Self-Defense Instructor Richard Dimitri demonstrating “The Shredder” in a street fight.
It happens all the time. One man wants to be a tough guy, has to start problems with another guy, the two men get in each other’s faces at only inches away from each other, and before you know it, they’re either slugging it out wildly, clinching (stand up grappling), or rolling around on the ground, vying for the dominant position of being on top to deliver a pounding (called the “mount” position). I’ve often pondered to myself about what I would do in a real life self-defense situation, particularly a life or death situation.
I’m a decent boxer, and kick boxer for that matter, I have mastered some basic judo and jiu-jitsu techniques, but I have never actually studied the most common starting point of any street fighting scenario…the encroachment. How can I effectively escalate from the being centimeters away from my opponents face, swelling with anger, to being the last man standing?
I have been a fan of Sammy Franco since I was a teenager. Sammy Franco is the founder of Contemporary Fighting Arts, a modern system for real world self-defense. I decided to order one of his most extreme self-defense programs, entitled Savage Street Fighting. This training manual/dvd combo is absolutely amazing, and worth every freakin’ penny! (Mind you, I do NOT get paid for any products I advertise on this blog.)
Sammy stresses that Savage Street Fighting is only to be used as a last resort, as the techniques, including tactical biting and eye gouging, can be fatal. However, it is much better to know how to apply these techniques and live, then not know and die. At first, it sounds kind of simple, biting and eye gouging. But when I popped the dvd into my player and watched the entire thing from start to finish, I couldn’t help but think how amazing this program truly is, in how many ways you can tactically apply biting and eye gouging.
Sammy goes over the different hand grips that you must first secure before you begin your biting, specific positions that you may find your self in which would typically be a nightmare for people and how to escape using these techniques (like being lifted up into the air, on the bottom in a ground fight, etc.), how Savage Street Fighting can be used in a multiple attacker situation, and much more.
This program is so awesome, I had to spend an entire blog post on it! It deserves a complete review, and I guarantee that you won’t find anything like it anywhere, and it certainly won’t be taught at your local strip mall dojo (“McDojo” as some like to call them).
Check out the below video on Savage Street Fighting. I have to warn you, it’s not for the faint of heart.
Humanetix: Becoming a Real-Life Superhuman 