As much as I enjoy the relatively violence free life we get to enjoy in the west, I often yearn to be tested. You don’t know until you face the fire how you will react to violence. And whether your reaction will be proportional to the threat. The thing I wonder most is whether my reaction will be in line, or completely over the top and land me in chains.  I had a situation recently where a stranger, much larger and fitter than me, made a comment that I could have turned into a confrontation. But then I realized that there was no real threat, just a goof who was used to bullying people, flapping his gums.  There was nothing to be gained by escalating it. The challenge when you are rarely tested is being able to make this judgement in a 10th of a second. My buddy who spent much of his time in youth facilities as a teenager said that there is a two second rule in there, if anyone even says something insulting to you or looks at you in a way you dislike. You have two seconds to hit him or be labelled a bitch. Out in the community it’s a little different.  I find these topics super interesting. But I always hearken back to the words of my teacher about turning the other cheek, lest “IT” get released.