I’ve learned a lot of lessons in life from my little brother.  From a very early age, like most siblings, we fought ALL the time.  It seems like every time our parents left us home alone or we competed (backyard baseball or Nintendo games like Tecmo Superbowl), it inevitiably ended up in a fight.  As the first born, I had 2 1/2 years age and size advantage.  Usually our fights would start with me winning the first physical rounds.  As time went on, my little brother started getting smarter.

Instead of trying to out muscle me, he began looking for forms of leverage to keep me at bay.  If I beat him with my hands, he would come back with rocks.  If I beat him with rocks, he would come back with a kitchen knife.  If I bested him with the kitchen knife, he’d get a baseball bat.

The other thing he did if he lost a fight is he would wait until I forgot about it and attack me then.  I remember one time I was riding my bike hours after one of our fights, and then suddenly waking up discombobulated after being sniped off my bike by a rock that hit me square in head.

I have to admit, as much as I was pissed off about being knocked off my bike or attacked with a baseball bat while unsuspecting, he did earn my respect.  And it taught me some lessons in how to handle bigger guys.

My brother has something in common with one of my movie heroes, “Cool Hand Luke.”  When Dragline and Luke fight in the prison yard, Dragline is easily besting Luke with his superior size and strength…but Luke has heart and one key element it takes to beat the hell out of someone bigger than you: hardheadedness.  Here’s a little secret, whoever has the strongest reality wins.  If you believe in something stronger than your opponent, then your beliefs become the dominant beliefs.  Luke believed more in his reality than did Dragline, so Luke became the new alpha male of the prison, despite taking a beating from Dragline.

You see, most big guys have never really been challenged the way a little guy has.  Like I talked about in an earlier post, most guys give away their power and defer to bigger guys, just because that guy is bigger.  Guess what? Most big guys are soft.

I am not a big guy.  Growing up I had to fight to keep my seat on the bus, to keep others kid from cutting me in the lunch line, to keep from being mercilessly picked on, to protect my brothers, and on and on.  Little guys don’t have ‘NOTHING given to them.  The coaches don’t suck their dicks like they do the guy who is the natural athlete.  Because of this, the little guy has to work harder to prove himself and actually has tons of experience fighting for survival.  A big guy has never broken a sweat outside the athletic field.  He doesn’t know what its like to have to fight just to get by.

Another advantage the little guy has is in being underestimated.  Just like the coaches that scoffed at him, these big guys who assume dominance are in for a big surprise when they find out the underdog will fight like his life depended on it.

Here’s another secret (and its a big one): intensity.  A perfect example of this is Tony Montana in Scarface.  When challenged, he only gets louder.  He doesn’t back down, or puss out.  If you raise your level of intensity, you can sometimes intimidate other guys without having to fight, but be warned, you better have the bite to back up the bark.  Another thing to take from Scarface is this: in how many scenes is Scarface scared? You’ve got to have balls and be fearless.

Finally, whoever throws the first punches usually wins.  Most guys are all talk, but the guy willing to bite first will take the prize most of the time.

So to summarize, the keys to beating the hell out of someone bigger than you are as follows: leverage, hardheadedness, survival instinct, intensity, fearlessness, and the assertiveness to strike first when necessary.

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