[orangeninja]

I was reading those "It happened to me" thingys in a gun rag when I realized what kind of stories I could see on a forum like this. I don't have a cool "it happened to me" but I do have a "lessons learned" from the University of Hard Knocks otherwise known as "Life U"

I was an impressionable suburbanite 15 or 16 year old waiting on my school bus one fine afternoon when a group of "gangstas" (which in retrospect was probably a group of wannabes) walked up to this "Goth" looking dude who claimed to be a Wikken Warlock and a pacifist. Well this "Goth" pacifist guy was HUGE, we're talkin 6 ft 4 or 5 and an easy 250 lbs if he was a pound.

One kind of fat black guy in the gang banger group decided to impress his buddies by whoopin up on this huge goth kid I believe becaus he KNEW this guy wouldn't fight back. I watched this goth kid take a punch to the nose and just stand there, not defending himself at all, then the banger decided to get fancy and threw a couple of running start full on punches in the mouth while the other kid stood there and just took it. When all was said and done, the big goth kid had a broken nose and two of his teeth knocked out and NEVER ONCE LIFTED A FINGER to defend himself. Guess what, nobody defended him either. The guy never even hit the ground until the very very end which just infuriated the aggressor.

Personally, had the guy simply fought back he would have won due to the fact that he could seriously take a punch.

Lesson learned: The world is hard and not fighting back simply means you will be hurt worse. If you get attacked, attack back. Pacifism is a lofty goal and this guy stuck to his beliefs at the worst of times and it didn't do him a bit of good. I became anti-pacifist that day.

[1911Ron]

I have an "it happened to me" i was driving down a busy road in a not so nice part of town, when a lady??? cuts in front of me and i stupidly choose to vent at her. When we got to the next light she gets out and comes toward my truck :cuss: :cuss: at me and i'm thinking holy cr@p,when she turns around and gets back into her car and takes off. While all of this is going on i was looking for a way out of there, and wishing i had some sort of weapon to use for protection if it went south. I have decided to be more polite to other drivers and have a way out if pressed to bug out, along with a gun.

[sm]

It is good to change routes and times of travel.
Punctual and Predictable can and will work against one.

[ExtremeDooty]

I've trained myself to just let things go on the road. Road rage just isn't worth it, especially if you're carrying a gun.

For the really bad mannered drivers, I get the license plate and call 911.

[Atticus]

I regrettably agree that pacifism is generally a dead end road. My first lesson was when I was about 8 years old. There was a kid in my neighborhood who was from a real rough family and he was a bully....but we were friends I played with him often, but he treated me like crap and was always picking on me. I was raised to be nice and play fairly...so I didn't really know what to do about it. I asked my older brother about it and in his great wisdom he said, "kick his butt". The next weekend, we were playing wiffle ball when Dennis (his real name) was pulling his usual crap. I finally reached my limit and wacked him in the face with the bat as hard as I could. His attitude toward me changed immediately....and stayed that way. It was quite a revelation for me to see this tough kid cry like a baby. He's probably dead or in prison now, but he didn't mess with me anymore. One lesson learned - Don't start stuff -If someone else does, and won't stop, make them stop anyway you can. Lesson two- there are lot's of Dennis' out there... of all ages.

[DigMe]

Oh is it time for that thread again?

:)

brad cook

[artherd]

Lesson 1: Don't ever get into a fight if you can avoid it, however if you cannot avoid it because of threat to your life or safety, fight as hard as you can, fight dirty and fight to win 100-0.

I was in 2nd grade, when the 3rd grade bully thought it would be 'funny' to grab my (broken, in a full leg cast) leg and lead me around by it. Hoping on one foot for a few steps, asking him to stop, I had exactly one choice. Do nothing and end up with a cracked head on the 4x4" steel beams and concrete floor, or fight. My back was literally against a wall. With one almost movie-style roundhouse kick from my good leg to mr bully's head, I was released. He was knocked unconsious. He stood a full foot taller than me and probally had 30lbs on me at the time.

Nobody ever gave me any trouble again, though I am sure I would be unable to duplicate that kick-move.

[goon]

Tenth grade.
A kid on the bus started some crap. I tried to take "The High Road" (pardon the pun) and let it go. As my bus was coming to my stop, he moved up to the seat in front of me. He slapped me and I stood up. He then placed his left hand on my chest and pulled back with his right hand.
That was his mistake.
I swept his hand out of the way and hit him just about as hard as I could with my right, knocking him out into the aisle and to the floor. He got up and I hit him again, knocking him down again and gaining a few feet. He got up again and I hit him again, then put my shoulder into him and slammed him into the windshield of the bus. He hit the little divider in the middle. This did kind of hamper my plan because I was trying to put him right out onto the hood, but it didn't really stop me. I struck at his genitals but he was wearing loose clothes, so I shifted and put a couple into his ribs. Then I fought free, stepped back just a little, and put one into the middle of his forehead. This drove his head back and into the large expensive mirror that was hanging above the bus driver, breaking it into many, many little peices. We then proceeded to struggle around and fall down in next to the door on the steps and beat the hell out of each other until the bus driver pulled us apart.
To his credit, he was pretty tough and gave just about as good as he got.
I later came to an understanding with him and we even speak to each other in a civil manner when we see each other in passing.
That cost me 3 days and about $100 of my own money to pay for my half of the mirror.
It was worth every penny.

[Sindawe]

Wikken Warlock and a pacifist

Thats your clue right there. No self respecting male Wiccan will refer to themselves as a Warlock, since such is an Oathbreaker and not even worthy of being trodden apon to keep oneself out of the mud. The guy may have been a genuine pacifist, I've found that such outlooks are not uncommon with Wiccans. Frankly, I'd classify him as a Poser.

My lesson:

Years back when I was in Elementary school, there was an older kid who would take great delight in harrassing me when I walked to walked to school. Calling me a sissy, a "domestic cat" and a reciting the sing-song fatty-fatty 2x4 song at me. (sissy? No. "domestic cat"? No. fattie? guilty as charged then) Being loath to get into fights (Berserker tendencies are strong in my line), I would try to just ignore him, which usually worked as I had my buddies with me. One crisp autumn day, this kid happened to catch me alone on the walk to school. He started to bother me again, and threatened to pick up a large chunk of glass rock that his parents had in their garden and hit me with it. I did not argue, I did not try and reason, I did not cry as I'd tried all before and those responses did no good. I just sucker punched him in the nose, he fell down in shock, then while he was down I kicked him in the groin and a few times in head for good measure, then continued on my way to school.

The kid avoided me for years after that incident, and nobody in the school system gave me any guff after that. Lesson learned: If ya gotta fight, fight to win and then some. Leave the bullies in mortal fear of what might happen.

[fistful]

1911Ron,

Are you just trying to make us laugh? It worked. Hee-hee!

Seriously, though, what jury would believe you drew in self-defense?

[Calhoun]

My senior year in HS there was a guy in my chemestry class that these 2 jerks liked to pick on. I had absolutly no problem with this guy, except that he could be a little annoying. Nothing big. Well, one day at lunch Jerk 1 and Jerk 2 decide to pick on him some more. One of them pinned his arms behind his back and the other grabbed his bottle of Coke, shook it up, and threw it at his feet so that it would explode all over him. I sat there and watched the whole thing, for the full 15-20 seconds that Jerk 2 shook his drink. I never did a thing. I never forgave myself. I could have easily taken both of these guys, (this was the middle of wrestling season; in shape was an understatement. I literally fought/wrestled for 3 hours straight every day after school), but I didn't do a :cuss: thing. To this day I think about and am embarrased in my total lack of intervention. If I could go back in time and do it over it would have been worth the suspension and probably getting arrested to ease my conscious. Needless to say, I have not and will not let something like this happen again.

Moral of the story: Sometimes you have to stand up not only for yourself, but for others who can't.

Now I have to go, thinking of this makes me sick with myself all over again.

Calhoun

[ballistic gelatin]

In junior highschool I was a tall, skinny, innocent kid and got picked on by this one guy a lot. We were playing football at P.E. and as everyone was leaving the field, this guy and his even bigger buddy grabbed my arms and spanked me with a stick....laughing and ridiculing me the whole time. Man, I was crushed. Spoke with the Coach and my parents, nothing ever came of it.

Years later, I ran into this guy's attractive wife in a department store. I told her that he and I were old classmates, etc. She invited me to stop by the house sometime and visit. He worked long hours. Get the picture??? :evil:

I never did it though. But sometimes I regret it. Hey! I'm the victim here...

[JamisJockey]

I vaugely remember the incident, but my Dad takes great joy in telling the story.
I think I was 6th grade, my brother 4th. I was playing on one part of the playground when two bigger kids cornered me with ill-intent. My brother was just on the other side of the fence. He's the fearless sort, always has been, always will be.
Well, we know signlanguage, and my brother indicated that he was coming over the fence and which boy he was going to jump from behind. He made his move, which immediately distracted the other boy, who I promptly sucker-punched.
The moral?
You never have the tactical advantage, only an illusion of such....and check your six!
:neener:

[Byron Quick]

Too many to get into here. As my late father used to tell me:"A hard head makes for a soft butt." Really peculiar, him saying that. He was ready to fight at a hard look until his dying day. I've been in way more fights than most...he made me look like a babe in swaddling clothes. Man was six feet, 160 lbs, and avoided by the bad in four counties.

[Chipperman]

Atc1man-- I hope you have bought your brother a beer for that. :cool:

[TinCup]

Lesson learned: Don't pick on the one armed kid.

When I was in high school, one of the kids that got picked on all the time was this one armed kid. He had lost most of his left arm in a farming accident. One day a guy dumped food on his head at lunch. The kid didn't say a thing, just grabbed the guy in a headlock with his good arm and with his stump of a left arm, proceeded to beat him unmerciful. The guys face was cut to ribbons. Nobody picked on the one armed kid after that.

tc

[DigMe]

Nobody picked on the one armed kid after that.

Lesson Learned: One not need be fully armed to defend oneself.

:p

brad cook

[DigMe]

It seems like everyones' lessons were learned in grade school. Didn't any of you learn anything later in life?! :neener:

brad cook

[firesafety3]

The post by 1911Ron reminded me of an evening when I was driving home and noticed lights right on my tail. I sped up a bit and the vehicle behind me quickly did the same and began blinking the headlights. Up ahead was the local convenience store so I pulled in and stepped outside my truck pretty quickly.

Immediately I was under a verbal barrage from a deranged woman in her mid 50s. The absolute "poster child" of a typical b*tch. She had a ciagrette in one hand while her other hand was shaking a finger right in my face. She was cussing me up and down for pulling out in front of her, which may have been partially true considering she was going 80-90 mph in a 50mph zone.

In addition to the blue streak being spurted, she commented on how she should call her husband to come over and put a whoopin' on me. Now by this time I pretty much had enough but my options were few.

I respectfully apologized and offered to put gas in her car if she promised not to call her tough husband. She commented,"It's the least you could do for pissing me off like this.", and promptly pulled up to the tanks and got out, still cussing and went to the restroom.

Now this is a small community and I knew I didn't recognize this "lady". This was also my family's store. I whistled at my cousin inside and motioned for him to turn on the diesel pump. I then proceeded to top off her tank with around 10 gallons of diesel. I felt like I did my good deed for the day.

Then she had a reason to call her husband...

[orangeninja]

Actually "Warlock" was my name for him...I don't know what Wiccans believe or call themselves...Witches? Warlocks...Dreadlocks? Don't care. :rolleyes:

[Sam Adams]

Senior year in HS. I was in an Anthropology class and one of the wannabee tough-guy sophomores, who I never had gotten along with, took a windbreaker and stroked me (as in a whipping). Now, a windbreaker is nothing - but the zipper smacked me at a pretty good clip just above one of my eyes.

OK, I was a pretty small guy, shorter than this guy (though I had been lifting weights for a while and was on the track team) and hadn't been in a fight for several years, but I couldn't stand for this - esp. not in front of the whole class. I got up, and in a Twilight Zone kind of moment I very clearly heard Patton's voice in my head (actually, George C. Scott's) saying "Slug the sonofabitch!" Well, I obeyed the good general with a hard roundhouse to his head (it would've been his nose, except that he moved at the last second). Damned near broke my fingers, but it stunned him for long enough that I was able to get my hands around his neck and start squeezing. It took 3 guys to pull me off. BTW, neither this jerk nor any of his friends ever f'd with me again.

Lesson learned: If you don't take any $hit from bullies the first time around, there won't be a second time; sometimes a trip to the principal's office and the follow-up detention is well worth it.

[goon]

It seems like everyones' lessons were learned in grade school. Didn't any of you learn anything later in life?!

Personally, I always felt that I waited too long. There are a whole lot of people that I should have beaten the absolute hell out of. I could have taken most of them quite easily. I have always been a little chunky. It is real hard to knock a fat kid down when he decides that you aren't going to knock him down. I was also very strong. Carrying around an extra 60+ pounds with you everywhere you go sort of makes you that way. I could have probably beaten anyone who ever messed with me completely to death, but for some reason I restrained myself.
I always wished that I hadn't, and I still do. I should have put the first kid that ever messed with me in a cast and then done it again when he healed.

Anymore, it is pretty much a reaction.
You threaten me and you had better be one quick, tough, determined SOB. If not, I will put you down. You had better be prepared to kill me because you may have to if you want to win. I will only fight when I consider something to be a real threat to my life or a threat to someone I care about. Should you be unfortunate enough to find yourself in that position, your best choice would be to turn and run as fast as you can.

I will walk away when I can and even turn the other cheek, once.

I haven't had to hit anyone in over 5 years now. Even one guy at a job I worked at who was much larger and stronger than me and a bully was careful about antagonizing me.
I am willing to fight. Even if you can't win, you have to be willing to resist. You have to be willing to go down with your teeth in their throat.
Eventhough this guy could have almost certainly taken me, he was afraid of me. He was scared because he was used to dominating people. When he couldn't intimidate me, I think he wondered why. It put enough doubt in his mind that he thought it was better to let me alone. I didn't even have to raise a finger against him because he knew that I was not an easy target.

I feel sorry for people who haven't learned these lessons yet. I am thinking that there are a whole lot of anti-gunners running around out there who would have been much better off if they had learned how important it is to be willing to defend yourself early on.

As I said, it was worth every penny (and every scar).

[Sam Adams]

Even if you can't win, you have to be willing to resist. You have to be willing to go down with your teeth in their throat.

I agree fully. My Dad told me that he avoided several fights in his younger days with larger guys by telling them "You might beat me badly, even put me in the hospital, but I promise that you will remember me for the rest of your life." Not showing any inclination to back down probably has as much deterrent value as several more inches and several dozen pounds of muscle.

[1911Ron]

I'll try to clear up some misunderstandings about what happened and my responses, one i looked around for a way out, two she turned around and got in her car before she got close to my truck, three i gave her no response to her tirade. When i said i would probably carry a gun in my truck i know what level of force i can use and what i cannot if she had come out of her car with a weapon and i had no other choice or no way out and i felt threatened, yes i would be justified in using deadly force. I know what my State allows for use of deadly force because we are trained on it every year at work,i also was an Acadamy trained Law Enforcement Officer for the Coast Guard.

[itgoesboom]

My parents drilled an important lesson in my young. If I started a fight, threw the first punch, and I got beat up, I was responsible for my medical bills.

But if I defended myself from an attack, they wanted me to finish it as quickly and brutally as possible.

I learned in a fight when to go for the jugular, and when to make that decision that it is no longer a play ground fight, and when it became life and death. That lesson was learned when I was jumped by a kid in scouts, and while on the ground he was trying to get to our hatchets. Fortunatly for both of us, several people (5-6) pulled me off of him. I had already made the decision to live, and in my mind he was already a corpse.

I learned that sometimes, forgivness can be the greatest victory. I had a bully all through grade school all the way into high school. This kid was downright mean. He hated me cuz I hurt him the fist time he tried to bully me.

For years this guy would go after me. First it was fists, then came the knives, and he eventually tried to run me over in his car. When he missed, he tried again. Over and over again. I can't count the number of times that we got into knife fights.

Eventually, he was arrested and jailed after he held a broken bottle to his mom's throat.

Years later, he actually apologized, and I even helped get him a job.

I.G.B.

[MrMurphy]

When I was in 8th grade, 2 guys used to harass me. One large guy, Jimmy, was a rich spoiled idiot. He harassed me verbally for a long time till I finally just took him down. We got off a punch or two apiece. Considering at the time, he was 5'9 and 170lbs and I was 5'7 or 5'8 and about 120lbs, I held my own.

The other was Jeff. Little skinny (&!@(**er who used to sock me in the arm all the time and verbally harass me. I considered myself above that and just didn't bother responding. The arm hits merely annoyed me, he wasn't doing anything really worth fighting over.

Freshman year, Jeff and I were in auto shop together. After several more months of harassment one day as I walk by he tries to give me a wedgie. I snagged a broom, turned around and clocked him in the head with it, as well as the back and the legs (as he went down). I told him, touch me again, you'll be in the hospital. Auto Shop teacher just chuckled and pretended he didn't see anything (Jeff well deserved it).
Jimmy attempted to intimidate me in front of several mutual friends, but he knew I wasn't afraid to take him on anymore, and I basically told him if he even looked like he was going to hit me at any time in the future, better have your will written.
He got the message and never screwed with me again. He knew I meant it.

[goldpan]

when i was in Jr high had a group of kids bullying me one afternoon this kid
shows up and pulls a knife i had a pump shotgun empty gun ran the action and the kid left. eventyually it gets to the school the principal tells me that he never pulled a knife lost all respect for mrs hurd over that :fire:

[Stevie-Ray]

9th grade being harrassed by one of those "after school" punks that, for what ever reason, made me as an easy mark. I guess it was because I was big but not a troublemaker. He, on the other hand was a bit smaller, but known as one of the "tough guys." :rolleyes: One morning at my locker, getting my usual "c'mon punk" routine, I closed my locker, spun around and grabbed him by the shirt, threw him against my locker and blasted his nose. With his head not having any room to move back, the nose splattered like a raw egg. He went limp and fell to the floor. There was so much blood, I thought I killed him. Nope, just a broken nose. But that was the time I decided with horror that I could really hurt somebody. No more of that little kid-stuff of beating hell out of each other, and nobody really getting hurt.

[DigMe]

Lesson learned from this thread:

Guys generally can't wait for any opportunity to tell you about how they kicked someone's ass...even if it was 30 years ago.

:neener:

brad cook

[fistful]

1911Ron,

I still don't understand why you felt so threatened by a loud-mouthed woman.

[pax]

fistful ~

Yeah, you're right. No woman could ever be a threat to any man.

Especially not a loud, aggressive, angry woman who may or may not be armed... It was completely foolish of him to consider ways to defend himself if it came to that.

Why hell, all he really should have had to do was say, "Hey, you can't attack me. You're only a woman."

</heavy sarcasm>

pax

On one issue at least, men and women agree; they both distrust women. -- H. L. Mencken

[artherd]

1911Ron,

I still don't understand why you felt so threatened by a loud-mouthed woman.

ROFL.




Uh, wait, you're not actually serious, are you?

[ExtremeDooty]

This kid Vic was giving me a hard time in 7th grade. Always challenging me to arm wrestle. I was scrawny and weak and kept getting beat and laughed at. After having my arm slapped backward on the table and the ensuing mocking one time to many, I'd had enough. I slapped that girl silly. Vicky never bothered me again. Darned bullies!!

[why_me]

ive been in too many fights and i am lucky no one got seriously hurt. Whenever i got into a fight. It was get them to the ground and stomp.
i wrestled in elementary and high school. Boxed in the Navy. And took tae kwon do. All good except i was a short man with an attitude. Im more mature now. Im also scared. For some reason when I rounded 30 I no longer thought of myself as mortal. now i feel like im counting the years until ultimate retirement.

[mondocomputerman]

I've never really been in a fight, but I remember a time when my friend Chris in 11th grade did. Chris was a scrawny kid from Chicago who moved into Hick town in mid Missouri. He was at the urinal doing his thing when some dude bigger than him keeps pushing him forward. He finally had enough, so he reached into his pocket, pulled out his brass nuckles, and beat him down.

[jojo]

I had an experience just a couple of months ago. I was biking on a trail at a lake not to far away when I came around a shrp turn and almost..almost now, no contact, hit a woman on another bike. She proceeded to :cuss: :cuss: me up one side and down the other. I couldn't believe it. Surprisingly I kept my cool and when she was done, looked her straight in the eyes and said "do you realize that we're at least 20 minutes from anyone, if I were the sort of person, I could rip you head off and nobody would have a clue." She just looked at me with that deer in the headlights look, and I rode off. Some people just dont think.

jojo

[Zach S]

A while back someone cut me off on I240 on my way to Wally World (and I hit the horn, I guess they were mad about me driving on their road). They caught up to me after I had left Wal-Mart, where I had just purchased about 500 rounds of .45 ACP, they parked in front of my Caprice.

Lesson learned: If you turn your body so that they can see the tommygun shirt you're wearing, all you may have to say to the agressors is "Think twice."

So far its been 100% effective:D

Nobody ever gave me any trouble again, though I am sure I would be unable to duplicate that kick-move.
I've been in those situations. Afterwards I find myself thing something along the lines of "Holy S***! That actually worked!" On one occasion, I decided to try it again. I cant remeber what it was that I did, but it didnt work out the second time.

[SapperLeader]

Ok, I have a life lesson learned where I didnt come out on top. First Grade after school, a guy named Jason Light(amazing how his name has stuck with me and Im horrible with names), said some things to me that were not nice. We were both about the same size(ie small) I ignored the comments. He then punched me in the nose, and I just stood there and waited for him to do it again.(I was crying of course). When I didnt do anything after a moment, he started to rear back to punch me again, when a teacher started yelling and he ran off. The teacher looked me over, and sent me home. My mom of course freaked out that I was "fighting"(I was punched and stood by passively!), and my dad was curious that I didnt do anything back to him. He asked me why and I explained I was scared about getting in trouble(god bless public school in the 80's and 90's :cuss: ). He then explained to me that while getting into fights was bad, defending yourself by fighting was not. He told me that if I didnt fight back I would be a victim to bullies, and if I defended myself he would back me up with the school. Armed with this knowledge I caused the bully to back down and never had trouble with him again. :D I also have never stood by and let myself be hit again. I never needed my Dad's parental backing with any school fights, but there was this one time in boy scouts...

[Arc-Lite]

... a hundred years ago, after leaving 6 years of fun in the sun in Nam... I was asked to join the world health organization....and be apart of their water purification program in Africa...in short time, I had advance threw the ranks...and was running a specialized group...that entered remote out lying villages, and made arrangement with the locals to explain our program threw interpreters... punch wells, and educate how to maintain the wells, etc... In Africa...every day...is new, lessons from yesterday are sometimes useable...but usually old and outdated.... we arrived in the morning via classic land rover.... went threw the long greeting process...and after the noon sun...had passed, we finally got around to the reason for our visit... we explained our goal...to the elder chief...a man... that had seen the sun of many years....with eyes that spoke the truth...and looked into your soul for truth...and... his eldest son.... and the soon to be chief of this tribe....young, big as a water buffalo, and did not eat junk food. The elder cheif...listened as a gentelman....and after hearing the words of strangers....decided the idea showed merit, but dislike it, and was against it....and questioned the strength of the idea... and with a smile... called his large elder son... spoke into his ear....and then annouced... his final word would come, after his son, his large large son...and I wrestled, the following day...... my hearing his words...that flowed threw my interpreter...did not register...not because they wern't clear...but because this was like CRAZY !!! well what are you going to do ??? finally I found the words, coming from my mouth...as my brain...was saying....damn man your crazy !!! match agreeded too. Amazing the length of some nights.... well the new day comes, as they all do.... and as I get up...and do my morning stretches...I see his son.....lifting rocks...the size of my land rover....for fun.... hmmm I says... going to be "one of those days" so show time...comes...as they all do... and we start... leg sweaps.... arm locks, head locks.... all honorable...no punches... no slaps... wrestling.... and wrestling...and wrestling... both of us...breathng threw out mouths...tired, hot..skinned up.... well I figure...the time has come... either way this turns out...I hope and wish...to be alive.... for tomorrows sun...so it IS time....to make a move...to decide this match...I fly threw the air...and tackle him...like a pro NFL jocky....takes him off his feet...and we both go rolling down...a hill...threw bushes...over rocks....and I end up on top...and on the up hill side of this monster...my advantage.... he rolls and looks me in the eyes....and I can see his pride, and honor...are in jeopardy in his eyes, his father eyes...and the eyes of HIS people... I rolled over across him...and showed him his advantage...and he sat on me....and I was beat....but still in his eyes and mind.... he knew, and he knew I knew....he helped me up...and his people went wild.... washed us both off with greenish waters...and brought out the warm millet beer, the warm millet STRONG beer. After we both were able to breath...and stinkin drunk... his father the chief...quited everyone down....and stood up... to speak, ...his son leaned over and whispered something, for quite sometime into his father ear.... and his father looked at his son...and smiled, patted his back....and anounced that ...with his blessings...we could put the well in... it has been said...the eyes are the windows to the soul....and his sons eyes....we bright....as his fathers. Made some great friends that day... lesson : choose your battles...and know, that winning or losing a battle...does not give out come to the war, fight with honor, and wisdom.... and insight Arc-Lite

[DigMe]

Wow. You really go crazy with that '.' button.

brad cook

[Don Gwinn]

Mr. Arc-Lite, Sir,

Did you ever stop an attempted armed robbery in a mini-mall parking lot?

Also, in Vietnam, were you ever a member of a shadowy blackops group known as the "SEELs?"

[jamz]

Thankfully, I've never been in a fight in my life.

Had a few road incindents though, that came to nothing.

One time some guy tried to swerve into me. I (stupidly) pulled over, and he got out of his car and started demanding my license and registration. This was in the Mission Hill area of Boston. I kept refusing, and eventually his girl in the car, who was shouting at him to "GET THE )(*@&(*&#^ BACK IN HERE" won out, and he went back to his car. He sounded pretty drunk/crazy.

A couple of years ago, on a small street, I "cut someone off" who had been going quite fast over the limit. Followed very very close, I took some random turns, he stayed behind me, and because I had a pretty high performace car at the time, decided to signal right and turn hard left at the last second onto another street. That lost him, but I don't know what would have happened if I had had to stop in traffic.

[Boats]

Okay, I have one from my days in the Navy.

I was stationed in Pearl Harbor. We took a "ship's cruise" to Maui. I took to dancing with this native gal in a bar. About closing, her big, big, "boyfriend," also a local, found her after evidently searching for her all evening.

He basically pushed me in the shoulder while coarsely asking me what I thought I was doing with his "property," as that was what he treated her as. I asked him if he wanted to take it outside, since at 6'8" 250# at the time and possessing a rather wicked left hand, I was not one to duck a confrontation.

So we all go outside. Two of his buddies come across the parking lot from their car and back him. Great. He starts posturing about what he and his bros are gonna do to me. I woof right back.

Him: Whatcha gonna do *&&%#$?
Me: I'm gonna take all you out you f'*((#$

Back and forth like this for about fifteen seconds.

Him: Make your move you $&%(@ *%()#!

Me: Okay!

I then smartly pivoted, turned tail, and ran like hell, full speed ahead. I got away to a taxi while they were still lugging their fat backsides to their car to chase me.

Lessons Learned:

No strange woman not under criminal attack is worth fighting over, even if she is a hottie.
Three to one is what I have come to call "really poor odds."
Sometimes discretion really is the better part of valor--Especially when they outnumber you and have poor aerobic conditioning.
Always wear comfortable shoes when carousing. ( I got rid of some really nice Italian loafers after having to sprint in them rather uncomfortably about seventy five yards on concrete.)
Never spend your cab fare. ( I had relearned that one many times previously and that night I was lucky).

[DigMe]

So here's my story:

Back in 7th grade there was this guy, James, who belonged about two grades up and obviously the biggest guy in junior high. I was "going with" this girl that he liked so that was a problem. One day after science class he blocked me from leaving the room, put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed tightly while giving me an ominous warning saying "You better break up with her or this is what will happen:" and then he held up an apple and squeezed it in his hand until it crushed and juice spilled everywhere.

Well...I didn't break up with her.

So one day as I was walking home from school I took a turn into the long, dark alley way between Shelton's Grocery and Bingham cleaners. Something didn't feel right about it but I shrugged it off and kept walking. I thought I heard steps behind me at one point so I slowed and then turned and checked my six...nothing but some windblown trash..I took a step and started to turn back around and ran right into the solid 5'8" frame of James. He grabbed me and threw me into the wall but I quickly reacted. He didn't realize that I had been waiting for this day and I had my black boots on..you know...the ones that let you walk up walls. So I ran straight up the wall about ten feet and did a beautiful backflip to swan dive and landed right behind him. I then drew the 8" fixed blade of my trusty khukri from it's sheath hidden under my shirt, grabbed a handful of his hair and plunged the wickedly curved blade into his back. With a muffled gasp he slid off my blade and landed on the ground with a thud.

I just looked at him, lit a Camel and said "How do ya like them apples?" Then I twirled my knife, put it back into the sheath and headed home with a whistle, confident in the knowledge that one less scumbag walked the streets on this day.

Lesson learned: Always have a good line after you off a dirtbag.

brad cook

[bigjim]

Thanks Dig. This thread was so stupid.......

[yy]

that was sarcasm :p

[schizrade]

That was frikkin' awesome! :D

Bus story, 11th grade: 9th grade larger Jerk bothers me everyday but I ignore as he is lame and stupid and never really gets in my face. One day he gets bold and misinterprets my ignoring him as weakness and pacifism. He puts his hand on my shoulder and starts to hit me in the arm. I looked at him (it didn't really hurt much) and knuckled him in the throat. Hard. He sat in the front of the bus after that.

[shep854]

When someone annoys me in traffic, I simply ask myself "Was anyone hurt? And, An hour from now, will it matter?" Then I ask myself, "Have I done this to anyone else?" I strive to be a very courteous driver.

[Bob F.]

Calhoun: Lighten up, man. Most of us were raised to avoid fighting and did so unless backed against a wall ourselves. Yeah, I have regrets, too.

Stay safe.
Bo

[ckyllo]

never teach firearm saftey / how to shoot to your girlfriend. either get professional training or have a trained friend do it for you. long story short, slept on the futon for a week after correcting her several times on muzzle control ( stress level got very high, happens alot when a loaded gun is pointed at me).

[Siggyboy]

Ha ha! That was great Dig! :)

All these grade-school stories are lame. "This one time, in 4th grade...." :rolleyes:

[goon]

All these grade-school stories are lame. "This one time, in 4th grade...."

Why?
Does it matter where you acquire your will to fight?

The title of the thread refers to "Lessons Learned".
Does it matter where or when you learn the lesson?

[axeman_g]

I was picked on in school, being a well fed, somewhat rich kid. I was a little passive, but I learned to stand up to bullies in about 8th grade and fight. I definetley took some beatings, but I never backed down.

Years later, I am in my upper 20s, 6' and 200#, not the biggest be any means, much less passive after years of football and water polo, and working as a doorman/bouncer at a bar. Whenever trouble started, just by calmly giving the impression that I was going to soundly whip and humiliate the troublemakers usually defused the situation. In three years I had three altercation go to fists and I dont regret one of them because the other guy always had an out. At least 100 inceidences more defused by rational and calm behavior.

This nows works in my corporate position, where if an antagonist/nasayer gets the idea that you will crap all over his/her position in a calm and succinct manner and embarass them, they usually back off. I havent had to punch anyone.

Lesson learned ... always be ready to defend yourself with confidence and emotional distance, whether the weapon be words or actions.

[orangeninja]

I started the thread....and I think I caused a little confusion. I was looking for any type of story that people learned somthing about their own well being. Kind of like what those gun rags try to do with stories of shootings. I started mine off with a grade school story, but if I'd known it would be nothing but, I wouldn't have started it.

Thanks.

[Arc-Lite]

.... there are a few exceptions to the grade school stories !!! Arc-Lite

[Zonamo]

Many years ago, I had a summer job where I was responsible for a recreational facility. I was not very knowledgeable about firearms at the time, having only owned and used a single-shot shotgun for bird hunting. But one of my employees was a gun "enthusiast."

This was in the days before gangs were the problems they are today, but some gangster wannabe's showed up one day, and caused enough trouble that they had to be ejected. They came back about 45 minutes later and at the entrance their leader pulled a small-caliber handgun on me, perhaps a raven .22, racked the slide, and asked "you wanna mess with me?"

Guns were illegal in the facility, and I was only armed with my hands. But before I could even react the leader's eyes suddenly opened wide and all his buddies lined up behind him. I then heard a loud click behind me, saw a wet stain appear on the leader's pants, and then the entire group started running like mutant zombie bears were on their tail.

Unbeknownst to me, my "gun enthusiast" employee had retrieved his Thompson Contender 12" .44 magnum from the car and had pulled it when the leader racked his little pocket pistol. It was like the scene from Crocodile Dundee-"You call that a gun? THIS is a gun!"

Having seen my employee's hunting handloads, I suspect that even with one shot he could have taken four or five of the gang after they lined up in a row.

Lesson number one: Bring enough gun.

About an hour later the gang unit from the local police arrived with a report that one of my employees had threatened some "kids" with a gun. They talked to the employee with the Thompson and several other witnesses, and despite the fact that guns were not allowed there, his story convinced the cops not to press charges. I doubt they would have let it go today, but the questioning did drive home another important point.

Lesson number two: He who calls first is the "victim."

[orangeninja]

Amen...on both morals of the story.

[Moparmike]

Having seen my employee's hunting handloads, I suspect that even with one shot he could have taken four or five of the gang after they lined up in a row.Straight out of Indiana Jones? :p




My first "incident" was in 5th grade, standing in line to have my test graded. This guy, Clayton Houghland, wouldnt leave me alone. He had always picked on me, etc etc. So, after telling him multiple times to stop it and the teacher doing nothing (and I hadn't done anything yet because of his large, burly presence), I turned around and pushed him away while saying "STOP IT NOW!" Well, he decided he needed to grab my shirt collar and get in my face. Unfortunately for him, I had just seen Goldfinger the night before, and perfectly duplicated the "thrust both arms up and outward, knocking his hands away, then forcefully sweep them down into his ribs" move, which promptly doubled him over. I then body slammed him into the wall, and told him to leave me alone. He toned it down later in life, but never fully quit.

My teacher, also my basketball coach and the guy that administers all the swats, merely said "if you insist upon doing that sort of thing at school, dont do it in my classroom." "Yes, sir" was the response, and nary a word after that was said.

I can think of a few times I wish I had used that lesson later in life.




Then there was this one time when this little pissant wouldnt leave my sister alone, after she had confronted him about it. He had the gaul to do this next to my mom's truck. Now, this guy was about 120, and 5'2" or so. I was 5'11", 260. I started off in a calm tone of voice, and it only got more calm, the "oh my god he is insane and going to rip my head off and puke down my throat" kind of crazy-calm ( :evil: ), as I went along. He decided he was going to start poking my chest telling me how it "was going to be", after we had some discussion about my sister. I promptly grabbed him by the collar and told him to leave my sister alone, and if he didn't I would be kicking is butt, only in a more "colorful" fashion. He tried to bow up on me, and I was still holding his collar. I promptly slammed him up against the bed of the truck, and told him something like "not only have you been annoying my sister, you have also scratched up my mothers nice paintjob. Do you know how pissed off I am at that? If I ever hear that you have annoyed my sister again, not only will I take the cost of the paint out of you, I will also make sure you never annoy her again. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" He had this look, like I had put the fear of God into him or something.

My mother was so proud. :)

He ran off, and his large cousin (in my grade) confronted me about it the next morning. This is a guy I know could bend, fold, staple, and mutilate my body and barely work up a sweat doing it. He breifly told me to leave the cousin alone, and I responded with "well, tell him to leave my sister alone and he wont have a problem" about as matter of factly as I could. He saw the look in my eyes, a look he hadnt seen before, and "harrumphed" as he walked away.


Lesson: Even if people dont know how well you can back up your words, having the reputation of someone that may just decide that you will be the one he "snaps" on and goes psycho isn't such a bad rep to have. ;)

[fistful]

Pax,

You are very right to point out that women can indeed be dangerous characters. The overgeneralization of which I am accused, which arises from the fact that women are much less likely than men to physically attack a man, are precisely why it is unusual that 1911 Ron felt mortally threatened. As loud-mouthed men rarely back up their threats, one hardly expects an angry woman to do so.

In any case, the fact that Ron left out any details that might have explained his concern resulted in a story that makes Ron sound like a real pansy. :p Hence the posts are funny and he will be mocked. Note I have not accused him of cowardice, I am merely provoking him so that he will defend himself, and explain the situation.

Why, you ask, don't I just ask for the details? It's more fun this way. ;)

[DigMe]

Do we really need anymore stories of grade school bravado? They've pretty much had all the same point and lesson anyway.

brad cook

[PATH]

All I know is that whether you win or lose your hands hurt. AT least mine have in the past. There are always tough guys and I ain't one of them. I believe in walking away. I believe in being as humble as the dust.

Being 6'6", 300+ pounds, and looking like a psycho does help of course.

You can punch someone and kill them. You might cause a blood vessel to rupture or cause them to fall and crack their skull. Physical violence has risks. I am a pacifist up to the point where it is impossible to be one. Fighting can sometimes get you killed or the fellow you are fighting with killed.

I have not been in a fist fight in dogs years and I avoid bad situations like the plague. I hope to continue avoiding the use of violence or being involved in situations that could lead to it.

[bigred0383]

My story happened last week. I am a senior in college and have had the unfortunate privledge of living near one of the world's lesser human beings for over a year now. He is the kind to run his mouth, and take advantage of any situation, or person that he sees as something he can profit from. I REALLY don't like this guy, but he is a freind of a friend, so I see him on a somewhat regular basis. He knows I don't like him and normally stays away but evidently he felt extra cocky last saturday. We were standing outside a freind's apartment, when he felt the need to spit. Most of it landed on my shoe (and I am not entirely sure that was an accident either). Instead of apologizing, he started cracking jokes about it. I won't lie, I wanted to beat the crap out of this guy. So I threw a beer on him. (Now normally, I can brush things off, but like I said I REALLY don't like this guy, and I KNEW if I gave him an inch he would take a mile.) He didn't find this funny, so to impress the people around us he started to swagger towards me his hand closing into a fist. This idiot wasn't even looking at me as he did it, he was smiling to the people around us in a "look what my bad ass has to do now" sort of way. He was coming to hit me and he WASN'T EVEN LOOKING AT ME. In any event I grabbed his shirt with both hands and threw him backwards, and far too calmly said, "try it and see what happens." Now I don't claim to be a super strong or tough guy, but I have a pretty big build (6ft 225lbs) and my wrestling coach used to make me run around with the heavyweight starter on my back, so I am no wimp either. His look of shock was priceless. He went back inside and hasn't talked to me since.

Lessons I learned: Intentions, good or bad, can mean a lot. Fear and respect can work very differently. You don't always have to hit somone to win a fight. Sometimes you just have to deal with :cuss: holes.

[TonyB]

Sounds to me like the smartest guy here is Boats.....
but all these stories have me thinking....if I ever see Wally from Our Savior's lutheran school again he's goin' down :neener:

[Smokey Joe]

My wife finally taught me that when I'm driving, and a passenger points out a hazard I've already seen, they really are just trying to be helpful. Better 2 of us see it and deal with it, than nobody does.

THR and TFL posters have finally taught me that I'd better keep my words soft and sweet, in case I have to eat them.

Both lessons help me enjoy life with a little less stress and strain.

Thanks Dear Mrs. Smokey Joe! Thanks THR and TFL'ers!

[dustind]

alduro: Sorry that more of us did not learn from life or death experiences with plots that could easily be made into action movies. :rolleyes:

Never mind my stories, I wouldn't want to bore anyone or be called names. :rolleyes:

[Ed]

Last night I was driving, thinking about being in 10th grade again... And some woman pulled out in front of me.. The other lane was clear and I was going 55mph but she pulled in front of ME. I changed lanes and blew my horn and though" I'm glad that when I was in HS I took Drivers Ed." :neener:

[BluesBear]

What the heck....

Didn't none of y'all go to band camp? :neener:

[Persnickety]

Hey! What's with these 'my car was being followed by . . .' posts? If your car is being followed, drive to the police station. For some reason, the follower tends to turn off, rather than drive behind you into the cop's parking lot.

For pity's sake, if you are being followed, DO NOT DRIVE TO YOUR OWN HOME. Do not give lunatics your address.

I'm no fighter, so I rely on insanity to diffuse tense situations.

About midnight, at a bus stop, (I know, but sometimes ya gotta), with 4 or 5 unpleasant creatures making unpleasant suggestions - "Well, I'm small and outnumbered, so I'll probably go down. When I do, I'll take a piece of you with me. If you're sure it's a piece you won't mind losing, let's have at it." & they all went away . . . .

Then I went home and cried for 3 days straight.

& once - I was feeling very depressed anyway, and actually contemplating suicide - some thug threatened to kill me. Given the mood I was in, it struck me funny and I started laughing hysterically. "HAH! I've been trying to work up the nerve to kill myself for weeks and here you are offering to do it for free!" The thug looked absolutely appalled, said "Sh** you are $&#* crazy" and walked away.

So I've learned three things:

Show no fear.
Be whacko.
Be lucky.

[50 Freak]

One time at band camp, these mean nasty camp counselors were always too busy having sex, and when they weren't they would make fun of me. So one night, I put on a hockey mask and took a machete from the tool shed and hacked every counselor up.

[mmike87]

firesafety3 - that's awesome. I love it. :D

[BluesBear]

50freak, that's OK as long as you used a machete and not a flute. :evil:

[12 Volt Man]

OK, here is my life changing experience. Or at least the experience that started my desire for a CCW license.

Back in 1993 to 1995 I was spending time as a Laotian Speaking Mormon Missionary in Oakland California. (Let's not make this a religious issue, but you needed to know that to understand the story) We had been teaching and looking after a widow woman who had 5 young kids all living in a very bad neighborhood in a one bedroom apartment. She happened to be Mien, which is a hill tribe from Laos somewhat similar to the Hmong Hill Tribe people. This is a lesser known hill tribe and many of them reside in the Bay Area of California. Anyway....Their culture is animistic. They worship their dead ancestors and spend time doing rituals to appease the spirits. Some of her family members became angry that she was working with the "Mormons" and that she had been attending church with us. The were upset because they believed that the dead ancestors of her family were becoming angry and bringing bad luck on their family. So they took action. They actually slit all four tires on her minivan. This was their families only transportation. We acquired some donations and we were fixing her van for her one night. It became dark and that neighborhood was not a good place to be after dark. I was bent down trying to loosen some lug nuts on the car. I glanced up at a car moving slowly down the street towards us. I saw an Asian teenager lean out of the back window 1/2 of his body was out of the car. I could also see that he was pointing a gun at us, I tackled the guy that was with me as I dove behind the car while said teenager proceeds to unload his magazine at us. We came through without any new holes in us. I don't know if it was her extended family that had put a "hit" out on us, or if it was just kids messing around.

What I learned:
If there is a gun fight, then I want to be shooting back. I felt so defenseless. I will always remember that feeling. Thus I have made the decision to be able to defend myself next time.

[Average Guy]

I've never been in a "real" fight. After I got some size and "skillz" (and my father's omnipresent scowl), trouble seemed to forget how to find me.

But if you want a school story... I got picked on a lot in high school and just let it go (OK, it scarred my psyche, truth be told, but only superficially). Last year I went to my 20-year HS reunion with all my hair, in great shape, in a nice suit, with my beautiful wife at my side. I made sure to shake hands with my tormentors, and I didn't stop smiling all night. I can't see how beating someone up could have felt better than that. :D

[mbs357]

I always had people bugging me in school. I really have no idea why, either. I was quiet, hardly said a word, did decent work (up until high school) and didn't bother anyone. Never did get into a fight because I don't see much point in hitting someone unless I think they're going to hurt me first. *shrug*