Gangsters

[Tap4Me]

The 'gangsters' when i was in school, watching them fight. Was hands very low sway back and forth, back sorta arched back, and wide ass punches, no defensive or foot work.

[Captain Obvious]

gangsters are often violent people.

[HuSanYan]

I think that there seems to be some confusion about what a gangster really is on these boards.
What I mean by this, is that the type of guys you folks are referring to are simple or organised 'street punks' or street gang guys, my interpretation of a real gangster is a guy who has some standing or rank within organised crime (regardless of country), where as street punks are just that, punks/wannabes.

A real gangster has an established rep', has been in and out of jail and operates on a reasonably sophisticated level, and will have some well trained thugs/heavies on hand to do the day to day dirty work.

A gangster can also be an established, respected professional thief/robber (not a cheap tv and video burglar).

I spent a considerable part of my youth with a very well known Jewel thief in London who used to go by the nicknames of 'Raffles' and 'The Human Fly' , there was a couple of TV documentaries made about this guy, he was a father figure to me for quite a while and showed me places and roof tops in London that I never knew existed and were very close to some almightily important buildings in London, he used to keep tools and stuff in various places like this.

He taught/warned me about the use of violance, he kept me away from drugs and told me that if he ever found me doing such things he would break my neck and he meant it.
This type of 'real' gangster of that era, had some serious standards and lived by codes of honour!, really!. eg, hated drugs, hated anything bad to kids, hated sex offenders or anything else seedy like that, this guy would NEVER steal from the poor, he wouldnt mix with any kind of drug dealer or pimp, he would only ever plunder stately Homes or do arranged 'insurance jobs' for jewels, he did, however, rob Sophia Loren (during the late sixties, she was staying in Barnet, North London) of some Emeralds and he said "she commited a far more serious crime than I, she wasn't insured"!, anyway, this to me is a real gangster, he had only been caught twice out of hundreds of jobs and i still to this day, in certain respects, look up to this remarkable, eccentric character.

I must add that he did have a serious temper and I always feared him, he only ever whacked me when I used to hustle him on the Tennis court for a few hundred pounds, this was the deal between him and me, I taught him to play tennis and our preffered method was by playing with me giving 30 love a game handicap and we usually played for £100 per set!!, oh those were the days of so much money for me, but he sometimes whacked my head open with a metal tennis racket (Wilson 2000 type, like Jimmy connors used to use) so you could say, I earnt it.

[Broadsword2004]

My interpretation of gangster was that of the organized crime type too

[HuSanYan]

Mike, I hear what you are saying and i guess that goes for the US scene, but I can only really speak with any real knowledge about the UK scene and our street gangs are not as advanced as in the US and only a fraction of the size.

i have no doubt about what you are saying with regard to the US street gang types being so organised as we do hear about it over here, thats quite a story re larry hoover

[CKD]

What country are we talking about here? In the U.S., Mexico, and parts of Europe the crimianls will probaly swing wildly and tackle you. In Russia I have heard that most use manuals used by soldiers to teach there members hand to hand combat. In China I have heard something about gangs using kung fu.

[Broadsword2004]

Well considering that members of Congress routinely get arrested for things like drunk driving and sometimes drug possession, the fact that they are involved with illegal activities doesn't surprise me one bit.

[NYCMonkey]

I've witnessed Bloods fight, and have heard about knives coming into play but never yielding psychotic results. As for most being cowards, I don't agree with the lifestyle one bit and do not associate myself with any of them but from the few I've known in terms of "courage" or whatever you want to call it, they had no 'fear' or what have you, and have fought against much larger adversaries and against the odds. Just pointing something out in case for some reason you run into one, never underestimate an opponent. However, the few I knew were very "chill" individuals and would be amazing in the ring had they done anything with their potential.

Alot of gang fights actually end up in brawls, fistfights, stompings, and a knife may come out. Shootings (I'm speaking locally I dont' know what goes on everywhere nor do I want to) I've heard happened if someone is badly hurt or killed in a brawl, or something like that. If you were to run into a Blood now in NY for example, and shit ensued, it could very well be more of an unarmed fight, although many carry weapons, many when intimidating/mugging or what have you tend to use their fists and numbers. I'm speaking from my own experience and what I've seen, nothing more.

Oh, as for the 'fighting' itself, it's generally fistfights, sort of like sloppy boxing, and some wrestling here and there if you'd like to call it that, but a fist to the face is most common. You're not gonna find WW2 combatives in there. This happens when it's one of those "What are you looking at" types of ego deals, not with revenge or anything, which I guess yeilds stuff that's much worse.

[hEmPY]

how do most gangsters fight and what martial art would be good to win against them?

Shit begins with someone throwing a first punch. Then they throw dozens of punches at each other. Then someone grabs the other one, and trying to kick the shin with the inner part or the front part of the shoe. So them kick each other. Someone breaks the grab and they throw more pubches, groin kicks. More punches, more kicks. Grabbin again. Then the lucky one sweeps the other one and he falls. Then goes stompin. Or. The both fall, they roll. Someone gets the top and wins.

It may happen the other way, but it's alwase gonna be simple. Noone cares to be the strongest. They care bout power and mmmmmmoney bitch.

[Garland]

It may happen the other way, but it's alwase gonna be simple. Noone cares to be the strongest. They care bout power and mmmmmmoney bitch.

GODDAMNIT HEMPY!
it goes money, then power, then the bitches!
get it right, 'kay skillz?

[Garland]

The only gangsta's you have to worry 'bout be the Wutang clan...with the killer Shaolin styles. Everyone know..."Wu-Tang clan ain't nothin to f*ck wit."

[HtTKar]

When I first started reading this thread, I didn't even want to touch it. but here I go.

First of all, gangs fight in gangs. If you think its gonna be a one-on-one fight, you've been decieved. As soon as you hit the ground you will have 1000 feet kicking your head. If you stand up, they might leave you alone again, but you do NOT want to hit the ground. You will get hit, kicked and cut up, but you have to focus on whats going on in front of you and get out.

The bloods around here (NY) are mostly chinese, and phillipino. They know a lot of martial arts, fight all the time, but they lose a lot. Bloods are more popular on the East Coast than Crypts. You could fight a member of these gangs and be able to walk away. Most likely his friends would laugh at him later on, instead of seeking some kind of revenge. These gangs seem to be mostly for a sense of acceptance.

Crack rings are different. They will kill each other for $5, or for feeling their not being respected enough. "sensitive thugs, you all need hugs" They can also easily hook some addict up with some crack to do the stupidist things, including killing. Walk around some parts of Buffalo, and people will offer to kill people for you for money. These guys fight with a shotgun when noones looking, then run off. These guys don't visit small towns, they would easily be arrested for killing someone in some small white suburb. But in the ghetto, they can kill and not get caught. In fact, it's possible noone would even notice, cops definitely aren't going to waste their time. These are all classified as "drug related crimes" whether that's true or not. On the other hand if you have nothing they want, you could hang with these guys all day long. Once you have something they want, they'll try to get it. Carry a gun, and let them know you have it. Dont take any shit. Half these people learned social structure from prison, learned to fight and shank in prison, and will probably finish their life out in prison. In fact; people in prison actually have a kind of control over the people living on the outside. Much more influence than you would ever think.

SO It would be better to not even go there. You cant fight a whole section of town.

Little kids in Starter jackets (or whatevers fashionable now) are not Gangsters. They are little kids in starter jackets. They fight like little kids and get beat up like little kids.