Of the brawls I've been in since then, usually with the homeless or drug addled while out on the town, de-escalation has never worked. I don't totally disagree

Of the brawls I've been in since then, usually with the homeless or drug addled while out on the town, de-escalation has never worked. I don't totally disagree with your overall point, but I have to say...I'm 41, I've lived in cities all over the US, stationed abroad in the military, traveled all over the world, and I've never been in a single "brawl", nor have the majority of other men I know. Maybe your neighborhood or line of work is such that you can't avoid it, or maybe you just have a higher risk tolerance than I do, but the best skill to have to avoid losing a fight is avoiding putting yourself in situations that lead to fights. No martial arts training in the world will save you forever from the wrong opponent, multiple assailants, weapons, or just being unlucky. If you keep getting in brawls, sooner or later your luck will run out.