A week ago my wife and I were walking home from a bar to our hotel in Columbus, Ohio. It wasn’t far, and our friends told us Columbus was a reasonably safe city. During the walk a group of five guys started walking toward us. We’re 40 and they appeared to be in their late teens. My wife and I moved to the far end of the sidewalk to give them room to walk by, and the group moved closer to us. As I walked past the last one, he shouted, “Shut the fuck up!” and shoulder checked me. He hit me hard and deliberately with no provocation.
I lowered my shoulder and checked him back, and he just kept walking. He was trying to start a fight, but I felt like I had to let it go instead of confronting him and his four friends. It was incredibly anger inducing. What’s the right move in this situation?
Comments
Clutch my pepper spray. Keep walking, unless provoked again.
For sure you did.
What did you have to gain in that situation?
walk away, nothing good can come from that
To not get your head kicked in by 5 arseholes. You did the right thing by moving on mate. Cowards move in groups, and deliberately try to outnumber.
In almost every case of a “streetfight” the right move is to walk away.
Specially if they are teens.
It’s 5 on 1, you keep walking.
Not provoke to avoid getting jumped by 5 guys, but also not look like an easy target
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Walk away
Walk away. You were going to square up to five young guys looking for a fight? You’re not batman.
You should have asked them for a burger, obviously
So here is context.
I’m in my early thirties, 6’1, 260lbs, played highschool and college rugby, and have trained in martial arts for over 20 years, mostly judo, bjj and kickboxing.
I would have walked away.
You’re outnumbered five to one by younger men at an age where they’re very capable of being dangerous, with the added burden of having to ensure your wife stays safe.
Fights are ugly. Things can go wrong in an instant with life changing consequences and unless you’re some sort of beast, you’re probably not winning that fight anyway.
You were outnumbered, and dealing with guys in an age demographic where their judgement isn’t the best and things could have spiraled in horrible ways if you escalated. Keeping it moving to protect you and your wife was the right call.
Native Columbusite here, sorry that happened. There are assholes everywhere.
Keep walking and let the idiot think he’s a tough guy. Let him project whatever he wants to so he can make himself not feel like the little man he feels like inside. My life will go on
You did the right thing your only priority is your wife is safe mate. If you had been on your own then let the rage out
Absolutely move on, that is not a fight you were going to win
Do you carry?
Sorry my friend, my bad and keep on walking. That’s here in Atlanta.
But that’s the states where you say please, thank you and I am sorry.
So this doesn’t apply to NYC, NJ, Boston and the other Go fuck yourself states.
Right move to keep on walking. Good job.
Shoulder check and pretend like you didn’t even notice. As Marcellus Wallace once said “fuck pride”. You gain nothing from getting your ass beat by 5 guys, and less if they have a weapon or anything. You want to keep yourself and your wife safe and the best way to do that is avoiding confrontation and keep walking. Only time to fight is when there is no other choice. Even if you “win” the fight, you could still get injured, you could end up getting charged and end up in court, even if you win the case you still have to go or pay for a lawyer.
Ignore them. They aren’t even worth the effort of lowering my shoulder to check them in the first place, let alone the paperwork and legal repercussions of actually teaching them a lesson.
In the words of Yasiin Bey/Mos Def, “Five of them and 1 of you, that equals ‘got’ to me”
Just keep it pushing, no sense of putting yourself and your wife in danger.
I’ll add mine in. I’m 6’2” ex convict on steroids. I walk away too.
2 on 1 maaaybe although I’ve lost that same fight. They were brothers though and knew how to use their numbers to their advantage very well.
5 to 1? No fucking way. You ain’t winning that. You either lose bad or real bad.
Similar situation happened to a guy I know when he was living in Pittsburgh. He was walking home alone at night, and a group picked a fight with him for no reason. The instigator beat the shit out of my friend with brass knuckles while his buddies held him down. Friend ended up losing all his teeth and almost died from an infection in his jaw. Years later he still has medical issues. Sometimes you have to let it go and stay safe. Especially since your wife was with you.
There’s been a case in Arizona of a group of underage teens beating another teen to death pretty much for just being at the party. The boys had a head full of steam and false ego yapping at them. Several are being tried as adults. Glad you walked on by.
I just think about what that random white guy in Boondocks when he’s about to start a fight on the street before saying “Wait a minute, I’m white!” Then he walks away laughing instead of throwing his life away for a stupid fight.
You just walk away clean, happy that you have a ton to lose and nothing to gain. Like this: https://youtu.be/UajTvU3sjrY
Walk away always
Your wife’s safety is your priority. You did the right thing.
Well, I’m 6’4″ and around 250lbs. I’ve never had this happen, I assume because people don’t want to chance me being someone who could fuck them up.
But I’d just continue on my way. It’s just not worth it.
If you don’t have your iron on you just keep walking
Stop, turn your head back, mutter “rude” under your breath, and carry on with your day.
I got beat up by 5 assholes in Columbus one night in 1998. Shitty city.
A few years ago I was walking to the bus stop early in the morning for work. I saw a car at a crosswalk and I paused because I didn’t know if they were going to turn right going my way. It was going slow. Once they turned slowly left I crossed.
The car did a slow turn. I remember the headlights coming behind me slowly. I had a bad feeling.
They cut me off at the next crosswalk but I was ready. I threw my backpack to the side and was prepared to fight. The front seat passenger got out saw that, went oh yeah, pulls out the gun and that was it. I saw that and said ok you win. I had to give up. Another guy searched my pockets and took my backpack. I didn’t feel anything in the moment just nothing. He told me go home. So I did.
I think if I would have reacted any other way I might have gotten shot.
I’m lethally armed 99% of the time so I would keep walking. I can’t be a responsible gun owner and also let myself rise to every provocation.
Youre out with your girl trying to have a good time. No reason to ruin it by going to jail. Being the bigger man earns more respect. No need to stoop to a child’s level.
I saw “excuse me, sorry” and keep walking. I also fix my collar when I see men come at me like that. Puts my elbows out at eye level. People instinctively duck, and I’m past them before they react.
I disagree with most of the posters here. I would try a spinning hurricane kick, followed by a tiger uppercut and a hadoken just as they are getting up.
Keep walking.
“Should I have challenged this group of 5 angry teenagers and put my wife and I at risk for my ego?” the fuck is this question lol.
So, just to clarify, you’re 40, and these were teenagers, and you’re actually asking this question?
They only do that shit with the friends. Catch one by themselves and they aren’t doing shit. Because they aren’t shit.
When I was younger, I’d probably run my mouth at them but be smart enough to keep myself out of a 5 on 1 fight. Now, I’d probably mutter wtf, shake my head and keep walking.
Didn’t I read a post like that just last week? Is shoulder checking a new TikTok thing?
I worked in NYC as a field tech. I dragged my parts and tools with me on an aluminum hand truck.
When I saw stuff like this about to happen I would cross the street.
It worked every time but one.
Avoid the interaction and you’ll get to go home at night OR you can go to Bellevue.
Choice is yours.
The last time I was bumped into in the streets in a big city, I checked for my wallet with one hand and my .38 with the other. The latter was prolly an overreaction. You should just walk away if you have the choice.
Keep walking. I’ve seen enough videos of guys getting their ass kicked because the female they’re with thought holding back her man would solve the problem. It doesn’t, they just get sucker punched instead. Don’t square up
Conceal carry and don’t shoulder check back. You’re lucky that didn’t invoke their intentions.
I avoid getting physical with other men because I don’t need to have a life changing injury.
The injustice of interactions like these rankles though.
Something similar happened to me when I lived in Brooklyn. Three guys came up behind me in the night and took my headphones off and whispered into my ear to give them all my money.
I fought them all in a gorilla warfare style manner up and down the street. Lacrosse sticks were involved it was… Wild… I still think about it to this day and remember it vividly.
So if nothing else you spared yourself life long PTSD. I would get something non lethal to defend yourself with, you will instantly feel better knowing that if something really does go down and you are outnumbered you have an exit strategy.
Always walk away. If you’re worried about looking like less than man, then ask yourself what they would have done to your wife if you had fought them and you caught a knife or a bullet.
Is it less manly to make sure your wife gets away safely or is it more manly to die or be incapacitated and your wife is at the mercy of a group of guys.
(And I’m totally not saying you have an incapable wife, she could be a super saying as far as I know)
I was in elementary school and my grandfather was walking me home from school, and a boy in a group of teens intentionally shoved him then turned around and flipped him off and slowly walked away.
Never saw my grandfather that mad, but he didn’t do anything physical back. Soon after he had a heart attack and died not too long afterwards. I love him :/
Walk away. Big risk, zero reward. So, why would you fight?
My son is very quick to talk like he’d fight if someone challenged him. But I’ve tried very hard to instill in him that you don’t get into fights if you have opportunities to avoid it because you never know if the other guy has a gun or a knife or knows how to fight and is mad about something and just looking to eff someone up. “But that’s not fair!” He tells me. A street fight is never fair. Once it starts, there are no rules. So, you de-escalate and avoid the fight as long as you have the option. And if at some point those options are exhausted and there is no more opportunity, then you fight to win. Whatever it takes.
The world is too crazy now to do anything but walk away. As much as it would piss me off, it’s just not safe to even say anything about it. You don’t know what people are capable of, if they have a knife/gun/etc. The smart move is to just walk on.
I’ll always walk away from an unfair fight
Ask yourself, what would Chuck Norris do? Then do the opposite.
Are you Christian Bale in Equilibrium? Because if not 5 on 1 is not the time to fight for pride. That’s absolute desperation survival mode only. Whatever shame some guys might feel in walking away from a fair fight is definitely irrelevant here.
Start carrying pepper spray to incapacitate attackers. The whole group would have been crying like babies if they got sprayed. But you did the right thing by not escalating.
You did the right thing man. Violence isn’t the answer. And street fights are ugly. Plus? You were outnumbered 5 to 1.
Unless you’re the reincarnation of Bruce Lee? You were on the wrong side of that equation.
Wise choice friend. Let them be assholes. Hold your head high for being smart.
I’m ashamed to say it but I have been that asshole who would have absolutely wanted to have an excuse to fight. This is why the smarter person walks away, you don’t know what’s going on in the other persons head and there are people who are as unstable as I’ve been who are just looking for violence. All it takes is one bad fall to fuck up your life.
Honestly, only people with short people complex mouths off to me. I’m a really big guy. People usually try moving away from me. I’ve walked in the evening and watched a group of people cross the street because of me. I’ve been in dozens and dozens of fights in my life. They’re always risky. Doesn’t matter if you can outpower five people. One knife, one gun, you can make things extremely difficult and dangerous.
I’m 61 years old. I’m sure I’ve lived this long by walking away more than once. Nothing to prove.
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You did the right thing by walking away but if such subjects walk around in your neighbourhood you better get a switchblade or pepper spray (check your local laws on what’s allowed).
I’d walk away, not because there’s no benefit in engaging with that kind of behavior. I’d walk away with an attitude and demeanor that shows I’m completely unbothered by them and in fact barely aware they exist at all, because those are the facts, because some dickwad shoulder checking me on the street literally is not significant enough to warrant any attention at all. Unless he’s trying to confront me with an actual threat of harm, no attention is warranted or given.
Meh, I’m a big guy and dealt with getting challenged a lot in my 20’s and 30’s mostly, my ego isn’t big enough to worry about being “the tough guy” and I enjoy my freedom lol. If I or my loved one was ever threatened, I can throw down but otherwise, I let shit go
I’ve always posited that a man’s strength is, often times, best measured by the depth of his restraint.
Can you imagine living in a world where we all just go ape at every slight?
Strike only when necessary and only when the odds are in your favor. Don’t pick fights you can’t win, and don’t let your actions endanger others.
You did good.
OH…
FU…
Columbus is the hood.
Don’t get into fights if you don’t have to. It’s unnecessary to fight over ego. I have gotten into several fights over the years, both on the job on guard duty with drunk ppl trying to fight me and off the job with ppl attacking my friends or me. Unless you’re defending yourself or someone else, don’t fight. It’s too risky. I almost got stabbed behind a club in Spain once, because some woman hit on my friend while having a boyfriend with a knife.
Just keep going.
The same thing happened to my wife and I (late 40s) last week in the Netherlands. A guy, on his own, deliberately stepped off his line into my path. There was nowhere for me to go so I leaned into his check and knocked him back a couple of steps. I’m a lot bigger than he was.
I asked if he was ok and he lost his mind and started yelling and swearing about how I’d better ‘watch out’. There’s been a lot of aggression from certain groups of youth in this country and often it involves knives. Some of it is just random violence. I had no idea if he was alone or where his confidence was coming from so, watching his hands, I ushered my wife behind me and started moving us on our way. I just said ‘enjoy your time in prison, mate’. I had way more to lose than that guy and my responsibility is not to do anything that would negatively impact my family, my job, or myself.
I checked over my shoulder a few times and we crossed the street and took a detour off the main route we were on.
Walk away. If I was in a particularly contrary mood, I’d overplay my curent partially-disabled status. No asshole trying to look tough is getting any status when the barely-upright didn’t even fall all the way over.
Keep walking. Be Smart
You did the smart thing. 5 on 1 ain’t good
Walk away and live another day
Bad things happen out of anger.
My roomate had his ankle broken and needed surgery last week.
We live in a safe neighborhood but he left one bar and walked past another bar and 3 assholes got in his way and he woke up on the ground busted lip, black eye and ankle broken right off ..police and ambulance were called right away.
Police are investigating. Super bullshit, but walk away.
What happened to him, could have happened to you.
He won’t be able to drive till October, and put weight on his right foot for another 5-6 weeks
Your first mistake was having a life and being outside
Just smile and move on man. Not worth your time or possibility of losing your life and having your wife deal with that. I’ve had some strange situations like that both alone and with my girlfriend but it’s not worth an altercation. I do carry in case things get out of hand and I have to make a choice but I’d rather avoid it at all costs.
Childish act. He probably saw you had you life together and that’s what probably annoyed him. Move on and be happy.
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Don’t pick fight with dudes that have four friends with them. Just keep walking.
Am I the only one that thinks he is an idiot for shoulder checking back? I don’t want to be a pussy, but I’m just trying to minimize the shoulder check contact (by getting out of the way if possible). I feel like there is a very high chance that if I shoulder check back that is enough of a reason for them to think it’s time to fight. In that case, you should assume he’s turning around to come at your back.
I don’t know why this has to be said, but 6’3″, 215lbs, and zero martial arts training. Lol
Shouldn’t have reciprocated. Should have took a picture and filed a police report for assault and battery. You have a witness (your wife) and this dip shit probably already has a lengthy criminal record.
Walk away is the ONLY way. You done good.
Sometimes you don’t have any favourable options. You chose the best of a bad lot.
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I would have taken the shoulder check and walked away. Those are crap odds in my best shape.
What should you do? Fuck all. Are you crazy? Why are you even entertaining this.
If a group of people are out looking to smash someone’s head in, why would you want to be involved. What happens? You get your head caved in, and your wife will probably get smacked around trying to defend you. If you’re lucky, you may even live to go home with her.
This isn’t tv, it’s real life, and you’re not defending yourself from being dogpiled. You do exactly what you did, think, what a group of dickheads, they must live miserable lives, then go home and bang your wife forgetting the whole thing ever happened.
Just a bunch of insecure young men trying to figure out their masculinity and trying to “out bro” each other. There is nothing to prove or gain unless your wife is in danger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e6IKG2Xxzw
Sorry you experienced that BS, but ya, just let it go and move along.
Not worth the BS.
4 to 1. Not good odds
I’ve got 3 words for you…. Fake Heart attack
“Shut the fuck up”? Without provocation? If this is true, there are some mental issues. Walk on. Or you are omitting something. In which case, avoid conflict. Try and deescalate or mitigate before anything happens. Usually that involves ‘verbal judo’.
Absolutely nothing. No point in getting into a fight with someone that’s clearly fragile enough to shoulder check someone
Wait a minute… I’m white!
In all seriousness, there are very few things that are worth getting into a fight over, and getting shoulder checked by some dipshit isn’t one of them.
That’s your ego trying to get you killed. You tell it to go sit in the corner and have a think at how badly that could have gone wrong. I’ve personally seen street fights that ended up with a body on the pavement.
1 vs 1 street fights are ugly.
5 vs 1 fights can get deadly very very quickly and don’t end when you go down.
Walking away was the right choice.
You checked him back. You’re good.