Hey everyone. I'm learning a little Muay Thai for self defense and keeping healthy. I don't want to compete and I've never gotten into confrontations in my adult life as I'm very peaceable, agreeable and actively try to avoid high-risk settings, confrontations, I de-escalate tensions, etc. So I don't think I'll get into much fights for the rest of my life.

You might have heard of the 80/20 rule - in Muay Thai, this might mean that 20% of the combos might be useful in 80% of situations...what are the 20% of combos I should learn to help me with 80% of encounters I face (should I face them)? And why?

e.g. All I can think of is that most street fights might start with a push, or someone swinging a hook punch from their dominant arm, so maybe training two combos to counter those 2 situations would be practical. So maybe a jab, cross, knee/push kick might be a good counter to a swinging hook punch. But that's where my imagination ends in terms of anticipating common attacks.

I'd love for you more experienced fighters to give me some insights here...so what do you think are the most common attacks, and the 20% of combos to train for those attacks? Thanks much!