And risk spending the rest of your life behind bars.

Real life is not like movies. You do not get in a fight and use martial arts to kick the shit out of the guy only to have him get up and walk away shaking his fist. If you hit someone in the neck you have a chance of killing them.

A fight should only happen if your life is in danger and you are ready to possibly take the life of your attacker. Picking a fight with some guy because he is talking a bit of smack is stupid and will only end up with you in trouble.

i fight fair until the other person crosses the line (e.g. cheap shot, brings the homies)

Hmm, I guess I didn't explain it very well, because even his "friends" hate him.

Like I try not to get involved in other people's business and stuff, but this guy, I tried ignoring him, tried to avoid him or whatever. He just keeps acting like an idiot.

Hopefully I won't see him much this year.

Whatever it takes, to a degree. Biting, eye gouging, crotch grabbing, is all fair game. Weapons? Not so much.

being fair doesn't mean going easy. break some ribs so he can't breathe, then knock him the fuck out with a spinning kick to the head

that is why you run the body into a 4000 degree furnace and burn him up to dust

You should avoid violence whenever possible, but if it can't be avoided, you should do whatever it takes to win.

A story:

I'm in a bar, talking to this girl (and I'm not flirting. I can't flirt for shit) and her boyfriend comes over, talking smack. I try to calm him down, but some of his buddies are over at the pool table, goading him on.

I stand up, and this slightly shocked look comes over his face. I don't think he expected me to be so big. I only see one way out, so I take it. I say...

"Look man, I don't want to fight, but if you force me I just want you to know I'm going for your eyes first. Eyes, ears, nose and nuts. I'm gonna pick up one of these bottles and smash it in your face. You and your buddies may beat me up, but you're not walking out of here without damage."

He looked at me, grabbed his girl and walked away. I turned, walked out of the bar and checked for shit in my pants. :)

Not telling this to show what a big man I am, only to show that you can get out of a fight. I firmly believe that things should be talked through. In your case AL9045, I think you can sucessfully avoid this guy completely. Any talk between you should be "yes," "no" and the time of day.

However, if you can't get out of a fight, then nothing is fair. Take them down quickly, hard, and with a minimum of violence.

*Applauds*.

Well last year, I told him I'd kill him, and he started spazzing out, so maybe I did get some message across to him.

As with any conflict, violence should always be the last alternative. But if it comes to violence, winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.

gotta agree with this one. i mean, fighting with honor is fucking stupid. it reminds me of the revolutionary war here in the united states. the british lined up in bright red coats to shoot at us.... it's pretty easy to understand how they lost.

Discretion is the better part of valor, it take a bigger man to walk away from a fight than it does to wade into a fight. If that thinking doesn't work and you have no other option do to them what they are telling you they are going to do to you. Nothing is fari or sacred it is about ending the confrontation quickly with the least amount of injury occuring to you or the ones you love.

Get in close punch to the head followed by an elbow then a shot to the groin. Get away while they are on the ground.

I'd prefer not to be in a fight. Odds are that the next time I get into a fight (if ever) will be with a mugger or something stupid like that. In that case, I would follow no rules. If some punk kid hit me, then I would likely try to avoid a fight. If he were to run me down, then I would have to fight dirty because odds are that no matter what the outcome is, the guy will be back later with a group of friends so I might as well weaken their group by 1 guy.