I spent much of my childhood avoiding assault (and never had it as bad from other kids, at least, as the blogger), but I think it was a mistake to do so. I think if I'd snapped just once or twice, it would have made others think twice about the nonsense they pulled on me. I was more afraid of the external consequences (police and other authority figures) than worried about getting beat up, though, so I just sat and took it.

In any case, the blogger in question didn't manage to avoid assault. I don't imagine he went to the bullies and said, "Here, break my fingers".

Then I don't understand your position. In my experience, learning to fight has been one of the most effective ways of avoiding assault. You just start signaling to people in various subtle unconscious ways that you're able to defend yourself.

It's a pity my parents didn't understand that when I was in school, and gave me the usual idiotic lines like "don't stoop to the bullies' level". I only realized this when it was almost too late to change, went and took some boxing lessons, and whaddaya think - it's improved my "social skills" quite a bit. :-) See, "social skills" are mostly about how others perceive you, and people are pretty damn perceptive when it comes to pecking order.

So am I. But this quote from the post is pretty self-explanatory:

"One of the mantras that his karate school follows is: Never start a fight, but if a fight starts, always be the one to finish it. And that's what he'll be able to do."