Thought about this question, not much to say really. Imho, it's a too general question.
Deal with who in what circumstance? Deal with who how? Are you asking about technique? Strategy?
Is there an ideal way? Is there one fits all medication?
I don't believe in running, or at least you can not rely on running just as you can't rely only on fists. There are always people with better stamina, who runs faster. Especially people who are high on some sorts of drugs can become both extremely strong and fast.
But how about psychology? As working with deception? In real life, I do think that you will have the opportunity to handle many types of conflicts without relying first or only on fists. For any kind of fighting situation, people tend to be locked to the picture of how sparring or competitions fighting looks like. In real life, there are countless of ways to act against a threat, how to begin a fight, how take advantage of a situation and how to end one. In one way, I think that martial arts practice can be a disadvantage when dealing with real situations or situations that don't fit into a certain box, because it might narrow your outlook and make you disregard your natural instincts.