This is something that is a core concept for those who study the strategies and techniques of self and personal protection.
Now I'm sure that we'd all like our fights to be against comparatively weaker or at the least a similar sized attacker. Same build, same height, same skills level.
Keep dreaming!!
I've had to deal with a few that I've had the greater strength over - but not many. The majority of violent confrontations are bigger people against smaller people. Criminals and street attackers don't pick on people who they think will be able to "take them." Hell no! They're smart, they'll go for the smaller, weaker target. In short, easy pickings!
When we have to deal with a violent situation we have to ensure that we have every possible advantage at our disposal - both physical and mental. Can we get inside the bad guy's guard? Can we offer a modicum of distraction to buy us those vital seconds with which to turn the tables on him?
So what we utilise are the tricks and ruses of tactical deception. This usually involves a verbal or body language distraction in order to lower the aforementioned guard or place him at a physical disadvantage.
Nothing new in this, the "Sucker-Punch" and its variants have been around since the dawn of time, and many a bar-room brawl has been ended by the use of a duplicitous sentence and a judicious uppercut!!!
Now some people have this knack instinctively, while some may have to learn the tricks of the trade the hard way, whilst some are NEVER ever able to pull it off under any circumstances. Unless it is something that you are talented at (and subsequently train for), nine times out of ten the person involved will give off a "tell" or "signature" about their intended movements. This can be anything from glancing at your striking hand to "blading" your body, to shuffling from one foot to another. Everyone is guilty of it to some degree, but its how you adapt and hide the "tell" that really comes with experience. Although I've seen footage of well known RBSD instructors giving off such blatant "tells" that even a blind man could spot them, let alone an experienced street attacker!!
A deciever has to be an improviser to the situation at hand, have the confidence and street smarts to be able to pull off the deception, and have a bit of the actor about them. Some guys naturally have this ability. The best exponent of this that I have witnessed at first hand was a former soldier, boxer and combat instructor. He was of slight build, looked like a friendly garden gnome and was able to reel you in with a bumbling demeanour - prior to slamming you into a wall, shin kicking you and jabbing a "shank" into your stomach! He was a master of the feint and being able to use situational control to his advantage.
I even knew one crazy guy that would speak gibberish ("Fuzzywuzzy-wat!") before throwing in a hook to knock the troublemaker out. He reasoned, correctly, that the words when said quickly, sounded enough like a real sentence to be able to engage the brain and try to figure out just what he had actually said. It was long enough to administer a calcium based sleeping tablet. Go figure!
Now I'm sure we've all seen the DVD's and video footage of guys "talking down" and using "artifice" (quaint word) to trick a violent attacker. At times it is passed off in an almost blase "street kata" way???
"I have put up my fence" - CHECK
" I will keep a reactionary gap" - CHECK
"I have him lined up" - CHECK
"I will now use a piece of deception and knock his block off with a pre-emptive strike"..........Errrrrrr
Unfortunately its not as simple as "Oh I'll do a bit of amateur dramatics, line him up and knock him out." Maybe 10 years ago and in certain situations (i.e. police stop and search, door supervisor situation, etc), but bad guys like to learn too and have more than likely adapted to concepts that back in the day were seen as groundbreaking. These days the attack will come out of the blue in a crash, smash or slash attack with no chance of any contrived banter between assailant and victim
Added to the fact is that "good" bad guys (a subjective term, I know) are masters of their craft. They practise distraction and deception everyday of their working lives in order to steal, rob and maim. That's how they make a living! So unless you are REALLY practised at these street tricks anything that you may try will fall short of the mark against Charlie the Crackhead.
I've been on and ran courses and seminars where the participants during the pre-fight verbal judo phase are going on almost as long as one of Hamlet's soliloquies, trying to trick their opponent into "buying" into their ruse.
NO!!
Our instructors have to pull them up and tell them "If he's that close and still coming - its time to change tack and start blasting him with everything you can!" It's no longer talking range - it's STRIKING range!!