other guy should have been on his guard.

A better solution would to be avoid this situation in the first place.

What would be your defense against a sucker punch?

I'm curious as to what led up to this confrontation. Hard to tell as the recording started after the initial confrontation. But, as others have said, I dont consider this a sucker punch. What would be my defense? Well, unless theres a new breed of human out there, we all have 2 eyes, and they're on the front of our face, so, other than really being aware during the confrontation, you might not see it coming. I mean, take your eyes off the guy in front of you for a moment, and that SP could come from him, while you're looking at someone else.

 

[Cyriacus]

Im going to join the Legion, and say, that was not a Sucker Punch.

And to Answer Your Question, the best Defense against a Punch like that is to either Quickstep back, or Pre-Emptively Attack. If You can avoid it at all. Otherwise just Relax and take it.

 

[JohnEdward]

Geeze.... in my opinion, of course not a sucker punch. The guy who instigated it confuse me to what he was thinking. He put his hands down holding them in front of him and stood there chin up saying am waiting? No sucker punch. This is a sucker punch.

 

[Haakon]

Damn, now that was a sucker punch, especially the second time around.

 

[JohnEdward]

Second thought, the kid who hit him was being baited I bet. I see an arrest and law suit.

 

[mook jong man]

The man in the first video was an absolute moron , and left himself no reactionary gap whatsoever. He was just lucky the other guy couldn't generate any real power. Standing that close to somebody leaves you vulnerable to headbutts , knee strikes , elbow strikes and being grappled. You want to keep them at a distance so that they at least have to take a step in to hit you , that will then give your brain time to recognize the type of attack and respond with the appropriate intercept. If the attack is an attempted sucker punch and I know some type of direct hand strike is coming in but I can't be sure which hand is coming in then I will raise my guard up , hands on the centerline and let the strike either be deflected up or let it sheer off down either side of my guard. I don't have to know which hand he is using , whichever hand he is using it will make contact at some point along this triangle formation formed by my guard, I only have to react to the movement .

 

[Cyriacus]

The man in the first video was an absolute moron , and left himself no reactionary gap whatsoever. He was just lucky the other guy couldn't generate any real power. Standing that close to somebody leaves you vulnerable to headbutts , knee strikes , elbow strikes and being grappled. You want to keep them at a distance so that they at least have to take a step in to hit you , that will then give your brain time to recognize the type of attack and respond with the appropriate intercept. If the attack is an attempted sucker punch and I know some type of direct hand strike is coming in but I can't be sure which hand is coming in then I will raise my guard up , hands on the centerline and let the strike either be deflected up or let it sheer off down either side of my guard. I don't have to know which hand he is using , whichever hand he is using it will make contact at some point along this triangle formation formed by my guard, I only have to react to the movement .

Plus, the Attacker stood there Aggressively for literally 1-3 Seconds before Striking. I mean, seriously now.

 

[Dirty Dog]

As to the second video... the first attack might be considered a sucker punch, although it could also be considered unwise to stay after the threats started. Fortunately, the attacker was throwing very weak strikes. The later attack, which knocked him out, was pure stupidity. Turning your back on your attacker to talk to the camera? Really???

 

[Zero]

Maybe a bit late coming into this post but from what I saw contained in the first video I am a bit surpirsed that, while perhaps not ethically/morally, no one at least seems to have sided with the kid. From only the footage on the one video, and also the comments on the Youtube page, it looked like both were up in each others chest and the older guy was stopping the kid getting to the turnstile in front of him. Further at times the kid was deliberately turning his head to one side and not "eye-balling" the older dude. While of course the whole point of a sucker punch is the element of surprise, I am not sure from the kid's body language from before he goes to drop his bag that he necessary wanted to engage and the old looser could have got out of this if he wanted to up to this point.

Ok, while not condoning giving a whalloping to peope like that, I am not sure the kid is the "bad one" here. But he definitely needs to go to a boxing hall, when he threw the first two shots I did a rewind on the footage as I thought this must be a hoax (!), they hardly seemed to even contact!!!

No way a sucker punch, as said above by others. A sucker punch is a strike that you (even if you are a talented fighter, although not of course Chuck Norris) don't generaly see coming, ie from behind or when your hands are busy and your guard (mental guard) is down.

As for defences, if your reflexes are good and you are lucky and see a true sucker punch ie with peripheral vision, you may get a block up or evade/turn in time. Otherwise, if hit from behind to head or jaw, you can train on going with the force of the strike to the extent possible (therefore dissipating some of the impact) - such as going into a forward role and exiting from a role into standing positiin and gaining some distance. We train in these types of responses and they can be used for hits, hard shoves to the back and ankle trips. While never having been punched from behind I have been shoved hard in the back and I did exactly this to good effect. Noted if it is a good strike you may be bloody wobbly on the legs but it is a natural movement to go into, just as long as you don't stay on the ground(!!) and the environment allows for it(!!) - as with every SD applicaiton or MA move, there is a time and a place for everything - and many times and places when not to do certain things!.