the concept of fighting has always been peculiar to me.  of course, in high school (and even now) i talked of beating up so and so for saying so and so about so and so...but that never really happened.  when it comes down to it, im just not a violent person (though some days i wish i was).

i got in my first (and only) fist fight in the third grade.  let me prepare a good visual for you...really get you into the scene:

its sometime in the middle of the afternoon on a warm, summer day.  i, along with all the kids from my class, are having a blast at raintree swim and racket club for lauren hrobachuk's birthday party.  there is a high dive, a snack bar, cake and presents, you know the drill.  one of the highlights (besides watching people over rotate their front flips and belly flop off the high dive) was the volleyball court.

let me explain volleyball right quick: volleyball is a game that only a few select people in the world know how to play.  the rest of us just do our best to smack the ball as hard as possibly to the other side of the net with complete and total disregard for direction, points of impact, number of hits, or point value.  typically, during a game of "pick up" volleyball you see the following types of people:
-the guy that played for a few years in high school but hasnt played for a while so he is sort of modest about the fact that he is very very very good at spiking the ball directly into your stomach.
-the guy who thinks that just because he is "athletic", he can pick up a volleyball and immediately be king of the court.  this guy usually wears a tank top or cut off tee.
-the guy who isnt really into sports but maybe used to play soccer in middle school and whose only reason for playing is so that the teams are even.
-the guy who is absolutely, down right terrible at volleyball in every way possible, and who doesnt even make an effort to go for the ball when it comes near him.  this guy usually talks smack the entire game because he must compensate for his inability to hit a ball.

those breakdowns are based off of my experience on a volleyball court with a bunch of dudes (and yes i am always the guy who used to play soccer).

back to the swim and racket club...on this particular day, i was involved in a relatively lively game of volleyball with a bunch of my classmates.  i identified the "down right terrible" player on the opposing team almost immediately.  lets call him toby.  toby spent the entire game instigating stuff with people on my team.  we were screaming back and forth at each other more so that we were actually playing volleyball.  finally, i snapped.  i sprinted under the net in a fit of rage and tackled toby onto the ground.  we rolled back and forth through the sand a few times grabbing and pushing and pulling.  i recall toby connecting one solid punch to the right side of my face before the landscaper dude yelled at us to break up the fight.  then it was over.

some parents had seen the ordeal and of course were on their way over to scold us.  fortunately my dad hadnt arrived to pick me up yet.  toby on the other hand was snatched right up out of the sand by his grandmother and screamed obscenities at me all the way through the parking lot until the car door closed.

i had gotten away with it!  i had my first fight, got punched in the face (technically that would mean i lost i guess, because i didnt punch him in the face), and i didnt get in any trouble.  that night my best friend ben and i camped out in my back yard to celebrate my victory.  we stayed up late giggling as eight year old boys do.  the following morning, my dad confronted me about the fight.  somehow he had found out (the man is a detective, i shouldnt have been surprised).  he made me call toby and apologize, so i did (but i didnt mean it). 

fifteen years later, would i reccommend fighting as a way to solve things?  of course not.  would i suggest getting involved in a pick up game of volleyball...ever...?  debatable. 
here are some things i would reccommend:
-getting punched in the face (at least once in life and ideally in the third grade when fists and muscles are smaller)
-mocking people on a volleyball court.
-belly flopping off the high dive.
-camping out in your back yard.
-giggling with friends.
-cake.
-presents.