Quote Originally Posted by ewallace
My answer is awareness of surroundings.

For instance, my walk to and from the parking garage at work is where alot of bums and hoodrats hang out. As I am walking I take notice of anyone who could be a potential attacker (my basis is anyone who is in close enough in proximity, not by the way they look). I take into account the spacing around me, natural resources that can be used as a weapon, number of people together, how long it takes me to pull out my blade and flip the lever (it's an "assisted" opener knife) to see if it's an option. I also look at how a person is walking towards me and the look in their eyes. I then start looking at size, build, and what the best first target/strike I would use if necessary. It's similair to how a quarterback (American Football) makes his reads as he drops back to pass. I also look around for the transit and other police as well, if I have the option to run, which is preferable.

Most martial artists train to fight. But as for actually training for a street fight, I don't know that there is really a physical way to do so. Sure you can mess around with training knives and plastic bottles, but mental training in possible real situations is very beneficial to keep from getting ambushed by surprise.

bingo. ewallace has kicked the correct in the balls and subdued it.