but that doesn't mean that someone who is trained to fight, has no advantage over a street thug. they both have their own experience to fall back on, but after being in a fight with a few people who claimed to be "hard" or "tough". i feel like i can say that i don't feel threatened by them because of my training.
while they will be in a rage, wanting to beat me in every way possible. i can keep a clear head in most situations, and can pay closer attention to incoming attacks.
while yes, it's possible for someone to catch me off guard by using an attack i wasn't used to, my training has given me the ability to react to it quicker, either blocking entirely, parrying, or cushioning the blow for minimal impact. that isn't to say, however, that they would never get a clean hit.
the difference here though, is that due to their lack of physical training, and conditioning, they would react much much slower in a defensive motion, because all they are thinking about, is how to attack.
as far as weapons go... i've used a few, i don't like to. and when people have threatened me with weapons, i lose my cool. i broke a girls wrist for threatening me with a knife. i've broken someones collar bone, because they hit me across the back with a pool cue... i'm not proud of it, at all. but if i hadn't have done it, i don't know how things would have turned out.
i've always tried to resolve situations with words first. but sometimes people won't bend. and when that happens, i am very, VERY confident in my ability to defend myself, regardless of the circumstances. and that, is thanks not only to years of aikido (which although they do train with specific patterns, they also encourage "freeform" practice) which is a completely defensive art. but also to military training, and conditioning.
as i've said earlier, knowing full well that this is an e-forum, and won't be taken seriously by many.
if you want to prove me wrong, get in touch.