When was the last time you were in a fist fight?

[tularetom]

I ask this because my son (44 years old) got into one yesterday with a guy who hit into his foursome on the golf course. I wasn't there but I told him he was a little old to be trying to settle things like a kid. So he asked me how old were you the last time you duked it out with some guy? And actually, it was the week he was born. I was a senior in college and we were having a little after exams party in a local bar and some guy thought we were dissing his girlfriend and smacked my buddy with an empty beer pitcher. It turned into a big melee and we all got a few punches in before the bartender and some other guys pulled us all apart. We got thrown out of there of course but nobody called the cops.

A few years later, I got a construction job supervising a bunch of guys whose reaction to any challenge was "I'll kick your ass". And I began to see how idiotic it was for grown men to resort to punching each other to resolve their differences.

I've had a few situations that got kind of tense since then, but I was always able to avoid coming to blows.

But the question my son asked got me to thinking, am I typical? Or are there middle aged and older people who still think they can win over another human being by hitting him?

[mbperrin]

1. March 24, 1975. Age 23. Yes, alcohol was involved.

Interesting question. Be neat to see how it turns out.

[tridim]

2. 39 years, fist-fight free.

Make love, not war.

[gkhouston]

3. Don't remember the date. I was 15. n/t

[mike_c]

4. teenager, nearly 40 years ago....

These days I flay my opponents with an angry look instead, then dismember them with logic. :rofl:

[Oregone]

5. Before I was 20

But I almost got in a gun fight last year. Maybe that makes up for it.

[SDuderstadt]

60. Gun fight? n/t

[Oregone]

62. My old next door neighbor is a paranoid schizo with a big rap sheet

He thinks I cut holes into his home, feed his dog, and take his wonderful stuff. He made a threat to shoot me to death, so I grabbed my gun. Wasn't too big of a deal. Sherrif told me next time to shoot first and ask questions later.

[Solly Mack]

6. 17

my age at the time

[LeftinOH]

7. I am also 44; the last fistfight was in 1990. n/t

[sakabatou]

8. Back in... 4th grade maybe

[Vinnie From Indy]

9. What is today?

Oh, nevermind.

[jobycom]

10. Fifth grade. Kid wouldn't let my bike go, so I threw him into a barbed wire fence.

After that he and I both decided I got a little too serious about things, and I figured I shouldn't do it anymore. Since then I've been really good at walking away.

[guitar man]

11. It's been a while

Don't exactly know how long but one thing always holds true for me. Anytime I come to blows with someone it's always defensive. They either took a swing at me or made a threat of violence that put me on fear for my safety or the safety of others. Somebody can run their mouth all day and I won't bite but if they threaten or act violently I will respond in kind.

[sandnsea]

12. For hubby - when he quit drinking. Hmmmmm... n/t

[TwilightGardener]

13. Being female, I can't say I've really ever been in a fistfight, besides

when I was a kid duking it out over the last Twinkie with my siblings. My husband almost got into one, recently, however--at Christmastime, after shopping. Some guy in the Target parking lot was using our car (his was next to ours) as a "doorstop" for his cart while he loaded his four kids into it. We approached as he was plopping his kids into the cart, and you could hear distinct "thunk" noises as the cart rolled into our car with each kid loaded. He apparently didn't want to use his own car, wanted to damage ours instead. So my husband stood there and said, "Excuse me..." and the guy looked at him defiantly and then just pretended we weren't there. That was the closest I ever came to seeing my husband deck someone. You don't mess with his Jeep, ever.

[TransitJohn]

14. March '03

While having a pitcher at the Buckhorn while protesting illegal invasion of Iraq by an illegal President. Wyoming is still Cheney country, after all.

[tekisui]

15. Never.

[abq e streeter]

16. 15 years old, if hockey fights count( if they do, then about 2 per game)

otherwise more like 13 or 14...playground stuff. But I've certainly seen barroom brawls involving guys in their 40's ... and like you, thought it was idiotic. (OTOH, I still like watching a good hockey fight)

[AngryAmish]

17. Why was your son playing so slow?

I have not been in a fight in over ten years. I'm 41 now.

Nothing like a good old golf course fight.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

18. I was in 9th grade.

However, I'm a confirmed pacifist so I might be the odd one. I found that humor and reasoning usually disarmed most people trying to start a fight. However, I did commit some pretty hard fouls (intentionally) when I was still playing basketball in my 20's. That was only after repeatedly getting hit by someone though.

I was always the peacemaker who would jump in the middle of a fight and try to break it up if I could. I still remember my best friend at the time trying to start a fight with a guy playing basketball as if it was full contact karate. He would have got both of us hurt since the guy he wanted to go after was a Golden Gloves boxer at the time. Luckily, I was able to calm him down in time.

[MrScorpio]

19. I was 12

A bunch of kids confronted me and my kid brother in the street. I was ready to kick all of their asses.

My only regret was that I didn't have my cousin's dog to sic on them.

It didn't take them that long to get the message that I wasn't going to be fucked with.

[The_Commonist]

20. 5th grade.

1974?
And, it was a fight over politics.
I said Nixon was a crook.
The bully said he wasn't, and he was going to beat me up after school for saying so.
In the schoolyard, I said "c'mon, get it overwith," with my arms outstretched.
He punched me 2 or 3 times, but then he had to go to CCD.

Years later, he wrote a play about pacifism, in which I played the lead character...

[NNN0LHI]

21. Still a kid and I lost every time

Even when I got the best of the other guy I still felt like I lost.

Weird, huh?

Don

[Egnever]

22. I was 28

A guy basically attacked me when I woke him up after he passed out on my couch. He just came off the couch swinging. Having said that I would not back down from a fight today at 44 if the situation warranted it.

I don't think its the answer to any problem but I fought my whole childhood and I have little fear of it and lots of practice though none recently.

What I will say is there is rarely a winner in any fight usually both parties get injured. Even in fights where I utterly decimated my opponent I still walked away with injuries. I haven't found a situation in years that brought me to blows but I think thats more a result of my changing social circles than any change in my willingness to stand up for myself when I feel it is necessary.

[mrcheerful]

23. Well personally 2 years ago when I was 51

My SO's cousin, who is a bad alcoholic, went off on me while I was having a spat with the SO about her spending habits. I told him to stfu and go sell some scrap metal so he could buy another beer, adults were talking, he was 47 at the time, and he jumped at me like he was attacking. Next thing I knew I had a butcher knife, it was laying on the table but I don't remember even picking it up. Then my 18 year old grabbed the drunk and tossed him out the door. I stand 5"2" weigh 135 pounds the cousin stands 6'2" at 250 pounds, so screw it I was going to do some serious damage if he had put his hands on me.

My step son knows that I usually avoid physical confrontations, I'm to old and its a waste of energy to behave like a 12 year old on the school ground. The way I see it is I was disadvantaged being the smaller one in a fight so best advantage is take the bigger person out by any means at hand, yes if there had been a gun present I would have shot the nit wit, this is real life and with my past injuries, any blow to my head could cause death or loss of mobility. I will defend myself, I am not a bad ass nor do I push my weight around, I often try to use humor to settle disagreements, people don't fight well when laughing.

[Emit]

24. 8 years old

When I punched a bully, who had been physically harassing me, right between the nose. And then I ran like hell and locked myself in my house.

My brother was so proud of me. :) He didn't think his little sister could defend herself!

[cherokeeprogressive]

25. I'm sure that if someone would have been hit by the errant ball, you would have mentioned that in

your post. Since you didn't, I'm assuming it was a case of "no harm, no foul", and your son sounds like a dick. I've been playing golf for over 30 years and have never encountered a situation where a golfer PURPOSELY hit a golf ball at another person or group. While we (my golf buddies and I) have been in some very close calls, never ever have we felt the need to come to blows with someone who has accidentally hit their ball out of their own fairway, or had a ball carry too far and land behind us.

For me, golf is like surfing is to surfers, if you've ever heard one describe how they feel about it. I imagine it is that way for a lot of people. Tell your son congratulations... he fucked up someone's day of golf.

I'm 48 and have been in two physical altercations in my life that ostensibly started as "fist fights" but in reality were nothing more than wrestling matches. Both occurred while I was in my teens. Violence is never the answer. Maybe your son should seek anger management counseling.

[tularetom]

54. Actually the guy swung at him after he complained about it

Or that's his story anyway. Anger management is not his problem and he doesn't get a lot of challenges since he's 6'4" and goes about 250. He's an ex-cop and the reason he's no longer on the force is he was a little too mellow to adapt to the high testosterone environment that he worked in. He's now in the insurance business.

Did you not think I would defend my kid? He has his faults but being a hothead ain't one of them.

[cherokeeprogressive]

55. So he was attacked. A not insignificant fact...

If he was attacked as you say, then he had every right to defend himself. That goes without saying. His height and weight are meaningless though. I've seen plenty a big man brought low by guys much smaller than they.

So the guy hits into your son's foursome, and then takes a swing at one of them. Odd. Either way, I'd say words were exchanged. And, in my experience, it's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease.

Being as he's a huge ex-cop, I'm sure he made quick work of the foolish fella.

It's too bad they had to ruin the serenity of one of my favorite places that way. I golf pretty much exclusively with guys I've known since elementary school. We're so laid back on the golf course I doubt you could piss one of us off enough to fight. A couple beers and a couple bowls, and we're pretty much in a world of our own. And trust me, our foursomes have heard the whoosh of incoming golf balls more times we can count. It's part of the game.

[anarch]

26. I think I was 36?

I didn't throw any punches, though, just helped take down some drunken jackass who sucker punched a bar employee in the back of the head, and was looking for more targets. It's amazing what a good choke hold will do to a guy...

[Forkboy]

27. A couple summers ago. I was 40.

Fuck it, the asshat had it coming. And trust me, my intent wasn't to win him over. :P

[backscatter712]

28. When I was in high school, almost 20 years ago.

Usual high-school age immaturity.

Golf course fights?

Now I'm reminded of that scene from the movie Falling Down, where Michael Douglas's character was cutting though a golf course, dressed up like a commando and brandishing enough weapons to arm Bolivia at this point, and an old geezer gets pissed off and starts hitting golf balls at him. Of course, Michael didn't react well, brandished his weapons, shot up their golf cart, and scared the geezer into having a heart attack. As he's gasping and clutching his chest, he's asking for his nitroglycerin which was in the golf cart that had since rolled into a water hazard. And Michael just says "Well I guess you're out of luck. Don't you wish you'd have just left me alone? Because now you're going to die, wearing that stupid hat! How does that make you feel?"

[Caliman73]

29. I don't think you are atypical

As we mature, we are less likely to settle things physically unless there are underlying anger and impulse control issues. I fought quite a bit when I was an adolescent, usually over things that I would be embarrassed to mention now. The last "fight" I got into was about 10 years ago. The reason fight is in quotations is that it was really more of a scuffle and I was defensive. I was playing basketball as was my routine a few times per week. This guy was talking, and fouling intentionally, and just being a jerk and unsafe. He has been told by the regulars at the court many times to tone it down. I was guarding him one game and he almost undercut me on a rebound, which might have resulted in my slamming my back or head on the asphalt. I told him that he was going to hurt someone and that everyone was getting tired of putting up with him. He started cussing and calling everyone out. I just stood there and looked at him and told him he was acting like an asshole. He threw a punch, I slipped it, and hit him with a quick combination, which knocked him back a bit. We were separated and he was told to leave as everyone at the court was a regular player and he had just started showing up.

The only time I would fight now would be to defend myself or a loved one, if there was no other viable option. I have been called names and challenged since then. I usually just laugh, shake my head, and walk away.

[Mopar151]

30. Actual fistfight, when I was 14

Bearhug/tackle/fall on top of, a couple years ago. OTOH, I'm a big galoot, and standing up usually backs 'em right down.

[The Magistrate]

31. About Twenty-Five Years Ago, Sir

Strictly speaking, from my end, it was not a fist-fight, as my part of it was conducted with various grips to painful and strangling pressure points, and kicks. Four young men had kicked at the windows of my basement apartment as they walked by; it had happened before and it annoyed me. They ought to have understood that a grown man coming out into a foot of snow with only a pair of boxer shorts on to commence a confrontation was likely in some sort of a 'state', and would be best backed away from, but they felt invincible owing to numbers, and commenced running their mouths. I put two of them on the ground quickly enough the other two ran away before it could happen to them, and the downed pair ran off once they regained their feet. The police, when they arrived, considered the disparity of numbers sufficient to establish it as self-defense on my part, even though the first physical move was mine....

[Twinguard]

32. 9th grade.

I didn't actually throw any punches. I was attending school in England, and some of my classmates didn't like me because I was American. One day, walking to class, I was sucker punched in the back of the head. I turned around, picked up my attacker by his blazer (part of the school uniform) and deposited him into a nearby garbage can.

I don't think it changed anybody's attitude about having an American classmate, but that was the last time anyone tried a stunt like that with me.

For the record, it was a pretty small minority of students that disliked me, and they weren't subtle about their reason. The majority of students were either indifferent about a foreigner amongst them or thought it was pretty cool. I'm a pretty laid back cat and for the most part, people around me seem to like me. I abhor resolving conflict with violence (there has GOT to be a better way), but that kid got under my skin by throwing a cheap shot like that.

That was 1991.

[benld74]

33. Never was - Inherited dad's ability to scare the hell outta someone with just a stare

but i'm tall and big to back the stare up

[Dogmudgeon]

34. Age 5. Blood was involved.

I stood up to the neighborhood bully, a 6-year-old, by picking up a rock and smashing him in the face with it.

Within seconds, blood was everywhere. He just stood there for several seconds, mute with shock, then turned and ran into his house, not crying, but screaming.

I was terrified. I was an avid viewer of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deputy_Dawg">Deputy Dawg and knew that the penalty for crime was 30 days in the jailhouse. After I got over the fear that the kid would die, I became paranoid over the prospect of being in jail for a whole month.

Later that afternoon, the former bully came calling for me, with a big smile on his face and a bandage over half his brow. He was so impressed with the hospital that he wanted to tell me all about it. From that point thereafter, he was my best buddy.

Funny how things work out that way.

The last time I was *IN* a "fistfight", in 1984, two drunk guys got the idea I was gay, and one of them came over, screaming that I was looking at him (I didn't even see him), and just began to bash me. By any standard, it was a mugging, but the local cops called it a "fistfight" and said it was a matter of "honor". The "honor" exacerbated something else I have to put in irony quotes -- a "pre-existing condition," damage to my ear and skull from a tumor. Forgoing treatment was out of the question. In order to pay $2200 in medical bills, I sued the bar that served him to the point of drunkenness, and won a big fat $700 payout. That's right -- seven hundred dollars, NOT seven thousand.

A few months after that, I'd heard that my childhood pal/persecutor/victim had died. No details came with the story except to say that he died from the effects of living a hard life. He was 28.

--d!

[Quantess]

35. Never.

I haven't been involved in a pushing or slapping scuffle since I was in the 6th grade. But then, I'm also female and I get the hell away from physical threats.

[Dappleganger]

36. Never, and neither have our boys.

One is 16 nearly 17 and the other is 12. Both have been bullied before, but were taught to defend/deflect punches and twist hands/arms/fingers until the attacker squeals. Their dad taught all of the kids how to do it but they've never needed to except the youngest did use a deflection maneuver once.

Dad is a gentle giant, nobody messes w/him.

[H2O Man]

37. Long, long ago.

I boxed over 300 fights when I was young. Perhaps in part because of this, I did not get into many fistfights, or street fights. But I long ago got over the desire to hit anyone, and I never particularly enjoyed getting hit.

[ThomWV]

56. It took me exactly two to learn

I learned in exactly 6 rounds that I was no boxer. As you said, long long ago.

Sometimes I get so mad I could rip a person's head off, but I don't. That does not mean that I don't think a person has a right to self defense though - I most certainly do think that is the very most basic human right.

[ecstatic]

38. I think I was in the 6th grade...

I started a fight with a boy and got my butt whipped LOL

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

39. 1967 A drunken brawl with 2 guys who took exception to my views on the war in Vietnam.

They jumped me outside the bar. It might have been my comment, politely made, to one of the debaters, "You stupid, flag waving, red-necked, asshole" that spurred them into action. Much to my surprise, I "won" the fight. Probably due to my being somewhat less inebriated than my opponents. The next morning required a visit to the doc because of the dislocated jaw and horribly swollen hand.

A Pyrrhic victory at best.

[Enrique]

40. 4th grade

I picked a fight with a 3rd grader for some reason I've forgotten. :eyes:

[LeftyMom]

41. I was 17 or so. I hit my sister. My football playing, karate competing sister.

Once I got my nose fixed up I decided to be smarter than my temper from then on.

edit: I'm not counting defending myself, that'd be much more recent. But that was the last fight I started.

[Marr]

42. It's been about ten years. I'm 37.

I'd been biking, and stopped to get a bottle of water. Turned around and some guy was trying to steal my bike. I'm not particularly good at fighting or anything, but I'm not afraid of being hit and that goes a surprisingly long way, lol.

I used to get in a lot of fights between the ages of about 19 and 25. Just alcohol-fueled idiocy with other, like-minded, acolohol-fueled idiots.

[Romulox]

43. 14 or 15. Blacked the eye of a bully, and wasn't fucked with again. nt

[EnviroBat]

44. Almost 1 year ago.

I was riding my motorcycle on a bright, sunny end-of-May day, when some asshole punk-ass motherfucker decided it would be fun to "play chicken with the guy on the Harley". At speeds of 45 mph or so he kept inching his car closer and closer to my back tire, then he would whip around me and slam on his brakes. When he pulled into a mall parking lot I was behind him. He locked up his brakes a final time and I went around him. As I was even with his drivers door, he turned the wheel, hit the gas, and slammed his car into me. HE DID THIS INTENTIONALLY. I bounced off of the car and went down to the pavement along with the bike fracturing my right shoulder in two places. Under pure adrenaline I jumped up and approached the car. His door flew open and he attempted to get out of the car. I never gave him a chance. I struck him in the face at least 6 times until he stopped attempting to fight back. He was almost un-conscious when witnesses arrived on the scene. The police, (who I hate by the way) arrived on the scene and reported the event as a simple traffic accident occurring on private property. No was was cited in the report. They didn't believe me or any of the witnesses who stated they thought the guy hit me on purpose, and as a result, I had no legal case. The assholes father threatened to have me arrested for assault if I came after their insurance company for medical damages. I spent all of last summer with my shoulder pinned and screwed together, and in physical therapy. Was all of this justified? I don't really know anymore. It felt like the worst day of my life. Did I feel like I was defending myself? Yep, at the time I guess I did. Could I have driven a different way that day? Dunno. Fate is a funny, and sometimes fucked up thing.

[Blue_Tires]

45. I got into a bunch in grades 6-10; none since then...

Since then, even when I've wanted to go, I've held back -- These days folks are way too quick to go for a gun when they are losing or have lost a fight...

[retread]

46. Fist fight?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRWlnv0_svU

[PJPhreak]

47. 1986...At the Boulder Planned parenthood office,

for those of you that know Boulder,I was coming out of the county courthouse after registering my truck and from down the street (Walnut looking West from the courthouse) I hear this insane frackas...look over just in time to see an Operation Rescue Nutcase with a sign (Typical protest sign,stapled to a 2x2 about 6 foot long) take his sign and waylay a teenage girl about 15 years old...I snapped!

Took the truck,Roared outta the Courthouse parking lot,put the two right wheels on the sidewalk (Thanks to wheelchair access) and headed down the curb taking out a batch of parking meters (And putting a Nasty bash in the grill of the Chevy) this caught the attenion of the dickhead that was repeatly hitting this young lady,The look on his face when a loud Chevy 1-ton was knocking parking meaters asunder,with a long-haired,bug-eyed hippie behind the wheel was worth the price of the tickets I got, (three for this stunt) he started to run,I cut him off with the truck,hopped outta the cab,pulled the sign outta his hands and said something to the effect of"Hey Fucknut,You wanna beat up on someone? Try hitting me.Asshole!"

I think I hit him two or three times before someone tackled me and held me down,someone else nailed the sign swinging jerk to the wall, and about that time the Boulder cops showed up.

I was released from the Boulder county jail three or four hours later,with three Tickets that cost me $355 total....Worth Every Penny!

This is the ONLY time I have used my fists on someone since High school. I am 51.

[Lyric]

48. I think I was 15?

I kicked her ass like Skittles, baby.

:D

[MineralMan]

49. I've never been in a fist fight in my 64 years.

[Broken_Hero]

50. hmm, fall of 02, in December, can't recall the date though

I didn't hit him, but it was a fight(I'm a fan of bouncing people off of floors/walls).

[woofless]

51. Never did.

I even worked the door at the local on band nights. I always seemed to get away with "No, we aren't doing that here and Yes, you ARE leaving." Never let 'em see you are scared.

[shanti]

52. never

n/t

[Iggo]

53. I'd say 34 or 35 yrs old.

Right before I quit doing drugs.

I've been rough and ready quite a few times since then, but no takers.

[abq e streeter]

57. saw this posted by another DUer in a sports thread...does this count?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7D8aDp3RUs

[MissMarple]

58. Does that include slapping, scratching, biting, and pulling hair? You know, girlie stuff.

I did punch a guy in the solar plexus once. He later said it was the hardest he's ever been hit. And his wife said that's when she knew she liked me. I've never repeated that, but I could, if need be.

And I don't do the girlie stuff either. Words and humor work wonders. Overall I don't think people hit as much as they used to. Certain subsets do, but I think we may be trending away from that.

[Iggo]

59. Hell yes.

A throwdown is a throwdown. Queen's Rules do not apply.

[stevedeshazer]

61. I think I was 19. He sucker-punched the shit out of me.

I got in my licks but lost. It's the stupidest thing ever.

If cockfighting and dogfighting are bad, guyfighting is worse.