This article is but one part of an ongoing effort by MixedMartialArts.com to understand what really works in martial arts, by looking not at what happens in the arena, but rather at what happens on the street. If you enjoyed it, check out more best-of stories on:
1. Martial Arts on The Street
2. Boxing
3. Style vs. Style
In the small town of Starokorsunskaya in 2014, in southwest Russia, a gang of thugs was reportedly the cause of a rise in petty crime. One night, approximately a dozen members of the group were trying to drag a woman into a nightclub’s VIP Room for drinks, when her husband returned from the bathroom. His name is Nicolai Vlasenko; he is a professional boxer and a martial artist.
One of the thugs, Leonti Yevdokimov, 33, suggested Vlasenko, 29, “take it outside.” When the fighter did so, he was surrounded by a mob.
An eyewitness, Eldar Vinogradoff, 27, described what happened.
“There were at least ten of them, led by the two who thought they were real big shots,” said Eldar. “One of them took off his shirt and started squaring up to the boxer, and I don’t think he even knew what hit him as he went down like a bowling pin. A second man tried to kick the boxer and he was floored instantly as well.
“Then a third man joined in, and he was left staggering and on the point of collapsing, after taking three blows to the head and not landing once himself.”
The rest of the gang reacted as bullies do when confronted by force. They backed off. And in this case, they then tried to put the Humpty Dumptys back together again.
What Happened
The action opens with Vlasenko speaking to a big-bellied man; five other men are milling around in the foreground. The number of other men swells to six, and then eight. Vlasenko walks away from Big Belly, as a ninth man enters the scene, and moves menacingly toward the fighter.
Vlasenko exhibits expert distance management backing up, then suddenly plants into a solid stance and springs forward, flattening the newcomer with a leaping left hook. Then a man with white sleeves runs forward and attempts a front thrust kick. In fighting, like life, timing is everything.
A straight right that hits a person moving away will typically have a minimal effect on an adrenalized opponent of roughly the same size. However, the same blow, against someone moving in can be devastating. Vlasenko hits the man with perfect timing, and immediately after, pops back out of any danger. There are now two men unconscious on the pavement.
Fearless, Vlasenko moves into the group, which now number twelve, or more properly, ten and two asleep on the ground. A man circles around the crowd and then moves at the fighter, with his hands down. That’s not wise, and he takes a left hook to face, snapping his head. Unusually for that night, he doesn’t immediately fall.
Another long left hook lands, and #3 slumps back into his fellow thugs. He eats a straight right, and still stands, albeit unsteadly. It is not clear if he remembers his own name, or not. It’s likely the latter.
And the video closes.
The Aftermath
Enshrining themselves permanently in the A****** Hall of Fame, the gang later hired an attorney, and filed a complaint with the police over what happened. The police viewed the security cam footage, and determined that it was an act of self-defense. No action was taken against Vlasenko.
“My client wasn’t prepared to allow them to harass his wife,” explained his attorney. “He was prepared to discuss it in a reasonable manner, but when they resorted to force, then he was forced to defend himself with inevitable consequences.”
The Lesson
After examining very many thousands of examples of martial arts being used effectively on the street, a handful of major, utterly unmistakable lessons are clear:
•For a one-on-one fight, jiu-jitsu is proven superior.
•For multiple attackers, boxing is proven superior.
This is not to say that other martial arts are not good. It is not to say that jiu-jitsu will not work against more than one opponent. This is not to say that boxing is not excellent in a one-on-one altercation. But it is saying that based on reality – on what has verifiably happened on the street – boxing and jiu-jitsu are notably above the others
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