Summary of Lessons Learned
If you are going to bluff make sure you are a good bluffer
Tom Hardy’s character does a great job of bluffing with his finger pistols in his pockets. But man you have to be good at bluffing. If you aren’t good at B.S. then this technique won’t work.
The only problem with this scenario is if someone attacks him his hands are in his pockets and he can’t defend himself.
Proximity is Your Enemy
If you are going to try and play it cool that is a fine psychological tactic. However Hardy’s character gets too close to the men who came to jump him and talks trash in their face. This puts him in a position where he can easily be sucker punched and not have enough time to react. Remember action is always sooner than reaction.
When You Talk Trash You Escalate
I don’t imagine there would have been any ability in this situation to talk their way out of it since the mob sent goons to give them a good beating. However be aware that in a more realistic scenario that you could find yourself in when you talk trash you have lost your ability to deescalate things. When people get their ego hurt they are virtually forced to fight because of their pride. Everyone is watching after all.
So instead deescalate by reasoning with them. “Hey neither one of us wants to go to jail and deal with the cops, and lawyers, and judges. How about I go this way and you go that way and we don’t have to deal with that stuff?”
Beautifully Executed Sucker Punches
Hardy’s character used a story to distract the attackers so his brother could sneak up and land the first blow. And that blow would likely have completely taken that attacker out of the fight since he used a hammer. This was brilliant.
The second brother then used the confusion to land a strike to the throat… and with brass knuckles I might add. This would have no doubt taken that attacker out of the fight. Then of course the shot to the jaw of the ring leader. I’m not 100% sure that would have eliminated him but with brass knuckles on it probably would have.
So now it is 2 vs 4 instead of 2 vs 7.
Lesson learned… cheat and use the element of surprise.
Bottle to the Head
Bottles sometimes don’t break on the first hit. But when they do break they shatter in your hand and will cut your hand.
Biting of the Ear
You can’t bite like this because the person would pull away too quickly. You can only do this if you have their head fully supported in such a manner that they can’t pull away. A rear naked choke hold – even not as a choke – is a good way to hold onto someone.
Head Butts….
Don’t head butt forehead to forehead. Use the top of your forehead or hairline to smash into your opponent’s face. If you bash foreheads it hurts both people equally.
This is Fiction…
Could 2 guys win against 7? Yes but what works in a movie or TV show is not what would work in the real world. There would be absolutely nothing fun or glamorous about being in a situation like this. In fact it would be terrifying realizing what could potentially happen to you.
Furthermore in action movies and shows the fighting is always very clean. I don’t mean clean as in no dirty moves… obviously there was a lot of “dirty fighting” in this clip. What I mean by not clean is that people are grabbing, bumping, falling, tripping, pushing. You will find yourself unable to make nice clean strikes due to constantly changing distances.
Conclusion
This is why we train. To have options for as many scenarios as possible. You can’t win every situation but if you God forbid ever find yourself in a situation like this you at least will have options. Run, deescalate, or fight and have a better chance of winning by using superior tactics.
Until next time,
Brian