I caught what you meant, but I just figured this was an appropriate spot to share that wisdom I've been given.
Whether it's a fist fight with someone who just slapped you, or a revolution against the strongest empire the earth had ever seen at that point, my comment applies- If you think you're going to lose, you probably will.
Metaphor- The drunk guy who slapped you is bigger and looks stronger than you. You are intimidated by him to the point where you believe you cannot win this fight. All of this information goes through your mind in a nanosecond, and your body begins to react based on the conclusion it made subconsciously. Your body sees him winding up a punch, and thinking "OMG THIS GUY IS GOING TO KILL ME AHHH I NEED TO FLINCH!", your body automatically flinches wildly and then you get punched in the fucking head. It probably gets worse from there.
However, if you were in the same situation, but had some kind of confidence acquired through training or any number of variables, you might still be intimidated by the guy.. but you'll know "I've prepared for this, I've seen really strong/skilled people be defeated by weaker people before, this can be done". Now, he's winding up that punch.... but instead of flinching, your training or confidence or whatever kicks in: you slip/duck/parry/block/close distance to clinch- you react on an INTELLIGENT instinct, rather than a frantic one, because you feel like you have a chance. From here, you may still get your ass kicked- but at least you haven't been punched in the head. At least you're now in a position to fight back.
Btw, slightly unrelated note- I've seen a lot of street fight videos lately, and I've noticed that wild flinching away from punches seems to get people knocked unconscious most often (excluding sucker punches). That natural reaction to lean your body and head backward from an incoming hook works against people. Seems usually the smarter thing to do is lean forward while tucking your chin.
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