We do not condone or encourage street fighting; it can get you killed. But there is no denying the technique involved in this night fight under the street lights.
Street fights can often be sloppy brawls that demonstrate little technique, but in some cases martial artists are involved, which adds technique to the situation.
When these two square off, it is immediately clear that one has a TaeKwonDo background, first landing a nice leg kick and then setting up a spinning back to the liver. It ends the fight.
Blunt force to the liver can be excruciatingly painful, and an especially effective shot will incapacitate a person. If you have never been hit in the liver, then you can’t fully understand the experience.
Coach Eric Stevens provides an analysis of throwing and defending a liver shot:
I’ve only dropped someone to the canvas once with a body shot, but it felt like hitting a ball over the fence or a perfect 250-yard drive – exhilarating. A perfectly executed punch is a thing of beauty and precision. However, unlike the long ball in baseball or golf, the body shot doesn’t have the sex appeal. Chicks might dig the long ball as the saying goes, but the body shot is old school.
body shot, liver shot, liver punch, left hook, boxing, kickboxing, mmaThe body shot is like a stolen base in baseball, an effective tactic for advancing and ultimately winning. It’s also one that is pushed aside because stolen bases and body shots don’t end up on SportsCenter. Spectators love to see home runs and they want to see knockout punches and head kicks. That’s what makes the highlights. Thus, we don’t see a lot of stolen bases these days in baseball, and guess what most fighters like to practice? Superman punches and head kicks.
In limiting their practice fighters miss out on a vital part of the game and often also leave themselves vulnerable to this same assault. If they only knew how vital attacking the body can be in winning a fight. Indeed, one of the underutilized aspects of boxing and striking is attacking the body with devastating blows.
Of all these body shots, perhaps the liver punch is the most effective and damaging. The liver is the largest gland organ in the body and when it’s hit just right it’s incredibly debilitating. The pain is immediate, you can’t breathe, and your body feels like quitting, even if mentally you still want to fight. The effect of a brutal body blow is swift and severe, yet different from a headshot.
