If you sence menace in a drinking place, leave and go somewhere else, thats the easy and simple soloution. Someone once asked what he should do if someone stared menacingly at him in the pub and that they felt that there may be an attack. "Put your drink down and go somewhere else" I said. For the price of a pint you've saved yourself a hell of alot of trouble.
Again, this is not about defending your ego, it is about possibly defending your life or your liberty and if a pub is so threatning that I think I might be attacked "just for being there" then i sure as hell dont want to drink there any more. There are dozens of drinking holes in every town or city, choose one where you will be sharing the company of people a little les barbarous. Often people feel that they have to fight for their terroritry. Don't bother if that territory is a spot by the bar at the egg and chip, because it just isnt worth it. What you also have to remember is that, trained or not, the consequences of fighting, especially when it is for something that does not need fighting for, can be a life-changing event. People have dies and others gone to prison for fighting over nothing. And if your not a fighter , you are back to chasing fire engines and not knowing what to do when you catch them. If you feel like you have to fight for your patch, better make sure you know how to fight first.
On the other hand, you may be a very capable person when it comes to the physical response but is a patch in the pub worth killing another human being for? Although killing the other guy might not be your intention it is the worst case scenario and it happens in bar fights every every night of the week. I don't know about you but when I fight it's because Ive been pushed into a corner and my antagonist has left me with no other option. So what I ask myself is, "Is what I am fighting for worth risking my liberty"? If the answer is no then I try and back pedal as gracefully as the situation will allow. If the anser is yes then I go ahead fully commited with justification as my ally. When I wake up the next day, no matter what the outcome of the affray, I can say to myself "I onlyy did what I had to do". It will also help me in court If I can demonstrate that I did not want to fight and That I was left with no other option. So, unless you are forced into it, try and avoid a physical encounter. If you cant, then give it everything that you have and then some.
If you think that there is going to be trouble in a club and getting away may be difficult, if there are doorman working ask for their help, thats what they are paid for. Althought many may seem a little unapproachable they will respond if you go to them for help (if they are any good). If you think you are going to be followed from a pub/club, ask the doormen to let you out of another exit, or to "watch your back" if you leave via the main exit.
If the fight kicks off and there are doorman employed, don't get involved. There is no such thing as someone "just trying to stop a fight". When the doorman rush in to stop an affray all they will see is flailing bodies that need removing from the club. If yours is one of them you'll be removed and the more you try to argue your case the graver the situation will get for you. By all means iform the doorman of trouble but don't try and do their job for them. When they rush in they will be in code red, they will not have time to dicern who is right and who is wrong. ( From my experience of dealing with bar fights no one was ever in the wrong., it was always the fault of the other party, we never took sides, everyone involved left the club).
Some of these rules may seem impractical and people may decide not to act on many of them. That of course is your prerogative. But if you do flout the rules, please be extra aware and expect the consequences.
This extract was taken from the book "Dead or Alive" by Geof Thompson
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