Ooh, ooh...This one time...when I was on the street in Nashville...I got my ass handed to me. Over a grocery bag of aluminum cans. Good times, man, good times.

I usually did not go looking for fights. Unfortunately, with my mother being a teacher at my school, I ended up being bullied by others kids for imaginary sucking up, etc... It never helped that I was was some kind of a geek and a solitary boy too.

Everything stopped when I got in my 16th year. Before that, I was the smallest guy in the class or even the whole level. My 16th year is the year where i started to gain height. I shot up from 5'2" up to 6'2" in les than 2 years. As I began swimming intensively at the same time, I put on quite some weight (from under 90 lbs to over 200) mostly made of muscles and bones and some brains cells too...

After that, none of my classmates ever tried to get me in a fight.

I still get involved in some brawls now and then, usually when a guy is stupid enough to try to rob me... Last stupid one went down with a broken nose.

At any age. Win or lose, I've never walked away unhurt.

But, if you won, now that's a better kinda hurt, anyway.:D

I think my last fight was between me and my friend and we were evenly matched, had no reason to fight at all, just decided we should, and started pounding the shit out of each other.
The (adult) son of one of the little old Italian ladies who lived in our building was visiting his mom and he came out and broke up the fight.He asked us why we were fighting and we truly didn't have any reason at all and told him as much. He said something or other that I don't recall, but he took the whole crowd to the corner deli and bought everyone ice cream.

I don't think I ever fought after that.

What, you don't like ice cream?

Yes and no. Still hurt. Still facing social repercussions. Bystanders don't remember who won, tomorrow. Often the hot chicks spend more effort consoling the loser. ;)

Growing up as a fat, smart kid, I got picked on a lot, but into relatively few actual fights. The couple of times I did, I had a significant size and weight advantage, kicked ass, took names, and went back to chewing gum.

Mainly I used my powers of intellect to avoid getting into fights.

"Oh, yeah, well one day I'm going to go to the college of my choice!"

No, it was cheaper just to buy it.

in a real fight no one wins because all are hurt in some way shape or form. In school I avoided fights by being clever and funny, mostly because I was afraid of pain and the consequences.

As a young adult I realized pain is inevitable and some things are worth fighting for.

As a slightly older adult I realized that when fights seem inevitable it is better to strike first, hard, and fast rather than waiting for the other guy to hurt you.

In my late 30's I've come to believe that most people suck, little is worth fighting for, but violence is a useful tool. If you fear it you are a victim. If you acknowledge even the winner gets hurt, then you are free to do what you feel is right without remorse. Consequences will come, but they are irrelevent if your motives are just, or at least just enough for you to believe in them.

***my first genuine fight was with the guy who had been my best friend from 4th grade to 10th grade. I left him bleeding and crying inthe middle of the school hallway after he slapped his girlfriend in front of me. Officially I got a suspension, unofficially I got a congratulations and a 3 day vacation.

Han shot first. ;)

This story made me really laugh. Thanks for sharing Juni. :)

I've never been in a fight. The only time I came close was when I was pregnant and caught my partner at the time smooching up to some slag who thought it was funny how mad I was. I picked up a bottle and would have cracked her with it if I hadn't been restrained.

I blame the hormones. Physical violence is not my thing.

I never got in a fight until the Corps sent me to 'Nam. That was my first fight, and I killed the dude.

I've usually been able to talk my way out of physical confrontations, but I learned quickly that if a person is trying to kill you you need to kill them first. Just sayin.

In the words of my CO: "We're not here to fight. We're here to win. Don't kill nothing that don't need killing".

In highschool, I fought the social alpha male (luckily not the physical alpha male), after he continued to verbally belittle me. I won, and hurt my hand - he had a hard skull, and I missed his face. That put a target on me for awhile, but I managed to avoid all but 1, which was a draw to a body builder type with meat-for-brains.

In my twenties, I got into an altercation in a street hockey game. Twice, I told an asshole to keep his stick down, after it came close to my face. The third time I picked him up and slammed him on the ground.

Usually, I'm the cool headed one trying to diffuse a conflict, sometimes getting physically between people. I'm smart enough to avoid a fight. It's more important to me that my kids have a father, and that their father can continue to provide for them.

I went to an all black school for 8th and 9th grade. 10 white kids in the whole school. Everyone smoked cigarettes and the school had no policy. Shame on me I smoked then and everyday the biggest kid in school named Billy would badger me for a cigarette. Usually I throw one and keep walking. One day I told him no, he followed me up the school stairs and shoved me I turned around and shoved him back and he fell down the stairs. Billy was the school bully. In all my classes that day the other kids kept saying how Billy was gonna "git me" Well Billy went to the Principal and told on me and was almost crying, all 6 ft of him. Nothing really happened except we were told to behave and Billy never asked me again for a cigarette.