Tight, defensive boxing to a draw. One week.

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Yeah, like three individual lessons, over the course of one week. And you might be surprised how much you can learn in such a relatively short amount of time. For example, just how to make a strong fist, fingers curled in fast and tight, thumb laid across hard and a little on the low side (less likely for thumb or hand to be injuried, although still, obviously, a very injurious activity).

And then tight, defensive with a lot of emphasis on solid blocks and keeping balance and center as you punch. Kind of like what you might see with good mid-weight boxers on ESPN.


And you’d almost rather come to a draw, for you are not trying to humiliate someone, esp. someone you’re likely to see again.

If you ‘win,’ you’ll graciously accept that. Maybe say something like ‘Sorry it had to come to that,’ if someone tries to compliment you,or ‘well, it don’t always work out that way,’ meaning you don’t always expect to win. For this is not something you want to be a ‘star’ about, and not something you really want to let acquaintances have long, drawn-conversations about. Generally, just do not participate in such conversations.

And if you ‘lose,’ well, I guess graciously accept that, too.

(And you don’t want to take a bunch of blows to the head during training, because that stuff about post-concussion syndrome is real. And football helmets do not really protect a person, and I suspect the same is true of boxing headgear. And actually this is yet another reason for a few private lessons and then mainly doing your own stuff discretely in the gym, with perhaps the occasional follow-up lesson. And/or just tell the instructor, I do not want to take a lot of blows to the head.)

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I am posting this because sometimes it does come down to this. When I went to college way back in 1982, I was surprised at how much physical bullying and threatening behavior there was. It was almost as if it were a recourse to junior high, and that, surprisingly, kind of seemed to be the mindset on some occasions. And knowing just a little boxing can give you a baseline of confidence in such a situation.

Matter-of-factly ask:

‘How tall are you?’

then if needed:

‘And how tall do you think I am?’

again, said matter-of-factly

And if your voice sounds nervous to yourself, just make a point to slow it down a little bit. It’s not really ‘talking yourself out of a fight,’ it’s more just pointing out that such a fight would not exactly be fair.

And I was disappointed how little attention there was to the traditional standard of fairness that it’s unfair for a larger person to pick a fight with a smaller person. Or perhaps people justified it to themselves that they were merely posturing and ‘threatening’ such a fight. And we as Aspies can sometimes rub a person the wrong way. And because we’re smart (in some areas), the occasional person takes this as a threat. Well, each of us are smart in our own area. I’m smart in some areas, you’re smart in some areas, and our classmate in physics, or anthropology, or whatever, is smart in still other areas.

But the tight defensive approach, with a lot of emphasis on solid blocks, and quick jabs to keep your opponent off balance, and the occasional quick, hard shot to the rib cage, that also is probably your best bet if a larger person does start a fight.


‘We all like Chris.’


‘We all like Chris [Chris Henry, recently decreased wide receiver with the Cincinnati Bengals, and yes, fights do start and spiral over the stupidest things]


‘It’s over.’ And you let the fight naturally end.


And this is what I mean by tight, defensive boxing to a draw.

A low-key, matter-of-fact attitude: ‘You want to go a few rounds, we can go a few rounds.’ That’s the kind of the attitude you want regarding the narrow subject of fighting if someone else physically starts it. That’s generally the attitude you want to project in a low key, subtle way. And then, in paradoxical zen fashion, it’s less likely to happen.

Hi Aardvark, I like your thread. I learned a few simple principles of boxing from a friend, and they can make a big difference in a fight. Also like advice on avoiding them! I want to look this over a bit more thoroughly later. Peace

Thank you for you nice compliments, Moog. Yes, I am trying to give realistic advice and information. And there is a difference between running away from a fight and walking away.