Appear Confident when in a Fight

Although it's never a good idea to fight, whether physical or verbal, sometimes a fight is unavoidable. You may need to defend yourself in a dangerous situation. During a fight, you will want to appear confident. Looking flustered or nervous could make your opponent see you as weak, causing them to try to harm you more. During a fight, strive to use confident body language to show you will not be intimidated. While fighting, only use defensive moves. This will show your opponent you cannot be egged on. In the future, make every effort to avoid fights. You can get injured in a fight and, if you injure another person, there can be serious legal consequences. Look into ways to diffuse a situation rather than getting dragged into a fight.

Steps

Using Confident Body Language

  1. Be aware of your facial muscles. Your face can reveal a lot about your feelings, and it's easy to look nervous during a tense situation. Pay attention to the muscles on your face and, if you feel them tensing up, make an effort to relax them. You want to avoid looking scared in a fight, as this can egg your aggressor on.[1]
    • Pay attention to your forehead. During a grimace, you may raise your eyebrows. If you notice your eyebrows creeping up, make a conscious effort to lower them.
    • Focus on your facial muscles. If you feel your face twitching at all, this can come off as nervous. Work on relaxing your face, keeping the muscles still.
  2. Watch your upper body. How you hold your body can convey confidence or fear. Avoid slouching or crouching downward, as this looks like a sign of defeat or fear. Stand tall throughout a fight to show you will not be intimidated.[1]
    • Make sure your back is straight and watch your shoulders. They may lurch forward when you're nervous. You want them to be behind your back.
    • Be careful of your arms as well. During dull moments in the fight, you may cross your arms or move them against your chest. This is a defensive move people do when nervous. You should keep your arms in front of your face to protect vulnerable body parts.
  3. Adopt a boxer stance. This will not only make you appear confident, it will help you keep your balance when fighting. Falling during a fight can cause serious injury, so keep yourself in the boxer stance throughout the fight.[2]
    • Bend your knees, keeping one leg forward slightly.
    • Spread your feet out until your feet are roughly the same width as your shoulders.
  4. Maintain some degree of eye contact. Eye contact can convey confidence. However, you want to be watching your opponent's movements as well. Make eye contact throughout the fight when you have a dull moment to show your opponent you are not afraid.[1][2]
    • As you are maintaining eye contact, however, be sure to strive to protect your eyes. Keep your arms in front of your face.

Fighting With Confidence

  1. Respond without reacting. If you become reactionary in a fight, this can escalate the situation. It can make you the aggressor. This can make you look out of control and emotional, which can make you look weak in your opponent's eyes. Only respond to what your opponent does. Do not react.[3]
    • Pause before you react to something your opponent does. If he or she yells out an insult, do not become emotional and run at him swinging, for example. Simply remain standing tall with confidence.
  2. Fight defensively only. If you attack your opponent when he is down, you can seriously injure him or her. This could result in potential legal trouble. The only time you should fight is to defend yourself.
    • Seek only to deflect your opponents moves. Use your hands to block punches and kicks.
    • Do not do things like punch, kick, or otherwise lash out at your opponent. Seek only to push your opponent off of you to avoid injury.
  3. Protect vulnerable areas. You want to make sure you are protected. If you're hurt in a vulnerable area, you may flinch or cry out in pain. This can break your confidence, and could even result in you becoming physically injured.[2]
    • Block your opponent if he or she goes for areas like the eyes, ears, nose, neck throat, genitals, or knees. Being harmed in one of these areas can cause serious injury, leading you to lose the fight. Always keep your arms up in a fighting stance, protecting your face.
    • Watch your opponent's moves closely. Try to predict where he or she will strike and be ready to protect yourself as necessary.
  4. Keep your tone of voice confident. Your tone of voice can also portray confidence. You do not want to sound scared, intimidated, or hysterical, so pay attention to your tone of voice if you speak during the fight.[4]
    • Keep an even tone if you need to talk. Do not talk too slowly or too softly.
    • Avoid nervous words like "um."
    • Talk in a clear tone. Mumbling can make you sound nervous.
  5. Try to remain calm. Strong emotions like panic can make you appear nervous. If you start to get nervous, you will display body language and a tone of voice that conveys fear. It can be very difficult to stay calm in a fight, but it's important to remain calm if you want to appear confident.[4]
    • If at all possible, take a deep breath. This can calm you down. However, when fighting, it may simply not be an option.

Avoiding Dangerous Situations

  1. Avoid fighting unless it's necessary for self defense. You should never seek out someone to fight, or attack someone who is picking on you as a form of intimidation. Fighting is dangerous. Seeking out a fight is always a bad idea.[5]
    • An aggressor could have a weapon. You never know if someone is carrying a knife or another sharp object, so it's best not to risk it by picking a fight.
    • If you push someone into fighting, they could come back later with friends to target you. You do not want to start a cycle of violence.
    • If you need to fight to defend yourself, do so, but remember this is the only time you should fight. Fighting is only justified when it's the only way for you to escape injury.
  2. Stay away from dangerous areas where fights are likely to occur. If you're worried about fighting because someone is targeting you, be proactive. Stay away from areas where you feel fighting may occur. Stay in well lit, open areas where there is a lot of supervision.[6]
    • It's a good idea to travel in groups, especially if someone is threatening you with aggression.
    • If you're at school, avoid areas where bullies congregate. You may be more likely to get jumped in these areas.
  3. Contact the police if necessary. If someone is threatening you with physical violence, contact the police. Fighting can have legal consequences for you if you hurt someone, and you can also suffer serious injury. If you are being threatened with violence, report it to the police. The police can help diffuse the situation before violence becomes necessary.[5]
  4. Enroll in a self defense class. If you've been the target of bullies before, self defense can help. See if you can find a local community center that offers self defense training. You could also try something like karate. A self defense course can teach you safe ways to defend yourself in a fight, and how to avoid injury.[5]



Tips

  • Bring friends with you if you have to walk in dangerous areas. If you are in school and a bully is targeting you, adopt the buddy system to keep yourself safe from harm.

Warnings

  • Fighting has legal consequences. You could get in trouble for something like assault or disturbing the peace. For this reason, it's always best to avoid a fight if at all possible. Only fight when it's necessary for self defense and, even then, only fight to the point of neutralizing your opponent. If you injure someone seriously, you could face criminal charges.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201206/the-ultimate-guide-body-language
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://www.askmen.com/money/how_to_150/180_how_to.html
  3. ↑ http://blogs.psychcentral.com/best-self/2015/01/5-tips-to-live-with-greater-confidence/
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/self-promotion-introverts/201512/5-ways-appear-underconfident-and-how-avoid-them
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 http://kidshealth.org/en/teens/fight-bullies.html
  6. ↑ http://kidshealth.org/en/teens/self-defense.html#
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