Street Fighting Skills: Blending Martial Arts and Self-Defense

Karate practitioners must adapt their skills for street fighting by integrating self-defense techniques and realistic training.

### Understanding Street Fighting: Insights from a Former Police Trainer
* 👊 Today, Icy Mike, a renowned street fighting champion, is testing the effectiveness of **karate in real-world scenarios**.
* 🕵 Having a background as a police officer and trainer, he emphasizes that the skills required for both law enforcement and street fighting are **fundamentally similar**, focusing on the **application of violence**.
* 💡 He explains that self-defense, combat sports, and martial arts all have their place, but street fighting involves a mix of techniques like **punching, kicking, and grappling**.
* ⚔ While dirty tactics such as eye gouges and groin strikes can be useful, Mike stresses that these should not be relied upon as the **sole means of defense**, as **fundamental fighting skills are crucial**.
* 🔫 He discusses the importance of situational awareness, especially when faced with weapons, stating that "**your ability to keep from getting shot** is your ability to **control my arm**."
* 🏃 Mike also highlights the necessity of being prepared for the unpredictability of street fights, noting that "**just run**" is not always a viable option, especially in **complex scenarios**.
* 🤼 He encourages martial artists to **adapt their skills for street situations**, advocating for practice and sparring to **bridge the gap between traditional training and real-world application**.
* 📚 Ultimately, he advises martial artists to maintain a humble mindset, embracing a "**beginner's mind**" to learn and integrate new techniques into their existing skill set.

- Today I'm fighting Icy Mike, notorious street fighting champion. Because I want to know if karate actually works. - Ah, ah, ah. I know what you're gonna say. I've seen these videos. Does karate work in a street fight? First thing's first, get out of this. We gotta change. Blend in and look like you belong here. - How do I look? - That's better. What are we doing? Guns, knives? - What do you mean? Fists? - You don't carry any weapons? - I don't. - Do I have to get rid of my stuff? - Holy cow. Do you always carry these weapons? - Yeah. Backup knife, brass knuckles, hand sanitizer. - Will I get dirty in a street fight? - Bro. (laughs) - I've never been in one. - Not if you do it right. I was actually involved in over 200 uses of force,

like as a police officer. I never got injured during use of force, and I never messed my uniform up. - Wait, you were a cop? - Yeah. For a long time. I was a police trainer. Like, I've taught cops how to be cops. - Isn't street fighting illegal? - Yeah, but the skillset for being a cop and being a criminal, it's the same skillset. It's just whether you use your abilities for good or evil. - Okay. I'm confused. - I'll clear it up for you. All right. So, it is confusing, but violence is violence. Violence is a language. You either speak it or you don't speak it. You either understand it or you don't understand it. That's one of the things that people get confused about, the difference. You've got self-defense, you got combat sports, you got martial arts. - And where does street fighting fit? - It's punching, kicking, slamming, choking.

Right? And a bunch of the nerds in the comments, no offense to a nerd, they're gonna tell you, There's no rules in a street fight. A punch in the mouth hurts in the cage, and it hurts out here. A double leg takedown will hurt you more out here. A lot of combat sports techniques work even better in the streets. I know what you thought I was gonna say. You thought I was gonna say, Well, you kick. This and that and that. - Right. Exactly, yes. The eyes and the fish hooking. - Well, them guys that say that can't fight. But I'll throw the reality-based self-defense dorks a bone. There are considerations you have to make. I need to remember I can headbutt. I need to remember I can bite. It's not gonna get me out of a terrible position, but it can make me a little space. I'll still need to know how to pummel.

I'll still need to know how to shrimp. I'll still need to know how to wrestle up. - Right. If you're on the ground. - Yeah, or in the clinch up against a wall because let's face it, that's where this thing's gonna end up. The level of skill required for you to keep it like this is much higher than the level of skill that requires me to just drag you to the ground or into a car or into a wall or whatever. You have to get it right every single time. I just have to get it right one time. Let's go over here to this wall. - Okay. - If you pin me up against this wall, right? I can think, Oh, I'll just thumb him in the eye or whatever. Jesse's already got inside position, right? When my hands go towards his face, in a real fight, you will instinctively keep this hand away from your face.

- Yeah, of course.  
- We're programmed to protect our face.  
- Right, right.  
- I still need to have the basic skills of pummeling in, getting a good position. Groin strikes, eye gouge, biting, that's only gonna help me if we're like pretty close in skill or size or strength or ability or aggression.  
- So you're saying these dirty tactics that self-defense gurus love to teach are like the icing on the cake?  
- If you are on top of me, ground and pound city, I'm getting wrecked, right? And I think, Ooh, I'm gonna stick a thumb in your eye, it's much easier for you to hit me. And then if I think I'm gonna go for your nuts, I'm eating these big shots. (Jesse laughs) The idea that these techniques can like just magically solve every bad situation, it's just a little overblown.

- Yeah. - But the MMA guys, Brazilian jiu-jitsu guys, boxers, they kind of underestimate how it can change things. - So you need to kind of meet in the middle between street fighting, dirty stuff, and the martial arts? - Yeah, you need to know both. I arrested a lot of dudes that didn't want to go to jail. They would fight me, and the techniques that worked best, there was one particular one that worked great all the time. We'd be tying up, I'm trying to get his hands. He doesn't wanna get my hands. I either use this or this and I elevate this hand, hit that duck under, go to the back, right? And then either pick him up or slam him. That's very basic wrestling. - Ooh! - Sorry, my microphone... - This kick here. That was great for me. - Is it a straight front kick?

- This is Sparta. Boom! A lot of people talk about this stuff here. - Right. Oblique kick? - It's a thing. - Right. - It ain't gonna end the fight like that. You still need to know how to throw down. You still need to know how to punch, kick, knee, elbow. It's just if we're fighting and hand fighting and hand fighting, and I remember, Oh, yeah. - Ah, yeah. - And I remember that and you don't, that's gonna give me the edge, but I still need to have basic fundamental fighting skills and then just look out for weapons. Monitor the hands. - Oh... - Here's one, the knife. You think about sticking that thing into me and the first thing they're gonna say is, Just create distance. - And run, right? - That's the problem. In a kickboxing match, MMA fight, Brazilian jiu-jitsu match,

karate, sport karate, point karate, whatever, they tell you, Go. They tell me, Go. We both know it's starting. You don't know when the street fight is starting. - Oh! - The bad guy gets to pick. I don't know I'm in a fight until you're already touching me. - Right. I'm not gonna go over here like this. - Oh, is this a robbery? Okay, now I'm ready. - Exactly, yeah. No. - No. Your hand will be on me and you'll be going after that thing. - Yeah. - My ability to control this hand is the same if that's not in it. I still need to know how to work this hand and control this hand. and hold onto it and fight you over it. I still, if it's a stab or a slash or whatever, I still need like parrying and blocking skills, right?

- Right. 
- I still need to know how to do all that. 
- Yes. 
- I just need to be aware that it doesn't take power or technique to get that thing to hurt me. 
- Right. 
- And what about guns? 
- So, where's a gun? 
- This is a training gun, it's a rubber gun. 
- If we're here, you're not getting this thing from me before you get the business end. 
- Right? 
- Right. 
- But if we're here and we start fighting over it, you know techniques to control my wrist. 
- You know that this is the bad part, that's the business end, that's the part you don't want pointed at you. 
- Your ability to keep from getting shot is your ability to control my arm. 
- Yes. 
- How do you control my arm? 
- Through your knowledge and your skills and your experience. 
- Wrestlers know how to do that. 
- Jiu-jitsu guys know how to do that.

Karate guys know how to do that. So, you're saying there is no specific gun defense. No, it's fighting. Any martial art can be used for gun defense? Gun defense, knife defense, street defense would be like saying front kick defense. If someone said, Hey, Sensei. I'm getting hit with front kicks in practice. Teach me a front kick defense, what would you tell 'em? There are tons of ways to defend against front kicks. We need to rewind a lot. Let's start, where are you standing? Why are you standing there? It's the context. Move, footwork, head movement, like what? What is it? Why are you getting kicked? What are you doing when you get kicked? It's the same with this, man. You have to practice it. It just takes reps, dude. Get you a training gun. Okay.

- Fight over it. I'm gonna see if I can point this at you. You see if you can keep me from doing that. Some people are like, There's nothing you can do. Just run. That's one I hate. I hate, Just run. - Okay... - Ooh, I hate, Just run. There are more scenarios where running would not be prudent than there are scenarios where it would be. What if you have your kids with you? What if you're hurt? What if they're faster? What if you have a duty to be where you are? What if their exits are blocked? What if you already tried running and you're tired? Just run, is not the answer. - So, what is your best piece of advice for martial artists out there who want to get more familiar with street fighting and reality-based training? - You can't totally rewire everything. - No. - If your delivery system is karate, that's what you do.

You're a karate nerd. You'll have to figure out how to take your karate and apply that to the street, which would require sparring and practice. - And that's what we're gonna do right now. All right. How do you want to do this? Should I have the gun or the knife? Or both? - So, you came out of that door, I said, What are you toting? You said, Nothing. - Yeah. - Yeah. So, that's what you got. - Okay. - You got nothing. - So, what are you wearing? - You don't know, that's the thing. - So, how do you start? Where's the referee? - There is no referee. - What's the time limit? - Good shot. - Let's rewind. There's a good teaching moment in here. - Okay. - This was kind of how we ended up. You had a leg. - Yeah, here.

You had this. This is brilliant. - Right. - This is not something I've ever learned anywhere or trained anywhere. It got developed in real time in the lab. - Yeah. - Right? - I've never been taught this. - No one's ever been taught this, Jesse! (Jesse laughs) Let go and go that way as fast as you can. - Now? - Right now. No. - What do you mean? - As fast as you can. You're not in an MMA fight. You're not letting me back up on my feet 'cause the ref said so. - Okay. - Turn. Run. That's the hangup with the combat athlete's brain. He's thinking, What do jiu-jitsu guys do? I have to engage on the ground. He's on the ground, you've got a great take down. Secure the position. - Right. - It ended up working out good. Jesse's very strong.

He's aware of the knife; he gets it. Okay, I've gotta pin that thing. But our minds have to be taught. You have to be taught to practice running away. - Yes, exactly. - Right? - Yeah. - Guess what else you have to practice? You have a friend around the corner. You never once yelled for help. You never once said, Hey, this guy's got a knife. You went silently into the fight, much like a sparring round, much like a match, much like a cage fight. - And I didn't even think about the fact that you might have friends as well. - Yeah, never looked around. - No - You have to train that. - Something that surprised me was when you started the fight by throwing your cap. That's like a dirty street fighting tactic. - Yeah. - Are there other tricks like that? - A lot. A lot. - Could you show me?

- Move that camera real quick. - Oh! Okay. - You're improvisational acting. This is a good one. - Okay. - This is a good one. - Oh, oh, and I look- - Yeah, that's old-school. - I look and you go, Bam. - But your karate served you well. - Well, I didn't do a single spinning hook kick. - Well, you're not (Jesse laughs) so conditioned that you think that's a good idea. - No. - But head kicks would work. - Really? - Oh my God, yes! - People always say that high kicks don't work. - That's people that don't know shit about kicking. Right? - So, you've actually used high kicks in street fights? - I said I've kicked people in the head. - Yeah, okay. Tell me more. - Okay. They were on the ground when I did it.

(Jesse and Icy Mike laugh) You have a beautiful head kick. Throw that head kick up there. - Oh yeah? Okay. - It's a beautiful kick. Your ability to throw that kick far outstrips the ability of any of these yo-hos out here to defend a kick. - That's a good point because so many people say that it doesn't work on the street. - Nothing works on the street. Right? - Right. - If you had your way, you wouldn't be in a fight on the street, unless you're a criminal, or a scumbag, or it's your job. - Are there other tricks that criminals or people on the street would use that most people don't know about? - Yeah. I need to get close to you. - Right, okay... - And say you're a scumbag. You're kind of a shifty looking dude. I don't know you. You start walking up and asking me questions.

Hey, get away from me! That's unreasonable. - Right, yeah. - That's not any good. - Right. - So, people will make the error of a guy who starts talking and they'll go- - Hey man. - All right, no. - Got some change? - I don't really, and they won't be assertive. They can't find that middle ground because they don't wanna hurt anyone's feelings. Every assault report I ever wrote, the place I was in was very violent. We were in chases and fights every night. There's a moment in it where the victim knew that something bad was about to happen and ignored that instinct. Right, we all know when something's up, This guy's giving me the creeps. But if we don't have a reason to, we feel like, Oh it's not fair for me to judge. We don't want to be judgmental.

Trust your instincts. If it feels weird, it is weird. And there's no penalty for being wrong and being too careful, right? - No. True. - Something seems weird, and you get in your car or you turn and run, They'll be like, Boy, that was weird. That guy just ran away for no reason. - So, worst case, you will feel rude. - Yeah. - But best case, you just saved your life. - Yes. I've got something else I can show you. - Okay. Are we leaving? - Yeah. We're gonna go to my car. - Oh, okay. - In the vein of like people not wanting to let- like I'm already too close. - Okay. - There's no amount of reflexes that's gonna stop me from getting that. - Yeah, true. - Or from me grabbing your stuff or whatever. You need to create a little bit of space.

But maybe you can't be like, maybe I haven't given you enough for you to feel confident that you can like hit your whatever pose, whatever you would do. - Right. - So, a couple of things we could do is, one, you can take what's called an 'interview stance'. It's a tactic police officers use where as long as you get your hands above your belt and you try to get like six feet from me, which is about, hold your hand out, about that far. It's a little unnatural for a lot of people to have conversations like this. So sometimes people continue to encroach. Doesn't mean it's go time yet. - No. - There are situations where you can throw the first punch. But what we can do to kind of help us is if we move a little bit, and I do this, and then you move a little bit more, and I do this, I'm kind of telling you that I'm not respecting your space.

- Exactly. - And even your posture, you're kind of telling me like, What do you need, dude? - Yeah. So you called this an 'interview stance'? - Not yet. This is a, 'I don't know what to do with my hands.' So I'm gonna give you something to do with your hands. - Ah hah! - Police will often do this. This looks a little too formal for me. - Oh, I've seen that, yeah. - Right. They stand like that. - Oh. That's why? - We teach them to keep their hands above their belt so that if I go like this, your hands are in place. - Exactly. - So something that's a little more natural is I do this one. - Ah, this one. - Yeah. So, this sort of looks like something I would do. And my hands are in place. - Right. - If you were to suddenly throw a punch,

right, my hands are up. If you were to reach out and grab me, I have inside position, right? So I'm in that center line, which a wrestler, I would love to defend the takedown like this. - Of course. Yeah. - Or defend the punch like this. But this gets me like close without telling you. Another thing you can do is create a little barrier. Just go like this. And now you've put this thing between us. If I want to get you, I have to show you. - Exactly, yeah. - Right? And now it's on. Let's do a little round around the car. I wanna show you some cool things about the car. We'll just do an MMA round, all right? - Okay! - Right? And the haters are gonna say, This ain't self-defense. It's like, We're practicing. - Okay, yeah. - We can't practice everything all the time, right?

So we're just gonna practice a little MMA round. - Good shot. Good shot. Good shot. I think chokes are a little bit better. - Mm... - All right? Because I don't have a choice. I'm going to sleep. - So, there's a Japanese saying, You cut my skin, I cut your flesh. You cut my flesh, I cut your bone. You cut my bone, I cut your throat. So, if I'm in a joint lock, I'll sacrifice that arm to win the fight. A lot of the joint lock stuff, it kind of works 'cause I know I'm in a joint lock. - Yes. - Remember who you're fighting. - Right. - He might not know that he's in danger and he won't, he's not gonna tap. - No, no. - I messed up. I'd been doing jiu-jitsu for a while. I was on duty as a police officer.

I was fighting him by myself. He was much bigger than me, like even bigger than you. I had him in the arm bar. He didn't know he was in an arm bar. - No. - And I'm telling him to stop fighting or I'm gonna break his arm. He doesn't know that. - No. - So my choices are break his arm - - Or let him go! - Or let him go, yeah. It was a fight. - Yes. - It wasn't quite to the level of I would've been comfortable. I didn't feel like I needed to break his arm. He wasn't trying to kill me. He didn't have a weapon that I could see. I just didn't want to break his arm. I'm sure all the bad asses would say, Oh, I would've broke his arm. But one thing that you could've took advantage of that I was trying to illustrate, but you were just too powerful for me.

- Okay. (chuckles) - Is in an MMA fight, you pin me against the cage. Well, you're not allowed to grab the fence, right? - Exactly. - So your instinct is to not do that. - Yeah. - I was holding onto the mirror and holding onto this and making your life miserable. Right? - Yeah, okay. - And push it. Pull that and push into me. - Oh. Oh, that hurts. - Yeah. Right? So now, like normally I want to pummel this underhook or cross-face or whatever. I cannot do that. All right? - Yeah. Smart. - We do rounds out here. - Yeah. Okay. - We do MMA wall work. Maybe you would pin me here, but now you can run me into this like, Bam. You know what I mean? - Yeah. - But you need practice and reps to do it, which is a combat sport training methodology.

applied to the street. - Because otherwise, I wouldn't even think about it. - It's not that complicated. - No. - Use your system. Use your methods. Add things into it. If it's not working out, figure out why. Maybe if you're primarily a striker, do a little more time in jiu-jitsu and wrestling. If you're primarily a grappler, maybe you need to spend some time with a training knife or a training gun. So if you're a martial artist and you want to add self-defense, don't overthink it. You already probably have some skills and abilities. Just be humble enough to know that you don't know shit about that stuff. Right? - Right. Yes. - You are an expert in your thing, but you're not an expert in all things. - So put on that white belt, beginner's mind. - Yes. - And start playing around with it? - Yeah.

- And if you guys enjoyed that, hit subscribe.

I Fought A Street Fighter

Jesse Enkamp

The Reality of Street Fighting and Self-Defense

The speaker is preparing to fight Icy Mike to explore the effectiveness of karate in street fights.

They discuss the similarities between the skillsets of police officers and criminals, emphasizing that violence is a language.

The speaker highlights that combat sports techniques can be effective in real-life situations, and while dirty tactics may help, they are not a guaranteed solution to a bad situation.

The Importance of Combining Street Fighting and Martial Arts

Effective self-defense requires a blend of street fighting techniques and martial arts skills.

Basic wrestling moves, like hand control and body positioning, can be crucial in a confrontation.

Awareness of potential weapons and the unpredictability of street fights is essential, as is the ability to control an opponent's arm in high-stakes situations like a gun or knife threat.

Realities of Street Fighting and Self-Defense

Running away is not always the best option in a dangerous situation, as there are many factors to consider.

Martial artists should focus on applying their training to real-life scenarios through sparring and practice.

It's important to train for unexpected situations, including calling for help and using dirty tactics to gain an advantage.

The Effectiveness of High Kicks and Street Smarts

High kicks can be effective in street fights, contrary to common belief.

People often ignore their instincts when they sense something is off, which can lead to dangerous situations.

Creating space and being assertive can help prevent potential confrontations and ensure personal safety.

The "interview stance" is a tactic used to create distance and establish control during a conversation.

Moving together can signal a lack of respect for personal space.

Using hand positions and creating a barrier can help defend against potential aggression, while practicing techniques like joint locks can be effective in a confrontation.

The speaker recounts a personal experience of fighting a larger opponent, using an arm bar but hesitant to break his arm.

They discuss the importance of using instinct and environment in a fight, highlighting the need for practice and reps in combat sport training.

The speaker emphasizes the value of humility and a beginner's mindset for martial artists looking to add self-defense skills.