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All of this real world talk made me remember something that happened to me and how it changed me. A long time ago when i was taking Tae-Kwon-Do i remember acting tough an like i was "cool". This lead to me being picked on and bullied alot (it also had to do with my name being Sergey), i always gritted my teeth and readied to fight but was too scared to do it. I was s**t scared at the height of my bullies or their "gang" connections. One day i snapped and got into a fight afterschool, i thought it couldnt be better i had my friends there and he had his so nothing bad could happen. However i was still overcome with an unknown fear. As i readied my self for defense Tae Kwon Do training and all in hand, i was shocked to see him charge and start swinging at me, none of my kicks or "techniques' were even visible or apparent, eventually i started to cry at my own inabilty at fighting and my opponent saw me as a joke merely slapping me for his amusement.When i went home i hit my punching bag for about 3 hours straight totally oblivious to time or pain. From that day i swore i would never be helpless or defenseless. then i became more quite and self controlled, left my Tae-Kwon-Do school seeing that its not effective and instead joined a karate school an trained till i couldnt stand. I also studied all types of combat and began to think deeply into my stresses and fear. Now looking back on that i have realized how greatly i have changed, i am respected throughout my school and those that challenged me always backed down after i confronted them, also small exhibitions with my friends of my newly found skills make people avoid confrontations with me. Im also glad to know that for a 16 year old i have the ability to fight older and stronger people with no fear but just eagerness to perfect myself. Another incident which made me realize my maturity in the combative sense was when a "big feared thug" (so to say) started messing with my friends and i intervened telling him to back up his threats against me, eventually he shutup and sat quietlly in his corner. This made me realize that not all solutions are made by ur fists some can be made by ur mind and will. I thank you guys for making me reminisce and acknowledge the change of myself. Thats all i have to say.

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That link isn't working for me, however that is pretty ******** up. I was walking along a strip mall with my two friends yesterday, and this group of pre-pubescent middle schoolers were standing around in a huge group and threw a snow ball at my friend. We just kept walking, however it's pretty sad to think that little children get off things like that. However, someone I once talked to said it best:

Long Island is full of rich suburban kids who've never gotten their asses kicked.

None of the middle schoolers around here could handle a real confrontation, so it's kind of pointless to beat them up. AKA The kids here think they're big and bad if they throw a snowball at someone. Unfortunately, other parts of the world have real bullies.

Ha ... although I have not experienced some guy in the street going mad and try to kill me, here is my opinion on street fighting ...
(Anyway, Delmar I saw your guide ... but don't worry, this views below are mine ...)

Anyway, the first thing I would say is that, when you start to fight in Singapore, there is a high chance you would be staying with the police for a while, for assualt or rioting ... (also luckily, in Singapore, anyone caught with a gun ... spends a long time, having free accomodation at a place with lots of bars ... but no beer ... sweatdrop )

Take this scenario below ... (Delmar, sorry for using yours ...)




Ha, the next day, that guy would sue you for assualt (and he is on the winning side as you started to hit him first ... sweatdrop ), it is best not to pick a fight, that it is ... unless the other party seems to intend on getting you hurt ...

Anyway, here is what I know on avoiding a fight ...

1. Don't go to bars, lonely alleys and other places that thugs are common.
Simple ? Distancing ... a really, really long range one ... sweatdrop

2. Not panic ...
that thing that Delmar mentioned about Adrenaline and Fear is true ... you can't fight while you can't think or move ... and ya, focusing on breathing helps ... it clears your mind of thoughts and adrenaline gives you energy instead ... (similar to what Delmar stated ...ha ...)
Awareness and Mindfulness is good in a sense ... and relaxing too. (but be on guard !) When your mind is relaxed, it is easier to react than when you are tense ... (most relax kumite players beat tense ones easily ...) the quote below happens when you are relaxed and lax on your guard at the same time ...




3. Soft against Hard (Not some Taiji thing ...)
Ha ... a Taoist and Buddhist philosophy ... works on a crazy person who wants to vent his anger on you by causing you lots of hurt ... try not to anger (Hard) him any more, and instead, calm (soft) him down ... if you start shouting back and anger him further ... well, you are sure going to have a 'harder' time ... (pun intended blaugh )

Note: it is similar to the relax (soft) vs tense (hard) thing I mentioned earlier. blaugh

4. Just give away your wallet ...
if he has a gun or knife at close range ... giving your wallet would be a really smart thing ... it is better to lose your wallet then to get killed and lose your wallet ... By the way, it makes the other party relax and lose their guard ... allowing you to push his weapon aside, ram his nose (it makes him temporary blind and disorientated from tears rushing up ... ) or groin and disable him ... by any means possible ... sweatdrop

5. Know thy techniques ...
Well all else fails ... (when the person in front is a mentally ill one who feels pleasure in harming you) ... you have to really cause him hurt now,
Know what is useful and use it ... don't randomly throw something at him and think it would work ...

Techniques

Ha ... the 3Ds and distancing that Delmar written ... I believe they work very well ... but unlike what Delmar say about Dojo techniques, I believe that anything that you are familiar with should work, in a sense (as long as you aren't in a state of panic and mindlessness) ... those in TKD can use their range and distance to an advantage, one in Judo or Jujitsu can use their grabs and throws, those in Karate can use what they know and so on ... the best are simple basic techniques ... (biting, pulling, grabbing, scratching, grouging and other illegal stuff included ... sweatdrop )

The more you are used to it, the easier it is to execute them ... (like drinking from a cup ... but if you only train once a week for only 2 hours each time ... I don't think it would work) if you seen a technique and don't really know how it is useful ... DON'T EVER USE THAT TECHNIQUE ... most people I seen sparring, with fanciful reverse turning kicks and jumping kicks ... those kicks never seem to land ... (your opponent isn't really a block of wood standing there for you to hit ... sweatdrop )

(By the way, I feel that the turning kick is the worst attack to use, because most people are used to seeing it, so you are pretty much giving it way to him ... )

Whether the technique works ... also depends on your opponent, if he is also trained in martial arts ... you are going to really need lots of luck ...

The same is with size here, if he is heavier and taller ... you are also in need of lots of luck ...

Anyway, the best technique I can think of ... is a feint before a quick jab (or smash ..) to the nose or kick (or ram) to the groin ... then RUN ... (especially if his friends are close by ... sweatdrop )

But if you want to, you can sweep (not that low sweep that Wushu guys perform is shows, I meant a grab and sharp sweeping kick to the knee or heel, to bring the opponent down ) and throw ... before a few blows ... just remember not to over do it, excessive force is a good reason for the police to put you in jail instead ... (hence using a gun for self defense against an unarmed street punk wouldn't be a really good idea. )



Ha, anyway, I am also quite long winded, but well, that's all I have to say.
(Anyway, hitting the nose is my favourite way because, it is easy, effective and non-lethal (No death Sentences ... sweatdrop ))

Everything you wrote seemed bang on except this. From what I've seen, that attempt to calm him is going to be the moment he (or she) attacks you. When someone comes up to you and says some thing like "What do you think your lookin at?" More often than not its a completely rhetorical question, they are totally uninterested in your reply. A complete nutjob will attack you as soon as you open your mouth to reply, or the more usual one is to completely ignore what you say and come out with another example of sparkling wit like "You was lookin at me, what do you fink you was lookin at?"
So when they ask that first question, if you
a) quietly try to calm them, you are conforming to what they expect, they are relying on you being shocked and trying to calm the situation, you are letting them take control of the situation. This is not good
b) firmly ask them a question back like "Nothing, what were you looking at?" As soon as your mouth opens you have to be ready for them to attack. Quite alot of the time if they are trying to work themselves up to attack you they will ignore what you say and ask another stupid question then attack you, push you whatever. If you go for this approach as soon as you open your mouth you have to be ready to hit them because some of the time, especially with those people that really want a scrap, they will attack as soon as you start to reply. You also have to hit them when they try to reply which can look like you initiated the violence.
c) push them away and tell them to leave you alone. Yes this method is confrontational, yes it is aggressive. But it will work for almost all situations, even the ones that ask you the rhetorical question, wait for to start to reply then hit you, because you have made the space, importantly told them to leave you alone and taken control of the situation. If they attack you, you know when and where from

True story. A co-worker of my moms told her this story. She said her boyfriend at around 5 AM was tapping at her window, when she opened it and saw it was him, she noticed he was covered in blood. He was bawling and began to explain what happened. He said he was at a bar, he got drunk and began arguing with another drunk patron. The two began fighting and the other drunk patron pulled a knife. My moms friend's boyfriend managed to get the knife from him but then continued to stab the patron, twice. He said he didnt remember many of the details because he was drunk. See what can happen in such a simple situation?

He is not currently up for trial or anything at the moment but is currently scared to death of the repricussions.

Heres a story. One night a few years ago, a friend of my older brother, who lived behind my house and across the street got in an argument with some guy over something stupid. Later that night, like 1 am, the guy and a friend showed up at his house, busted in, and started attacking the guy, ben, and someone else who was there, clayton, i think. They were both asleep when they started getting attacked. Had no chance. They were beat really bad. Ben managed to run out, and ended up hiding in my porch, with blood all over the place, while clayton didn't get away. His face was so swollen that he couldn't see at all. I don't know if they ever found the guy who did it, I don't remember who it was either. In any case, the point is, don't think that the fight is over once you leave the area. I'm sure someone has already said this, but its quite likely that you can get a crew of assholes at your door in the middle of the night, looking for a piece. You guys all know that though, I'm sure. Just thought I'd tell a story. Must. Stop. Talking.

All I can say is the law in singapore must be really harsh.
The main problem with method a) is the fact that it will only work if they weren't going to attack you anyway. It is very rare that you would be able to change someones mind on something like that by being calm and reasonable, quite the opposite infact. I can honestly tell you that to the type of person that goes out looking for trouble, someone standing there being calm and reasonable is like a red flag to a bull, they see it as weakness and act accordingly. I dont care how good you are art martial arts, it is extremely hard to stop someone hitting you from close range when they have the initiative. Try it with a friend sometime, here's the scenario, have a training partner stand close to you, holding your shoulder/shirtfront with one hand the other drawn back by their side. Now just engage in conversation for a few minutes. So you're standing there, "how are you?" "weathers nice today" "Can I have sex with your sister?" BANG they try and hit you as hard as they can. Done properly its really hard to stop.
What you have to remember with method c) is you only do it when someone has come up to you and is being obviously threatening towards you. By pushing them and telling them to leave you alone you are issueing a verbal and physical warning. Any witnesses will clearly remember that you did that. There is the chance that you might spend the night in the cells but it'd never stand up in court. You feared for your safety, you issued them a warning but they still attacked you, how more reasonable could you have been? The answer, to have beeen all calm and and pacifistic and let them beat you up