Workouts and Streetfighting

It's so vital to maintain a workout program fit for you to stay safe in streets. And keep at it even through old age. This is important when keeping safe in the streets anywhere you are on earth. You need to be fit and in shape so you can move fast and flexibly. You need to deliver kicks and punches in a split second.

You don't need to look like the Incredible Hulk or Mr. Universe. Just be fit and in good shape. Be careful not to get your tummy too bulging (I'm beginning to have problems with this) and your legs and arms powerless due to infrequent use. I keep on with my jogging, brisk walking and push-ups, to mention a few. I shadow box a lot. I try out techniques during drill-spars.

Workout has the following benefits in a street fight:

1. Makes you more confident and less nervous during confrontations. Your heart beats normally even in the face of danger.

2. You control your breathing easily. You don't get exhausted or have difficulty catching your breath.

3. You move athletically and quickly. This is important.

4. You have ample leg and arm power to execute techniques.

5. Your few hits can do a lot of damage.

It's hard to move or deliver techniques if you have health problems. Or, if movements make your body ache. So, you have to keep working out as a lifestyle. If you're not into workouts, it's not too late to start. You can't defend yourself in the streets or at home if you're out of shape. You may call for help but don't count on it. People come to help when the danger is past, and it may be too late then.

To start working out, have a medical checkup and have it regularly. If the doctor says you're good, ask what workouts he recommends. Is it okay to run and lift weights? If he finds something wrong with you, ask what your workout limits are and what's best for you. Brisk walking is usually good for everyone. Start there and gradually progress, with consultations with your doctor.

You don't need heavy workouts, unless you're competing in the Olympics or aiming to beat Manny Pacquiao. You don't need to build bulging muscles like Dwayne Johnson, unless you're in Hollywood doing fantastic action movies. Just do something that will challenge your body but not too much to exhaust it. Just firm up your muscles and bones and make them strong.

However, street fights are not won by just having bigger muscles. It's all in your training, courage, confidence, speed, accuracy and technique. If you can hit before the enemy can---and hit solidly---then you win, even if he is the Incredible Hulk. And with bigger attackers, it's important to hit the eyes accurately with one finger jab. I have other weapons that can damage big opponents.

So, regular workouts and training are always a given. Along with real prayers, you can't afford to neglect them if you want to stay safe in streets. Checkout this video on simple workouts you can do at home or the office.

Here's one on push-ups, my favorite workout:

A nonjoiner, being often alone, needs to be self-reliant in the streets.

Preemptive Strikes

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.

Keeping Safe in the Streets of Manila

https://unsplash.com/photos/v4p5GV1Mp2w

No kidding. I've been into streetfighting and street safety for decades now and I know that simplicity, meekness and kindness--with a deadly warrior's common sense and instinct--are the best forms of self defense and keeping safe in the streets of Manila. The opposites--looking sophisticated and tough or rude are the surest ways to get in trouble.

It all starts with how you look, what you wear and how you wear it, how you walk, how you talk and how you look at people--well, especially how you look at people. Wrong stares often start fights in the streets of Manila and even end up in deadly violence.

Even with crimes. Looking simple and ordinary is the key to avoiding being spotted and targeted for crime, particularly snatching, robbery and holdup. Often, the reason why people easily fall victim is their appearance--the desire to look sophisticated and attract attention. Wearing your best and looking well off. Or, if you look nerdy, weak and easily controlled. But, believe it or not, keeping simple and ordinary often makes you "invisible" to crooks. You easily blend in with the crowd and crooks easily lose sight of you.

Looking nothing special often saves your life.

But people never learn. They still want to look important. They wear costly jewelries in the streets and use their expensive smartphones in public. I don't know why they keep doing it. It's all common sense--you scatter sugar around you and ants come at you. You don't have to wonder why.

Simplicity, kindness and looking ordinary. A lot of times these three kept me safe in the streets while others around me were victimized. When I was in high school and attending my evening classes till 9 pm, I took a road notorious for crimes to where I got a ride. It was good that I didn't wear anything on me, like a wristwatch, because I couldn't afford it. My classmate, Arthur, could.

So, a few moments after I got a ride in a public jeepney, two holduppers came to him. I never saw them or what happened. I was busy keeping myself safe in the jeepney. It was a good thing they missed hitting his body with their knife attacks and he was able to run to safety. The next day, he had a deep cut on his arm. The crooks were able to get his wristwatch.

Kindness, on the other hand, makes you avoid offending toughies. You need to learn how to answer them kindly while at the same time not giving hints of fear or feeling intimidated. Talk to them nicely while making them see that you're not one to trifle with. Your kindness should give hints of your ready deadliness. It would be wrong to mess with you. You need to master this trait when keeping safe in the streets of Manila.

Last but not least, you need to keep praying, in or out of danger. The moment I step out to the streets, I check everything around me--left and right, front and back, up and down, far and near--at the same time talking with God and feeling cool and relaxed. I've mastered this thing for years--since high school--so it's become automatic to me. Anyone can train for this.

Remember, GOD is your fortress, your Rock of defense and salvation--first and last.

There's a way of looking at street toughies that make them beware of you, too, while not necessarily sending a wrong signal that you're challenging them to a fight. I call this maintaining equilibrium in the streets. Then you seal everything with prayer. It's been proven.