My first experience fighting a grown man happened when I was 15 years old. I was at a halloween party my older cousin was having. I knew everyone there because my cousin use to babysit my brother and I. He would invite his friends over to go swimming and hanging out. They all looked after me like I was his little brother. I never got picked on or bullied. People had a lot of respect for him and his friends. We grew up in a blue collar town that it seemed like football, fighting, and drinking was the norm. When I was young his friends would tell me stories about kicking ass and taking names. I looked up to those guys. I wanted to be a tough guy. I brought two girls with me. I thought hanging out with older people would impress the girls. We were having a great time playing drinking games and dancing. Around 11pm one of my cousin's friends runs in the house yelling for help. Him and another guy just got jumped at another party couple of streets over. He looks right at me and says "Time to see how the big boys do it, lets go!" Playing it cool I turn to the girls and say Ill be right back this won't take long. I had no clue what I was getting into or even cared. I wanted to be a tough guy and this is what tough guys did. Instantly my adrenaline spiked. I became enraged with anger. I felt invincible. We sprint over to the other party and they were waiting for us. Fight broke out instantly, without hesitation or even an exchange of words. I loved that. Why waste time talking we came to fight. Kaos breaks outs. 20+ people fighting in the street. I see a guy with a baseball bat. I love challenges. Go big or go home right? I square up with this guy. He has the bat drawn back ready to hit anyone that approaches him. We make eye contact and he says don't even try me boy. Boy? I'll show you boy. I feint like Im gonna charge and sure enough he swings with everything he has. Right then he knew he fucked up. I could see the fear instantly in his eyes. Boom! I was on him before he even finished the swing. I grabbed the bat and we proceeded to wrestle for it. He wasn't trying to let that bat go. He actually bit my hand trying to get me to let go. I needed to do something fast or I was going to lose a finger. I pick him up, one hand in his mouth the other around his neck and slam him to the ground. My finger came free and now I was standing over top. I let lose, punching him in the face over and over. The bat rolled free, his body went limp. He was out cold. I look up for my next challenge and the entire party was watching me. My rage subsided. A different emotion came over me. I really don't know how to explain it other than I could feel the crowd around me. Their energy gave me strength. I felt amazing. We returned to the party and everyone that walked by me had something positive to say. My confidence was through the roof. I was the kid who beat a grown man with a bat. My lady friends became a lot more friendly after that. I was hooked. The thrill of the fight became an every weekend event.