How to Fight

Co-authored by Ross Cascio

Last Updated: March 23, 2023 Approved

A fight is a confrontation in which two or more people compete for dominance and respect. Though backing away from a fight is usually your best option, if you have to fight, then you need to know how to defend yourself and how to attack your opponent at the right time. Whether you're fighting on the street or fighting in a controlled environment, knowing how to assume the correct stance and to target your opponent's weakest areas can save your life. If you want to know how to fight, just follow these steps.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Fighting Offensively

1
Get in fighting position. If you want to fight, you'll need to be in the fighting stance. To do this, just spread your legs about shoulder's width apart and bend your knees slightly so you're not standing completely upright. You need to stay balanced so you don't get thrown to the ground. Stay loose. Bounce slightly as you adjust your position by taking small steps, and keep your hands up to shield your face.
- Clenching your teeth will make you less likely to get a broken jaw if you're punched.
2
Punch your opponent. The first thing you have to do is make your fist the right way. To make an effective fist, fold your four fingers downward into your hand and place your thumb on the outside of your fingers -- not on the inside, unless you want to break your thumb. Punch your opponent in their nose or stomach to cause some serious damage. The simple straight punch is best for untrained fighters. Here's how you do it:
- Keep your elbow bent at a 30-45 degree angle in front of your face, and keep your hands up at all times.
- Extend the fist along with your elbow and shoulder, straightening your arm.
- Push your weight through your shoulder and into your arm, connecting the punch at the peak of your extension to get the most force for your hit.
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3
Attack first. Once you've gained your footing, don't hesitate. Throwing the first punch is much more likely to throw off your opponent and will give you the dominant position in the fight. Don't spend too much time stepping around your opponent or trying to get in the perfect position. Instead, punch them once you have a clear shot.
4
Adapt your strengths to the fight. Use the beginning of the fight to get an idea for how your opponent performs. Base your own fighting objectives on your strengths and their weaknesses:
- If you're taller, try to keep your opponent at a distance. Your longer limbs will allow you to strike over a distance that your opponent can't cover.
- If you're shorter, hurry up and get close. They'll try to keep you at a distance to use their height to their advantage.
- If you're faster, get in fast, strike fast, and get out fast. Do your fighting in effective bursts.
- If you're slower, keep it simple. Make the opponent come to you, as opposed to chasing them.
- Know your strengths, and use them at the right time. One calculated move far outweighs a dozen uncalculated ones.
5
Fight off your opponent if they’re holding you from behind. This is a position you want to get out of as quickly as possible before your opponent gets you on the ground and dominates you. So, here are some moves to try to incapacitate them and turn back around in the right direction:
- Stomp on their instep. Land your heel as hard as you can on the instep of your opponent's foot and wait for them to yelp in pain.
- Do the backwards headbutt. Fling back your skull until you hit your opponent's nose. They’ll let go of you after you've done the damage.
- Wring their fingers. Instead of grabbing their wrists, put your hands around all of his fingers and wring them until they give up.
6
Conserve your energy. Concentrate your energy in your moves, and don't make so many moves that you tired yourself out halfway through the fight. Some opponents will try to make you "dance" so that they can attack once you're exhausted. Be prepared to practice 'Aikido'. Taking a few punches whilst protecting yourself can exhaust and mentally defeat your opponent.

EXPERT TIP

Ross Cascio
Self Defense Trainer
Ross Cascio is a Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense, fitness, and fight instructor. He has been training and teaching Krav Maga self-defense, fitness, and fight classes at the Krav Maga Worldwide HQ Training Centers in Los Angeles, CA for over 15 years. He helps people become stronger, safer, and healthier through Krav Maga Worldwide training.

Ross Cascio
Self Defense Trainer

Our Expert Agrees: Staying relaxed during the fight is the best possible scenario to save energy, but that usually requires conditioning and training. A fight is a huge expenditure of energy and emotions, and you also get a large dose of adrenaline. If you train for fights, your body will know how to react to the physical demands.
7
Never look away from your opponent. Never ever look away from your opponent. Sometimes your opponent will do nothing if you look away but more experienced fighters will use that situation and may knock you out.
8
Fake an attack. Every time you attack, you become vulnerable. If you punch, for example, that arm is no longer available for defense, and the opponent might block the punch and go for your now vulnerable spot with the other hand. If you fake an attack, however, your opponent will respond with a counterattack and become vulnerable. The key is to convince the person that you will make a certain move, and to anticipate how they will respond.
- You can mix fake attacks with real attacks so that the opponent becomes confused and can't predict whether you'll follow through with your moves.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Fighting Defensively

1
Take a punch to the head. Though not getting punched is your best option, if you're fighting, you will likely get punched at some point, so it's better to know how to avoid it. To take a punch to the head, move toward the punch, tightening your neck and clenching your jaw to minimize the impact. Aim your forehead at the punch, so your opponent ends up hurting their hand instead of hurting your nose, cheek, or jaw.^{[1]
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- Leaning in toward the punch instead of away will minimize the impact of the punch because your opponent will have less time to gain momentum.
2
Take a punch to the stomach. If a punch is coming at your stomach, you should tighten your stomach muscles without sucking your stomach in. If you can, try to move around so you get hit in your sides instead of right in your stomach, which can damage your organs and cause enough pain to double you over.^{[2]
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- Avoid holding your breath or you will have the wind knocked out of you. Instead, try exhaling slightly before the punch, which will naturally tighten your stomach.
3
Avoid getting charged and tackled. If your opponent tries to tackle you, then they'll come low to the ground and will wrap their arms around your waist and hips as they try to knock you off balance. Don't try to grab their head, though this may be tempting. Instead, move your hands forward and grip their hips or upper body, trying to push them away.^{[3]
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- After that, you've created enough distance and regained your balance, so you can try to kick your opponent in the groin or stomp on their feet.
4
Avoid the chokehold. If your opponent is on your back and has you in a chokehold, don't try to bend your knees and toss them over your back. This will actually tighten their grip and it could cause some serious damage, especially if you're not strong enough to hold their weight. Instead, turn the choke by grabbing the opponent's arm that's around your neck, tilting to the side to create some space between the two of you until they slide sideways off your back.
- If you tilt sideways enough, you may even make your opponent fall to the ground. Once you've got them down, you can try to pin them to the ground on their back.
5
Know what to do if you're knocked to the ground. If your attacker has you on your back, don't turn away from them and try to get up. Looking away from them is a way to guarantee that you will be hit right away. Instead, keep looking at your attacker and raise your legs, trying to kick them as hard as you can to their shin, knee, or groin. If they’re low to the ground, go for their face. Once you've caused enough damage, you can pop back up.^{[4]
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- Once you've kicked or hurt your opponent, making them spring back, roll to the side and then use your arms to support your body weight as you regain your footing.
- Continue looking at your opponent, even when you try to get up. You may think they’re hurt, but they can come right back at you while you're still struggling to stand.
6
Don't let your opponent pin you to the ground. If you're on the ground with your opponent, you need to prevent them from mounting you or getting on top of you at all costs. Get on your side or belly -- your chances of escape are better than if they have you pinned on your back. Once you've assumed this position, try to scramble as fast as you can to get up and away.
- If they have you pinned to your back, they'll be easily able to pin you down and punch you in the face. Avoid this maneuver at all costs.
7
Yell. If you want to get out of the fight as soon as possible, just yell your heart out as you're fighting. This makes it much more likely that someone will come along and scare off your opponent, thus bringing you to safety. Even if you're in a place that feels deserted, try yelling as loudly as you can anyway, in hopes that someone will come along. Yelling will also throw off your opponent because they won't expect you to yell in the middle of a fight.
- Even if no one comes to your rescue, yelling can disorient your opponent and scare them into thinking someone else will come along.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Fighting Dirty

1
Attack your opponent's face. The face is another highly vulnerable place to attack. Hurting your opponent's eyes, nose, and face can be a great way to cause great pain and to slow down your opponent tremendously. Here are some methods to try:^{[5]
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- Headbutt your opponent's face. Use your forehead to slam your opponent across their nose. This can break their nose if you do it the right way.
- Poke their eyes with your fingers. This can cause excruciating pain and can blind and disorient your opponent for enough time for you to escape or cause more damage.
- Punch them in the nose. This is a highly effective place to cause some serious damage.
2
Go for the neck and throat. Hitting your opponent's neck and face is guaranteed to stop them cold, if only for a short period of time. If you really want to cause some harm, try these indelicate moves:^{[6]
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- Punch your opponent in the back of the neck to make them blackout temporarily.
- Punch your opponent in the middle of their throat to cause damage to his airway.
3
Kick your opponent where it hurts. If there are no rules in your fight, then your only goal should be to win. If you just want to win a fight, then you don't have to follow Fighting Etiquette 101 -- just try to get your opponent to be hurt, crippled, or to fall to the ground, giving you enough time to get away. Here are some ways to do it:^{[7]
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- Low-kick your opponent in the groin, knee, or abdomen. Kick them using the bottom of your foot. Just make sure to do it quickly and to stay on balance -- you can easily be thrown off your game while you're kicking.
- Knee your opponent in the groin. This is likely to stop them in their tracks.

Warnings

Don't hesitate. In other words, the second you go to kick, kick. Otherwise you will stop and get kicked yourself, and the element of surprise is lost.

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Helpful 150 Not Helpful 11
If fighting dirty, you can use your surroundings to your advantage. Sticks, stones, dirt/sand are pretty effective. Be careful and try not to break anything that is not yours or valuable unless you are defending.

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Helpful 168 Not Helpful 15
Remember that the opponent may have a knife or a gun which could tremendously hurt you.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 156 Not Helpful 17
Fight if necessary only to the extent which allows you to escape. Too many kicks and punches will be exhausting for you and waste your energy. You might unintentionally really hurt someone and get yourself involved with the police.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 35 Not Helpful 2
Never attack first at school, as it will often get you in trouble.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 186 Not Helpful 27
Counter attacks aren't always effective and may put you in great disadvantage if the opponent turns back with a weapon.

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Helpful 103 Not Helpful 15