How a blow can kill

Most people treat casual punches as mere tools of asserting dominance. But I want to sound a fair warning out there to anyone who might think there is a safe way to punch someone. Truth is, there isn't. Unless you're participating in a mixed martial arts bout where a lot of parameters are formed with safety as priority, you should know that one punch can send someone to their grave. Worse still, it could see you getting prosecuted for murder.

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So, isn't all this worth it? Of course not, and here's why:

Punches occur everywhere around the world, and at least dozens of those result in deaths annually. Another research claimed that people are more likely to get punched in Texas than in any other state in the U.S. In my view,  I don't see any correlation or reason why you'd most likely get punched in Texas than in any other place.

Anyway, young, energetic men around the globe continue to be fooled with the idea that they can settle their differences with a punch. In the ideal world, it is thought that male dominance can be determined by throwing a punch or two on the offender.

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The idea of the movie fight myth has sunk into the minds of young men around the world. They believe that at worst, punches would only result in a few bruises and maybe drops of blood trickling from one corner of the lip.

This lie is further carried forward by the popularity of mixed martial arts today. You've probably watched it on wrestling, where two professional fighters last for between 3 or 4 rounds and emerging out of the fight with only few bruises, or if you like, minimal injuries.

Okay, that is for the professionals. But how about an amateur blow from a guy who has never stepped into any Karate, Wing Chun or Shou Shu class?

An amateur punch up ignores a lot of parameters that are often present in fights which take place on the streets.

The streets don't present ideal atmosphere for performing mixed martial arts, let alone a single punch. It is not the punch that will kill you here, rather, it's the impact of the concrete you're most likely going to fall on that will inflict maximum damage on you.

If you smacked your head on a concrete as a result of a punch, it would be extremely disastrous, trust me. Many people have not liked the outcome either. It's pathetic, and sometimes lawsuits often get involved. I am sure you wouldn't want this kind of thing to happen to you irrespective of which side you were taking in the fight.

Why typical casual punches are different from those in MMA

If you have been trained in MMA or any other martial art for example, you wouldn't spar on the streets, right?

All sparring classes take place in a safe atmosphere where participants are not likely to get hurt in the event of one fighter sending the other one to the ground. So we cannot debate that street fights are not dangerous, and especially if you're not trained. Just keep off.

On avoiding street fights

A real street fight is often chaotic. Dynamics are not predictable here because a punch or punches could come from different dimensions.

A simple verbal confrontation could see you ''eating up'' an unexpected punch which could see you losing a tooth or worse still, hurting you in the process.

Apparently, in the situation where two young men are participating in a fight because either of them want to prove a point, there is never any form of order such as one that typically exists in an MMA fight. No one says, ''Okay, young boys, I want a good clean fight. Ready...... go!''

This is what I call a surprise attack situation -- where a weapon hits you off-guard. Surprise attacks don't always come from behind you anyway.

Also, you should keep off from ''drunken'' fights or those which young men engage in when out in the bar. With too many bottles of beer, your mind is probably intoxicated already. While alcohol may fool you into believing you're the strongest man on earth, that may not be necessarily the case, and thus a fight would cause a lot of damage on you (considering your status quo).

MMA fighters are often conditioned to take in hard blows. The same applies to every other sports fighter out there - if they've been trained sufficiently.

Natural pressures select them. Combat sports fighters generally don't enter the ring unless they've been through countless hours of training or hard sparring during which their coaches will determine if they are physically fit and capable of undertaking a cage fighting scenario.

Combat sports are highly regulated to eliminate a significant chance of injuries. For this reason, mixed martial art fighters will be matched up by their equal in terms of experience and weight.

Finally, if you don't have any self defense skills, it's dumb to try fighting or participating in some sort of fighting which, obviously involves punches. Otherwise, you'll be like a sitting duck to every punch that is directed at you.

P.S

There's also another issue that I have seen out there -- people rushing to find out why others are fighting, and they blindly enter the fight as if this fight was there's.

If you don't have any training, God knows whatever you're going to contribute in that fight. But as for me, I can assure you that your lack of training will be met by another surprise you least expected. You might fail to block a punch coming your way, or better still, you might end up pulling the flight, fight or freeze kind of response. Whatever move you make, you will most likely invite trouble.

Next: Flight, fight or freeze