Alcohol is a curious thing. In some people it makes them happy and affectionate, some talk non stop and others fall asleep in stupid places. But there is that select group of individuals who have some severe psychological or emotional problems deep down in the core of their psyche that makes them turn into assholes that want to fight anyone who even makes eye contact with them. Personally the best way I’ve found to deal with these types is to just be the bigger man and walk away. The satisfaction of putting some drunk idiot in their place isn’t worth the risk of getting arrested, prosecuted and / or ending up with a criminal record. But sometimes you just can’t walk away like if you’re in a restaurant in the middle of eating a meal like Ryan Hall was.

From the video: On December 11th, 2011, Ryan Hall was enjoying dinner in the company of friends after a Grapplers Quest event, when a man approached the table, requesting a lighter. After informing him the table was comprised of non-smokers, the man became enraged, demonstrating violent behavior and directly threatening Ryan Hall. This video displays the occurrence in its entirety, to show exactly how Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can be used in self-defense as a means to control and subdue an opponent. Without a single punch thrown, the opponent is first controlled, and in a second encounter choked unconscious as a means to end the confrontation once and for all.

Props to Ryan for resisting the urge to knock the guy out with a right hook which is what I would have been tempted to do if he was getting in my face like that. Do not underestimate the effectiveness of a rear naked choke. I think the standing rear naked choke and the standing guillotine should be the first two submissions taught at BJJ academies as a means for ending self defence situations like this.

Have you ever needed to use your BJJ or other Martial Arts skills in a situation like this? If so what happened? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading.