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> "IMHO, the most ideal strike a human can give without injuring themselves would be from the shin or heel. If you look at animals that don't have sharp teeth o
by john_b 12y ago
> "IMHO, the most ideal strike a human can give without injuring themselves would be from the shin or heel. If you look at animals that don't have sharp teeth or claws, often they'll use their hind legs in a kicking motion to provide the most powerful hit, while moving their sensitive head/neck/chest away from the target. A few human groups developed fighting styles this way, but for millenia we've still been fighting standing up. I can only assume this is because we got so used to being bipedal that we adapted our fighting to it."
Most fights between people end up on the ground very quickly. Optimizing for full-stroke punches and kicks effectively forces your strategy to be "debilitate the other guy before he can get inside and close". The difference between humans and the non-toothed/clawed animals you mention is that humans have arms and hands that can defend against the slower knockout blows you mention.
Wrestling is a more accurate sports approximation for how humans "naturally" fight (assuming 1-on-1).
- alexeisadeski3 12y ago>>Wrestling is a more accurate sports approximation for how humans "naturally" fight (assuming 1-on-1). Disagree: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemic_warfare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemic_warfare
- john_b 12y agoThe context of the parent was violence in the absence of weaponry.
- jessaustin 12y agoHow is that context relevant? There are rocks and sticks on the savanna. Humans are tool-users, so their most natural fighting techniques use tools.
- aResponder52 12y agoDepends. Two guys who just want to fight are probably going to have a shoving match which will end when one gets pinned and the other guy gets pulled off. Two groups of guys who have some need to fight over are more likely to use tools.
- verilygreen 12y agoIf two people are having a shoving match, they don't really want to fight. A fight implies you want to hurt the other person, not escalate the situation until one of you gathers the courage to strike the other.
- aResponder52 12y agoTrue. It only takes one person to turn a fist fight into a shoving match. Grab on, and keep moving.
- btilly 12y agoOne on one unarmed combat quickly goes to the ground, yes. But in serious group fights, willingness to go to the ground fast is willingness to get killed by someone else's feet. And as soon as you assume a level of technology that includes pointy sticks, retaining mobility becomes VERY important.