NO SECOND PLACE WINNER

 by Phillip Starr

A well known master of the handgun once said, “In a gunfight, there are no second place winners.” True! In fact, in any life-and-death struggle it's the same thing. And that's how we must train our bodies AND OUR MINDS. You don't get a trophy or a medal for taking second place...you just get dead and a shovelful of dirt in your face.

Real fighting and sparring are two completely different animals. In a real skirmish, there are no judges or referees, no gloves or other protective gear, no trophies and no rules. The fight doesn't stop if, for some reason, you end up on the ground, or if you're injured. Or score a “point.”

The fact that you spar fairly well may be of some help once the fight is underway, but the truth is that most fights don't get “underway”; they're over within two seconds or less. There's rarely any “squaring off.” No fighting stances, no signals to begin or stop. And you have to be able to deal with getting “scuffed up”, at the very least.

You must be aware that the bad guy may very well be joined by one or more of his friends, especially nowadays. And you can pretty much rest assured that your assailant and/or his friends are armed with something. You must be prepared for this.

Sparring is useful in developing a sense of distance, timing, and several other important factors. But it's a far cry from real fighting where the only award you get is that you get to go home.