To every poolhall and bar tough guy

Where I grew up in Southwestern Ohio we called guys like this Tush Hogs, and they were people not to f'ck with. If you got out of line in some of the places I hung out in, you were very liable to get an ass whipping, just like what happened to the jack-off who threw the cue ball off the table. That guy learned a lesson he will never forget. I learned a similar lesson years ago that I recounted in my second book.

Notice that the tough guy (and he was definitely a bad ass imo) did not follow up after he knocked the guy down and probably out cold. He knew from experience that this fight was over. This guy had been in street fights before and probably did some damage to some pretty tough dudes. He was very calm after he took care of business and walked out the door. This was not the first guy he whacked out like that.

Of course, in this day and age, many fights end with someone getting shot. But even if you are carrying, you better have the balls to use it before you get clobbered. I learned long ago to never brandish a weapon unless you were ready to use it. Don't get caught bluffing, in other words.

I'm not a tough guy by any means, but I was taught how to protect myself by a couple of guys who were. One of them gave me my first little .25, and took me into the woods and showed me how to use it properly. He made a point to let me know that it was for close quarters protection, when I really felt threatened. I carried that little piece in the back pocket of my jeans for the next fifteen years and only took it out once, when two guys tried to rob me outside my poolroom in Bakersfield. They backed up quick when they saw the gun. One more step and I was ready to pull the trigger, they were that close and one had a fairly large blade in his hands.

One time I got in a jam with a dangerous guy they called Charlie the Ape, and he did look like an ape, and was strong as a bull. We beat him out of a lot of money and he was really PISSED! For a moment I thought about my little gun, and then had second thoughts. It might just piss him off more and he might decide to kill me with his bare hands. I calmed him down enough so that I could sneak out the back and jump in my Vette and get the Hell out of there. The next time I saw him he just laughed about it. He said, "I bet you were scared, weren't you?" I told him yes, I was pretty concerned at the time.

Brandishing a gun is stupid. In any type of combat, the value of the element of surprise cannot be over estimated. I was told years ago by someone who knew about such things: Never let them see your gun until you are pulling the trigger.

The doorman is clearly concerned about the guy who got the beating before it happened, that is concerned that he is bothering the other customers. He came over to check and then let it go on. The time to throw him out would have been before the beating, but hindsight is 20-20. Obnoxiously drunk people like this cause so many incidents, but rarely get tossed out, because they spend a lot of money. IMO it's a big mistake that bars make. When someone starts acting like this, there is always trouble. It's also against the law to keep serving people like this, but of course that's completely ignored by every bar.

The guy throwing the punches is clearly trained, and most likely a dangerous man, probably with a prior prison record. No emotional control what so ever. People like this always get arrested sooner or later.

I knew a guy like this once. He killed a man when we were in the military. A guy was bothering him or his girlfriend out on the town, I forget exactly what happened, but he threw a punch and the guy died. Life pretty much ruined, but not his first offence and won't be his last, as he only did a couple of years. The actions of the man in the video were probably more deliberate and savage than what he did, he just had an unlucky result. It's a bit tougher to get past the murder charge when hiring a guy than a few drunken brawls, I'd think, especially in combination with the above mentioned sentences for brawls.

Anyway, the guy who got the beating was being a nuisance, but I don't think he deserved a brutal beating and possibly lifelong medical consequences for it. Elevating the guy giving the beating to some sort of sage or hero doesn't serve any real purpose. His actions were understandable and would be subject to mitigation in sentence, I'd think, but clearly it was an overreaction. In our country we have a law that if someone offends you, like spit on you or something similar, you can retaliate and not get punished, within reason. Throwing a punch may be covered, depending on the offence. I doubt this would be covered by that law or any law of a Western country. You should expect to go to jail if you do something like this, is that really worth it? Likewise, if you go bother strangers in a bar, you may get a beating. Don't get obnoxiously drunk, is the morale here. You can get seriously hurt, and nobody will care for your life.

TATE said:

The quality of the writing on Cobra Kai is as good as I've seen. I'm on episode 2 of the 2nd season. So glad to see these guys acting again - lot's of talent on the show. I predict "Robbie" will be the next Val Kilmer (hopefully with a happier ending!).

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I'm glad I am not the only one in here that loves the show! I would gladly take a trip back to the 80's anyway. Looking back, and I was really young, it seemed like a simpler time without as much "weirdness" like today.

I am also glad to see how many of the original cast they have, and are, brought back to the show.