Interfering in a Combat situation: Analyzing the Alabama Riverboat Incident
On the Montgomery Alabama Riverboat, we were met with a chaotic situation. A brawl broke out, ending up with multiple bodies and flying fists in every direction. Amidst this upheaval, many tried to step in and stop the melee, each with varying degrees of success and failure. Icy Mike, renowned martial arts and self-defense expert, tackled this complex scenario via his Youtube channel, Hard2Hurt, and raised a recurring query: should bystanders intervene during a physical attack? He didn’t just pose a question; he provided an insightful viewpoint, backed by comprehensive analyses, logical reasoning, and substantial experience in personal defense. Mike’s assessment is clear, yet grimly compelling: the answer to whether or not it is appropriate to intervene is probably not. His conclusion parallels the often-quoted advice from martial arts and self-defense instructors: unless one is professionally trained or the situation is utterly black-and-white, it’s likely best to stay out of the fracas whenever possible. The reasons are manifold and even evident in the Alabama Riverboat incident. Digging deeper into the incident, one of the most significant realities Mike brought to light is the diverse range of individuals who intervened. Some of them were physically strong while others seemed rather frail and defenseless. Some were bursting with valiant intentions while others simply acted on impulse. Yet, irrespective of their reasons, physique or skillset, the majority had one thing in common – more often than not, they worsened the scenario instead of diffusing it. Think about the episode with the Red Shorts guy. Armed with apparently good intentions, he jumped in to stop the fight only to bulldoze everyone to the ground and inadvertently, instigate assault. Green Dress Lady’s efforts to break up the fight repeatedly failed, and her efforts, despite being well-intentioned, triggered more harm than good at times. And then there was the tragic tale of the person sporting a green tinted hat. He intervened to break up the fight and pull out participants but was unfairly mistaken for an offender and unfairly treated as one. However, the actions of Ramp Guy stood in stark contrast to these chaotic attempts. Ramp Guy entered the scenario late enough to understand the situation fully and acted appropriately without causing further harm. His success underlined the importance of being informed before intervening in such volatile scenarios and underscored the point that well-intentioned actions without understanding can have negative consequences. The Alabama Riverboat incident serves as a clear reminder that the world of self-defense is not just about technique or physical prowess. It’s about situation awareness, emotional control, and the ability to make informed decisions under immense pressure. Above everything else, Mike’s video amplifies an unsettling, yet vital message. The path to being a hero doesn’t always necessitate rushing into the thick of a fight. Frequently, the smartest thing to do is to step back, assess the situation objectively, and alert the appropriate authorities. As individuals – trained or untrained – we must remember, our primary responsibility is to ourselves and our loved ones. Engaging in combat should be the absolute last resort. So, in the future, if you happen to find yourself in the middle of a tumult like the Alabama one, ask yourself: are you a Ramp Guy, or would your intervention potentially escalate the situation? Your honest answer could make all the difference.Blablabla
The YouTube channel Hard2Hurt belongs to Icy Mike, a self-defense and fitness enthusiast. He shares his knowledge and experience through realistic and effective fight training tips, practical self-defense techniques and fitness advice. Mike’s engaging content, loaded with humor and practicality, serves to educate and entertain his audience simultaneously.
Self-Defence Block
Question for Viewers: Would you intervene? Are you more of a ramp guy or a lady in red?
I never intervene if I am as likely to get an ass whooping as those am trying to help.
Awesome review
To the person who asked Mike if he should intervene, you should've added if Mike should intervene when he's a police officer, off duty or not.
Moral of the story …. Know how to fight
good one Mike. I would not intervene.
I'm whatever blue dress lady would be if she didn't involve herself cause I know I would get my a** beat.
I really appreciate this video covering this event because it's chaotic looking at the shit even after you've seen the video multiple times. however, I have to say, I was surprised there was no word about that one guy SWIMMING to the fight. I thought that out of all the chaos that took place, that was the craziest shit that happened. all I kept thinking was.. what if one of those boys saw him and either prevented him from pulling up by hitting him, like stomping on his hands or head (ex. get knocked out, knocked into water) or worse what if he jumped down in that water and started hitting him, trying to choke him out, drown him. he was basically relying on the chaos of the fight to conceal him
I just watched the video the only one who stops the fight is ramp guy. Yet news says its the teenager swimming. He didnt 💩 lol 🤣🤣
Mike you are not fast 'n mean and good at fighting. Why? Cause you know your shit, but you are definitely bad at implementing your shit. You see, at the best you are.. fast and technically aware. But don t let your success at youtube let you think you are good at all the shit mentioned above. I apreciate your posts at pressure testing (good move), cause it shows your humble side. You are a very charismatic and an authority imposiny person. But that makes you an youtuber that know how to impress, not one that can actually apply. I hope you can apreciate your position…. Fuck me you make money of of it :))
After several years of martial arts training. This has taught me that it is too easy for any situation to become lethal. Anyone could have a weapon or some kind of fighting tricks. I don't want to find out.
Even worse they refused to get treated at the initial hospital because there were too many black workers
When you see trouble go the other way😅 my mother always told me this as a kid .
A cop who doesn't want to step in because he might get hurt …… thats some uvaldi texas vibes you are giving off there bud. "Officers safety" is cowardice, public safety is heroic
Then again there are incidents which everyone MUST interrupt. Like the French guy went stabbing kids at the playfield.
I'm a good-sized guy and have intervened before. I never want to! I just don't want some smaller person to get demolished by some bigger person. I never want to get engaged. I don't want to get stabbed!
No action with less or no information !
No action in fights between couples too.
Maybe the bitch started and he lost his temper,
what if you hurt him and they reconcile ?
"Gone". Best response. 🍻
I am most definitely not Ramp guy, Mike, I'm guy who helps ramp guy clean up after ramp guy solves the problem. LOL.
I think the legal aspect needs to be talked about more. Even being Deposed, you realize how much the other attorneys will try their best to find fault with you in any aspect of the minute details, even if you're 100% not at all and not in the clear. They look for anything they can use to spin something in a way that would be advantageous to their case. Getting randomly involved in a fight without knowing the information, like you pointed out, is asking to get your ass handed to you in the court system years after the occurrence and you can't remember the details anymore.
Ramp guy here. I've managed to back down 3 masked robbers trying to carjack a young lady's mercedes, using nothing but a commanding voice and an asertive physical presence. No violence what so ever. I'm 174cm and i weigh around 130 pounds. So i just wanted to let you know that even though size clearly helps it is not absolutely necessary, and you don't need martial arts training. I do have some martial arts training but that is not in any way helpful against 3 guys with knives. What you really need is to be calm and to clearly display that while being assertive. On top of that you also need a whole lot of luck cause if those guys had been on drugs and just gone crazy on me instead of running away, youtube would have been rid of my pesky comments real quick!
Need a shirt that says "I AM RAMP GUY"
It really depends on the situation
This is a very good training scenario. Your an Amazing Facilitator. I really appreciate Your videos. Very sadly im an untrained person who's been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Its scary
I would just go for the biggest, loudest guy first, then the rest would run, after I've knocked him out. Crowd mentality
Well being a Texcian in Texas and to the RIGHT OF JOHN WAYNE…. then it would depend…. young or frail older person being beaten in public here in Texas by some big ass men (called disparity of force), oh yea i would IF I HAD A WAY TO DEFEAT THEM and prove it was necessary (well I'm a Massad Ayoob man to ya know.) Two people just arguing… no. Mutual combat… no. Some idiot harassing others.. no.
Personal story. YOu can choose to believe it or not believe it. But I feel the need to share it.
I intervened once, against a guy who had a crow bar, i practice abit on effective disarms and submissions. I did it. Got the guy on the ground, asked someone to help call the cops. Not a single person helped, not even one. I got the criminal literal face first on the ground. And literally, the exact same guy I helped ditched me.
The nutt job than said he was sorry and he just wanted to go home. I let him go, and after that I swore to myself. "everyone elses problem is there own problem".
Legit after that shit im never helping anyone again, real world, people dont give a fuck about you. And im just thinking to myself "I literally just risked my brains for a guy who didn't give two fucks about me".
Think about my story before you actually help someone in a physical altercation.
Will Mike I'm proud of you for your willingness to help people better at disadvantage and are you ready to mix it up with me over the lower ninth Ward your cop you're tough you're mean you're saying you won't help anybody because of it's a risky or family well why don't you pony up first? My answer is can I help everybody here? I saw three kids on the corner kick and a kid on the ground and there were fifteen other teenagers there. I yelled out the window a bunch of loud obscenities and I throw it down in first gear on my automatic transmission flip the cookie at the next intersection the roads were kind of empty it was midnight almost and I came back at him with the throttle pretty hard on the ground honking the horn and I knew something Mike. I did for people a big favor those three kids that were kicking that guy didn't want to go to prison forever because there were having a little too much fun on a Tuesday night. The guy getting kicked he got a big favor too and he didn't even stick around.that's okay Mike if your family members in trouble or you're in trouble somebody sees you as that little internet guy and bought three of them got a desire to work you over I'll step in there with you Mike. Because I'm doing everybody a favor nobody wants to go to prison for beating up an ex-cop off the internet and you don't want the s*** beat out of you either. Do you remember my challenge maybe you didn't read it I will walk to your house after April fool's Day and fight you for all the money we can raise on a GoFundMe account for the lower ninth Ward. The very best thing you can do anything like that is whip out your phone and say hello 9-1-1 get them down here quick they'll be here any minute 5 minutes good I'm taking pictures we can put all of these guys in prison. Mike I would venture a guess that you and I both know what the roughly average response time is. Nobody else does. I've seen deputies out in the middle of nowhere with their lights a blazing in the middle of the night whipping around in a circle no car inside or anything I turn around and I come back and check on him. The response time in a county deputy situation is usually an hour give or take fifteen minutes. If this guy just got stomped real good I won't see anything but those lights while he's laying there dying in that ditch. If Mike and I want to get into it on the side of the road I know even if I call right now it's going to be 45 minutes before anybody gets here. Women have chased away criminals by whipping out there compact and dialing 911 and calling the police with their makeup they had no cell phone. It's really revealing of you about how much respect you have for the police. We're getting out of here and no telephone call nothing? Would there be anything wrong with telling them you're a retired officer and there's a fight back there a hundred yards behind you where it is how many people it is give them is most accurate a description as you can some kind of sense of loyalty for those other police? If you run at least call 911. Why don't you stress that Mike beat that in there everybody's head if you run at least call 911. In the military the number one standing order is notify the army don't investigate anything yourself don't risk yourself don't do anything but notify the army. What kind of a policeman are you Mike if you wouldn't tell everybody the best way you can help if you can't physically pull people off each other is call 911 as quick as you can and tell him what's going on and if you see someone else call nine-one-one call him to confirm it give him is accurate information as you can there's four people fighting 6 however many it is weapons no weapons? If I'm a rookie policeman and I roll up on a gunfight in progress I'm going to roll right on through a block away and turn on the siren and come back. The good guy will say the bad guy will leave or they will just both run away. That's how 9/11 works it's a policeman instantly in the other person's mind. Unless it's me or you. So are you up to the challenge of helping the lower ninth Ward without gaining anything for yourself? No threat to you I'll be walking all the way over there by myself and you can have all your friends to pull me off of you if I get the winning too much.
Absolutely sound advice. I am a nurse and consider myself pretty streetwise. We’ve traveled to the US a number of times and have found ourselves needing to be very aware while still having a good time. And we’ve decided to take evasive measures more than once and never regretted it for a second. Even here at home. Cheers for the great video.
The ginger bit in the middle of your works good with the two grey sides actually🤣i like it🤣
Jumping in the middle of a fight is a good way to die. Def never grab anybody unless your ready to fight everybody.