@Rob Banks, this is bad advice, shows lack of life experience:
"To all the people saying "a wise, mature man never fights unless his life is in danger," you're wrong. You have a valid point in that fighting could leave you with a criminal record due to the ridiculous laws that criminalize any and all violence (even between two willing parties). However, if someone disrespects you, and you're in a situation where you won't get arrested, then go ahead and fight. Even if it's a big guy and you know you'll probably lose the fight, you'll still feel better about yourself if you fight than if you pussy out."
Nowadays in the west a normal person has too much to lose in a fight unless their life is truly in danger. Controlled fights can be OK but not the no-holds barred contests we see on the streets...all it takes is a punch gone bad and someone can "shank" you.
Even if someone disrespects you unless it is in a public location and something truly awful is said I still would not fight and would walk away with my head held high. This is not the wild-west of the 19th century where anything go's and no one finds out. Today a sane person has everything to risk in a fight and little to gain from it. Just some of the things one should think about is getting killed by weapons, to ending up with a criminal record-felony (and not being able to get a legit job after that), to ending up in a lawsuit or maiming another person, there is a lot of risk and little reward.
Back in my younger days I was in several fights where I felt that if I let my frustration get the better of me during the fight that I could have crippled the other guy or worse. Thank God I had common sense and usually ended fights when I had the other person restrained. However, I had heard from too many others of similar stories where people lost control of the fight, in some cases even died. No insult is worth getting crippled or killed for. Just a quick example, in HS I fought a bully who had kept calling me names for weeks in front of other classmates. I finally had enough of insults and confronted him at school. During the fight I managed to dodge a couple punches and got him in a neck hold (i had done martial arts and wrestling during for several years of HS), then I pushed my classmates head into a concrete wall during the fight, though consciously I slowed down my action. He ended up with a gash on his forehead and a concussion but if I had done that full force without restraint i'd probably have ended up in jail and he may have had a broken neck. Instead I got a one day suspension from school whereas the bully whom I beat up transferred schools.
While I felt vindicated and became more respected that school year to this day I think that the fight was not really worth it....what would have happened if I lost control of my actions like so many others do in fights and more seriously injured my opponent?
"To all the people saying "a wise, mature man never fights unless his life is in danger," you're wrong. You have a valid point in that fighting could leave you with a criminal record due to the ridiculous laws that criminalize any and all violence (even between two willing parties). However, if someone disrespects you, and you're in a situation where you won't get arrested, then go ahead and fight. Even if it's a big guy and you know you'll probably lose the fight, you'll still feel better about yourself if you fight than if you pussy out."
Nowadays in the west a normal person has too much to lose in a fight unless their life is truly in danger. Controlled fights can be OK but not the no-holds barred contests we see on the streets...all it takes is a punch gone bad and someone can "shank" you.
Even if someone disrespects you unless it is in a public location and something truly awful is said I still would not fight and would walk away with my head held high. This is not the wild-west of the 19th century where anything go's and no one finds out. Today a sane person has everything to risk in a fight and little to gain from it. Just some of the things one should think about is getting killed by weapons, to ending up with a criminal record-felony (and not being able to get a legit job after that), to ending up in a lawsuit or maiming another person, there is a lot of risk and little reward.
Back in my younger days I was in several fights where I felt that if I let my frustration get the better of me during the fight that I could have crippled the other guy or worse. Thank God I had common sense and usually ended fights when I had the other person restrained. However, I had heard from too many others of similar stories where people lost control of the fight, in some cases even died. No insult is worth getting crippled or killed for. Just a quick example, in HS I fought a bully who had kept calling me names for weeks in front of other classmates. I finally had enough of insults and confronted him at school. During the fight I managed to dodge a couple punches and got him in a neck hold (i had done martial arts and wrestling during for several years of HS), then I pushed my classmates head into a concrete wall during the fight, though consciously I slowed down my action. He ended up with a gash on his forehead and a concussion but if I had done that full force without restraint i'd probably have ended up in jail and he may have had a broken neck. Instead I got a one day suspension from school whereas the bully whom I beat up transferred schools.
While I felt vindicated and became more respected that school year to this day I think that the fight was not really worth it....what would have happened if I lost control of my actions like so many others do in fights and more seriously injured my opponent?