"When Hazel did hard time and learned the value of standing hes ground":
Many, many years ago in a small country far, far away.... .
Due to an un agreement whit his country`s rulers concerning hes army duty, young Hazel was thrown in the "pen" a couple of times.
Even though jail in Norway are fare more civilized than many other places, its not a secure nor cozy place for a 24 year old middle class ideologist.
I was focusing on going under the radar of the hard core inmates. And stick to the social outgoing and the elderly types. Just suck up all harassment from the brutal bully types. This was hard but went kind of well, until.. .
One day, some kind of a holiday we were allowed to see a movie at the main hall. The Gladiator it was, I had seen it before but appreciated the 3 hour escape from a dull prison reality.
Just 5 mins before the film was ended, most of the inmates left to get dinner. The feeding was the worst part of the whole doing time experience. Most fights started in the canteen, general hostility, people eating like pigs, shit food etc.. .
So it was a easy choice to always be late for dinner. Rather just get some, quietly, rather than hustle to maybe get a chew more food in the chaos.
_So i watched the film going to the end.
More and more guys left and when there was just 3 mins left of it, and just some 5 more prisoners left watching it, me included the movie went black.
He who had stopped it was one of the most dodgy, neck tattooed, violent, assholes. Probably 35-40 years old ore so, the type no one respected, but all feared for hes brutality and lack of morals, he was the type who remorselessly could knock one down from behind whit a hammer over a small un agreement in the past.
The only ones above him in the fear hierarchy was the pro violent and organised mob guys, those who had brought the reputation whit them from the streets, those guys who didnt queue, those who everyone just stepped aside for. .
When the screen went black I sighed out loud, a reflex from getting my fantasy ripped out of far into the film.
The loltard that had stopped it, spontaneously yelled "wt t fk r u saying?",
_while staring for the sigher_ me. ..
I didnt want any contact whit this guy, least of all any trouble, but had to reply:
"Just that I wanted to see the last 3 minutes after spending 3 hours watching the film",
I explained short, while trying hard to be all other than aggressive.
A gesture he was no interested in requite.
He went mad in hes eyes, and started on hes way over to me.
I went for the dinner trying to keep evasively enough so he might let it go, in the end nothing had actual started, yet.. .
He worked himself up following me closer and closer, as he yelled mockery and cursed.
At two thirds of the yard between the main hall and the canteen, he worked him self up enough to push me light, and I could not ignore him any more.
I turned staring him right in the eye.
There was absolutely nothing to say to this guy, and surely not at his present state so I dindt say anything.
Realizing the confrontation was not to avoid, I thought I had a fair chance to take him down. The surprise effect was on my side, still slim and small muscled after my 3 years of kung-fu training. No one could guess I could really fight.
The style of Hung-Gar are made to survive not to show off.
I prepared myself focused on not letting him know.
Pulled my tongue back and up inside my mouth, secure it against self biting.
Chew my teeth slightly together to protect them and stabilize the jaw for resisting knockout punches.
Change most weight from my front foot to the backer one without moving them, making the front one ready for fast blocks ore kicking.
Final tightening my right fist so it whitened and mental turned in to a bashing weapon, all cowered by my upper body and hips. The left shoulder slightly turned against my opponent.
I was ready as can be.
Probably he sensed something, ore did not see the opening he needed, at least he eventually shut it and walked away mumbling some.
Me and him had no further history, he kept away and I watched my back, never again loosing him from my radar while in that prison. And til this day I always choosing a seat by the walls.
To me alone this happening that newer came to be, had a massive effect on the rest of my hard time. The canteen had windows facing the yard. The tables closest to the windows are of course the regular seats for the top dogs, the highest of the fear hierarchy. They all seen my face off whit this bully. They all obviously decided on me being the psychological winner. Some came over like bigger boys at school saying
"You should have kicked hes ass, you would have won"
Others came over in the gym asking what system that was I trained in (witch I kept a secret just answering in generals).
All the small bullies stopped cutting my lines and started nodding acceptably.
The lack of hustling, made the last half of my punishment a walk in the park compered to the first half.
Whats the morals here?
*Be prepared for all, then you might don`t need it.
*Do your best no mater your chances to win, the first price might not be the only nor biggest price at all.
Btw, true story.. .