How Many Have Been in a Fight? (Part Two)

Go to Part One

One interesting thing about fighting is that you get to make choices, moment to moment that is. Only, your opponent takes away your choices leading to forced responses and/or confusion. It’s not like in the movies.

In a film, the camera acts as a voyeur, at a safe distance, and the actions are usually choreographed. Often nowadays they shoot hand held with lots of motion, a slightly long lens to get in closer, compressed space, jittering, rolling back and forth kind of horizon, quick cuts. The fights in the Bourne films are like that, and many newer martial arts action pictures as well.

However, in the real fight, if you get grabbed, it feels quite a bit different than passively watching the film. That’s what happened with Bob. I threw down my book bag and approached him. We circled around a bit, inconsequential jabs, and then we got in closer. Luckily we were evenly matched in size, and so no one could wrench the other too far. There was a struggle for position, and elbows and shoulders, but all in all, it was simply pulling and pushing for the bulk of it.

A crowd had gathered, and we were just outside our urban high school campus where the driveway exits onto the street. Crowds always gather and shout on their blood lust like bands of chimpanzees, for some reason.

No blood, just struggle. I don’t remember anyone even getting a good punch in before it was broken up. I don’t remember who broke it up either, but I do know that the next day bright and early 8am, I was called down to the principal’s office.

Continued