Now that I'm a bad ass, I better learn to back it up. I need to learn how to fight. My friends wanted to learn also. We go to a sporting goods store to buy boxing gloves. 2 pair so we can challenge each other and practice. Seemed like all summer we were pulling the gloves out, stealing my moms VHS camera to film ourselves beating each other up. One of my friends was super cocky and when presented an opportunity to fight he was not going to ask questions before he hit someone. Sometimes his mouth bit off more then it could chew. When his manhood was challenged he couldn't resist. My old man watching us, drinking beer with one of the neighbors, decides to see if my cocky friend would put the gloves on against me. We have been matching ourselves based on size and he was smaller. He has LGS (little guy syndrome) You can guess how this goes. He looks to me and says want to go? Sure I say thinking to myself this is unfair and I try to practice technique. That last 2 seconds as he lets a flurry of wide punches that catch me in the face. I counter with a straight left down the middle buckling his legs and busting his nose. We all stopped after that. We wanted to practice not kill each other. 6 months later my cocky friend asks me to join a boxing gym he found. I was pumped! Real boxing gym with real fighters. We sign up on Monday and by Friday they have us sparring each other. He looks at me and says this won't be like last time. I just smile like yeah ok little guy. Boy was I wrong. I was slow and sluggish as he danced around me like Ali landing shots with ease between my guard. I was determined to learn and took my beating for 2 rounds before I notice snickers and whispers in the background and my temper took over. I timed him coming in. He landed 2 but I landed 1 that knocked him on his ass. He jumped up quick and the coach stepped in laughing like this was all a joke. I wiped blood from my nose with my glove and asked whats so fucking funny? Coach laughs points to my friend and says he has been planning this for months. I don't know if I was surprised but my anger faded immediately and I began to laugh too. We always played jokes on each other but to keep quite for 6 months just so he could kick my ass was impressive. I wanted to learn more. How was this little fucker able to bloody my nose in just a few months? This would not be my last beating but was the beginning of a journey that if I didn't live it I wouldn't believe it.