Scrapping

In my neck of the woods, fighting was called scrapping. It wasn't a major ordeal, usually just a short physical confrontation. Sometimes you got your ass kicked, sometimes you didn't. If you scrapped, usually you could count on hurting for a few days anyway...win or lose.

I've scrapped a lot. I've been thrown around like a rag doll by people twice as big as me. That always sucks! I've never fought with a smaller person than me but I'm pretty sure I would knock them out. Dudes my size almost always lost due to my aggressiveness. Shawn Jackson was the exception. He was lightning quick and beat the hell outta me until I struck. That was my saving grace, I had power.

Just starting school as freshmen, my friend Aric and I were hanging out by the gym. He called a big younger guy "Kojak" because he hardly had any hair at the time. Kojak was a guy named Jim that later became a good friend of mine. Kojak grabs up Aric from behind and bearhugs him until Aric has lost nearly all his breath. So Aric says to me...Hit him, hit him! I swung...and Kojak put Aric between us in a flash. BANG....I knocked the crap outta Aric! He went limp and Kojak laughed his ass off. Aric returned the favor a few weeks later at a football game and I don't even remember why we scrapped, but he jacked my jaw. He cracked me pretty dang good, made my jaw sore for a few days. Karma!

Scrapping always hurts, even when you win the fight. It'll bust up your knuckles or wrist (or elbows or knees) beating somebody down. It isn't the most intelligent thing to do, but it was a way of life for many of my friends. We scrapped and survived.