Real Street Fighting Moves

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Billy Jack in the classic 1971 martial arts fight scene of the movie “The Legend of Billy Jack”  Here he makes 7 incredible dumb-ass fighting mistakes. Can you tell which they are?

Look.  I realize that this is a movie.  And I make allowances for the blunders of Hollywood for dramatic effect.  But you just could not imagine how many people, both young and old and look at a fight scene of a movie and will try to imitate it in real life.

Back in 1971, this was the being of the era of martial arts fascination, headed by the king of kung fu, Bruce Lee and others.  Before this time, no one had ever seen a fight scene with a kick to the head.  This was novel.  Notwithstanding, let us examine this clip for a reality-based fighting scenario.

The 7 Dumb-Ass Mistakes Billy Jack Makes In The 1971 Classic Fight Scene

by Charles Prosper

Dumb-Ass Mistake #1 – He Takes Out His Boots – And Goes Bare Foot - What the…?  You can kick ass much harder with boots on than without them.  Say nothing of all the dangers you expose your bare feet to.

Dumb-Ass Mistake #2 – He Allows Himself To Be Surrounded - Nice for cinematic effect, but you never allow yourself to be surrounded in a real fight against multiple attackers.  They should allow be in front of you – almost single-file if possible.

Dumb-Ass Mistake #3 – He Relies Too Much On High Kicks To The Face - Kicking someone in the face makes about as much sense as bending over and punching them in the foot.  Low-line kicks, nothing above the waist, is what works best in real street fight situations.

Dumb-Ass Mistake #4 – He Uses Spinning Back Kicks To The Face - Just  a notch up the stupido-meter is attempting spinning back kicks to the face – and in the midst of multiple attackers.  The assumption of the spinning back kick is that person whom you are trying to kick won’t move – that his face will still be there by the time you complete your turn.

What happens if he moves as you are spinning and turning around?  Yes, you guessed it.  You will kick air and fall on your derriere.

Dumb-Ass Mistake #5 – After He Kicks The First Guy To Face And Down To The Ground, He Doesn’t Follow Up - He just knocks the guy to the ground and doesn’t take advantage of this momentary combat window by following up on him with continued strikes.  He allows him to recover.

Dumb-Ass Mistake #6 – He Relies Exclusively On One-Strike Kicks And Uses Hand Strikes Little Or Not At All - He  executes one-blow kicking strikes that magically down each of the 5 attackers who approach him.  What happened to his hand, fist and elbows.

Dumb-Ass Mistake #6 – He Walks Out And Eagerly Takes On Too Many People – Unarmed! - Hey, at least go out there with axe, a club, a knife – or a gun!  There were over 5 guys he had to contend with.

In the very last scene of this park fight, he does wind up getting his ass kicked as all 5 guys manage to grab him and take turns beating the crap out of him.  This was classic martial arts movie making madness of the ’70’s.  Great entertainment.  But it was meant to be that and nothing more – just great entertainment.  This was not a lesson in Reality-Based Street Fighting.

Please, leave me your written comment and feedback.  Thanks.