My apologies Ed, Ive been haning around my *goofier* tries much too long and my wisecrackery go thte best of me. In all honesty, Ive been taken to task, so to speak, by fellow students who think that I would give far TOO many opportunities for the opponent to scape. My general mindset is such that I want to avoid physical conflict as much as possible. I try to talk them out of it as much as possible. Even then, if I am unable to verbal judo my way out of things, I prefer techniques that give the opponent opportunity to back out of the conflict before it gets serious. Thats why I prefer techniques like shin kicks to the leg overly defensive tactics, it hopefully will convince those that are in well over their heads to take a rain check and back out....

It's definitely tough when being confronted directly by a loud, drunk knucklehead. It's difficult to remember there are still ways to direct the situation; to sieze the initiative from the mini-alpha beating his chest. One of the martial gems that can be applied is that;
'Resistance causes persistance'. Whether meeting a force head on, or desperately trying to get away from it; in both situations there is resistance. By trying to resist what is offered to you, you empower the generous giver and actually validate their position. Accept what they offer and place it where you want to, or be ready to offer them an unexpected gift. You never have to give them what they expect.
Walking home late once, a larger, drunker (or maybe just as drunk) complete stranger walks along side of me and puts his arm around my shoulders. He squeezes me in close and in a loud voice says, 'Haey buddy! How wee doing tonight!' He's having a power trip. OK. I had actually just been training a take-down that would have been *perfect* for this set-up. I believe I could have dropped this fool on the back of his head and been on my way, or my technique could have been off and I would have ended up wrestling this goof. We never broke stride and just kept walking like a couple drunken sailors. I relaxed. I consciously took the tension out of my shoulders and nuzzled in close to this guy. I spoke back calmly, 'Oh man, I'm doing great. What a night, huh? What do you have going on for yourself?' he doesn't answer and I can feel the uncertainty in his arm around me. He's exposed himself to a complete stranger who isn't intimidated or wants to fight. He uneasily takes his arm back and sort of keeps up a 'polite' conversation with me until he wishes me a good evening. We part ways unscathed.