Let me get this one thing straight--keeping safe in the streets of Manila (or any other place for that matter) through systematic streetfighting does not mean beating up offenders or attackers. It means getting out of trouble as soon as possible. And I always emphasize preemptive ways to do this.
Preemptive means you do something before real trouble starts. Believe me, if you're a peace-loving individual (or nonjoiner) you wouldn't want to start trouble out there. First, if you get into a real fight, you'd mess up your clothes. Second, you'd perspire and smell bad once you get to the office or to your appointment. Third, your opponent may later have backup and then beat you up. Fourth, you don't want to get caught on CCTV beating up someone.
The fourth one is a lot of hassle. You can end up being at fault if the CCTV cam produces results prone to misinterpretation. It may look like you started the trouble. And you don't want to be delayed by investigations. Once security catches up on you, they'd detain you for some inquiries. Worse if you end up in a police station and then in jail. That would be a lot of hassles, and in Manila jails are the pits. You sleep at night standing up due to the worst prison congestion.
So, always opt for preemptive strikes. "Strike" before the offender can make trouble for you. Usually, this means, get out before the offender thinks of something smart against you. Or, "strike" with psychological "warning shots." I often do this by looking intently at the potential trouble-maker, showing him that I'm ready for trouble if he should want one--and that I'm not one to back away.
Lastly, preemptive strike means you hit him first before he hits you. As simple as that. But I often make this as a last resort. The enemy makes the first move so that you act in self-defense, but you hit him first. He moves first, you hit first. This takes masterful hitting and lots of training that I would one day demonstrate in a video here or on my YouTube. One who hits first gets a lot of advantage in street fights.
Getting hit first freezes you to inaction and this is what usually makes easy victims of people. And yeah, you should get used to being hit first without getting shocked. You master this and you get a vital skill in keeping safe in the streets of Manila, or anywhere else for that matter.
