I’ll never forget my first fight. In fact, the thought of it even now gets me all worked up. I’m not sure exactly how old I was, maybe 6 years old, but I know I was in 1st grade. This little boy, who had a reputation of being the class bully, was picking on a girl I liked. Her name was Autumn. She had bright blue eyes and hair so blond it was almost white. My first crush.
The Bully
This kid, I think his name was Fred, was teasing her unmercifully. Calling her names and making her cry. Well, even before I knew what being a warrior was all about I still had an inclination to protect others. That she was really cute probably helped as well. So I marched right up and told that kid that he should leave her alone and pick on someone his own size. Well, he did. Next thing I knew I was on the ground with Fred straddling my chest, pinning my arms with his legs, and punching me in the face. As my head bounced off the concrete over and over again, I remember having the profound thought, “this sucks.” Never again did I want to experience that type of butt kicking!
Later on, after my Mom had come to school and picked me up in the principal’s office, and as she was cleaning up my face in the bathroom, she told me – “You know, you have to stick up for yourself. Hit him back; he’s a bully. Why did you let him do that to you?” Well, I didn’t exactly LET him do it, it was more like I had no choice in the matter. But it galvanized me and made me start thinking about protecting myself and others – especially if I intended to go around rescuing damsels in distress!
It took many Saturday morning kung fu movies and a couple years later, but when my friend Eric in 3rd grade asked me to join him in a karate class, it was a resounding YES!
30 years later I am still training in martial arts. Still learning. Still growing. But I gotta tell ya, I think that Fred kid would be in a serious world of hurt if he tried to take me down to the ground again now. I’m just sayin…. 🙂
I’ll tell you about my another childhood fight that really sticks out in my memory pretty soon. This one had a much better ending.
But, for now check out how all this martial and fitness training over 30 years culminated:
1 Comment
Dave C (NE Philly)
November 26, 2012I’m not sure if this was my “first” fight or not, but it’s the first one I remember getting hurt in. I was around the same age, and I was already in the habit of standing up for people. But I think I got a little too ahead of myself. My mind was years ahead already formulating warriorship, my body however was years behind. I was one of the smallest kids in school and the neighborhood. I stood up for a friend who was getting picked on, and our bully Greg gave me the classic line, “you and me, at recess, by the field”. No problem I thought. Recess came, and I showed up with 5 of my friends. We spotted Greg and 3 of his friends at the far end of the recess area. It was like a scene out of Braveheart. We started walking towards each other, then running. I could hear the sound of my friends running behind my and suddenly it got quiet. I looked over my shoulder and saw them all running in the opposite direction. I looked forward again and there was Greg and his friends still coming towards me. I changed direction, and so did Greg. His friends kept going for my friends, but he was coming for me. I was running towards a fence when I had a great idea. It always worked in the cartoons. Head for the fence and at the last second stop and duck, and Greg would fly right by and crash into the fence. It always worked for Bugs Bunny. Unfortunately, Bugs never wore a hood on his jacket. As expected, Greg flew past, but in the process he grabbed my hood. This is where I got my first introduction to physics. His inertia, plus weight, pulled me off the ground, and launched me head first into the fence. I also disproved the theory that a body in motion stays in motion. I hit the fence in mid air, and that’s the last thing I remember. When I woke up, I was all alone. Recess was over and no one was around. I staggered back to class, the teacher asked me where I was, and I sat down. The next thing I remember was being in the back seat of my god mother’s car with my mother leaning over the front seat crying and asking if I was ok. The next time I woke up, I was in the hospital where I spent the next 2 weeks. End result, I had a severe concussion, and other assorted neurological issues (which I still deal with to this day). Despite that, I continue to stand up for people, I’m just a bit smarter about it now though.
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