To bite or not bite - this is the question

Cynik75

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A few words about biting from Icy Mike. Do you agree or not? Any experiences with biting or being bitten?
 

Kung Fu Wang

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It depends on your biting target. If someone tries to kill you, you bite his finger off. At that moment, he may think about to go to EM ASAP before he can still have a change to connect his finger back. He won't think about killing you any more.

But to bite on a different target such as nose, ear, leg, ... , you may not be able to cause that kind of effect.
 

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A few words about biting from Icy Mike. Do you agree or not? Any experiences with biting or being bitten?
I never had the opportunity, but for me biting, as a last resort. I wouldn't go looking for it. The target would have to present itself...
 

drop bear

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I have been bitten a few times. It isn't very nice. Bit it was never a game changer.

But yeah as he says if you were keen for it it would have to be in a way that advances your position.
 

JowGaWolf

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I think priorities would change if a finger was bitten off. If someone is attacking you and you bit their finger off, then you have just giving the attacker something else to deal with other than attacking you.

An attacker has the option to attack or stop attacking. I think for some, taking finger off would a have a good chance of creating a "This isn't worth it" moment.
 

JowGaWolf

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He is not honest in how he's demonstrating a bite. It's like, pick the dumbest way to try to bite someone and then argue that all biting would be stupid.
 

MrBigglesworth

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If I was short on options and there's a chance it would distract the other person for even 1 second to create another opportunity, you're bloody right I'd do it.
 

Kung Fu Wang

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taking finger off would a have a good chance of creating a "This isn't worth it" moment.
One day I asked my teacher, "How did you deal with challengers?" He told me that one time he bit his opponent's finger off. After that day, there were no more challengers.

This is the ancient CMA strategy to deal with unfriendly challengers (it's called "black hand"). If you can cause serious damage (such as to bite his finger off), you can scare others that the risk to challenge you can be high.
 

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I'm going to say last resort for biting. I wouldn't take it off the table for real world self defense but I'm not sure I want a mouthful of Hepatitis A or whatever my attacker may have.
 

JowGaWolf

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I'm going to say last resort for biting. I wouldn't take it off the table for real world self defense but I'm not sure I want a mouthful of Hepatitis A or whatever my attacker may have.
Stuff like that is why I wouldn't want it to be my first choice or 30th. That would be a life and death scenario for me. I would have to be in a bad situation to bite someone's fingers or to bite a person period.
 

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I saw a fight once where a guy was getting grounded and pounded. Really taking a beating. When the guy delivering the beat down paused briefly to cock all the way back to wail on the guy on the bottom the bottom dude reached his head up and bit top guy in the crotch. I don't know exactly what he got between his teeth but it was something sensitive. The top dude screamed like an animal caught in a trap and kept trying to stand up and run away but bottom dude held on like a pit bull and started shaking his head back and forth, clenching his jaw like mad. When he finally got loose the top guy just limped away crying.

That was a fight ender right there, let me tell you!
 

Sifu Ken of 8 Tigers

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When testing one of my students many years ago, he got out of my headlock by biting me. He passed the test.

It isn't that I would ever encourage someone to do such a thing, but that he did it with enough control not to hurt me and yet got the desired result. I did not ask him to use one of the many techniques taught, but in true Jeet Kune Do philosophy, you do what makes sense, even if outside any set curricula.
 

Kung Fu Wang

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bit top guy in the crotch.
Beginner stage biting training - Get a raw pig leg and sink your teeth all the way down to the bone.
Intermediate stage biting training - Test your biting against dog and snake.
Advantage stage biting training - Go to zoo and test your biting against tiger and lion.
 

jayoliver00

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It depends on your biting target. If someone tries to kill you, you bite his finger off. At that moment, he may think about to go to EM ASAP before he can still have a change to connect his finger back. He won't think about killing you any more.

But to bite on a different target such as nose, ear, leg, ... , you may not be able to cause that kind of effect.

Clearly a grappling situation, so how long would it take to bite someone's finger off?

I think that's a lot of time for the person who's getting bitten to use their other hand's fingers to scoop out the Biter's eyeball or both of them. A finger for an eye, what's worse?

If you're going to go there, expect the same or worse.
 

Dirty Dog

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It depends on your biting target. If someone tries to kill you, you bite his finger off. At that moment, he may think about to go to EM ASAP before he can still have a change to connect his finger back. He won't think about killing you any more.

But to bite on a different target such as nose, ear, leg, ... , you may not be able to cause that kind of effect.
Good luck with that. Biting off a finger is a lot more difficult than you seem to think.
We've had plenty of bite injuries from patients who need restraining. None of them caused the victim to turn loose. The most likely result of biting someone in the ER is that you will be arrested. Assault on a healthcare worker is a Class 3 Felony in Colorado. If you actually injure them (like if the bite breaks the skin) it's a Class 2 Felony. If it's serious bodily injury, it's a Class 1.
 

Kung Fu Wang

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Clearly a grappling situation, so how long would it take to bite someone's finger off?
I have seen it happened within 1 second.

If one understands that fighting is dangerous, he may lose a finger, an eyeball, or even his life, he may try to avoid fighting as much as possible.
 
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Buka

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I don't consider it a viable self defense option for the most part. Yes, it can be used, but I don't consider it part of a viable game plan.

Other than dealing with the restraint of an unstable individual, there are those of us who really take offense at getting bit, and react accordingly with much vigor.
 

Ji Yuu

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My opinion is this:
Compromising the structural integrity of the attacker (the knees) will take him out of the fight; if he can't stand, he can't pursue you. Robbing the attacker of air supply is also effective but temporary. Anything that involves pain (biting) and you are taking a gamble that your attacker will retreat instead of continuing to attack you; pain tolerances differ from person to person.
 

jayoliver00

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I have seen it happened within 1 second.

If one understands that fighting is dangerous, he may lose a finger, an eyeball, or even his life, he may try to avoid fighting as much as possible.

Sure it could work, but just realize the possible immediate consequences of maiming someone.

We fought in the streets a lot, in the 'hood of North Philly. It could be life & death, esp. when others jump in. But most of the time, it was just to settle beef. If I bit someone's finger off rather than take a beating & a loss, I'd bet he'd come back and cap me in the head => game over.
 

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