It was almost always my experience growing up watching bullies work (and having been bullied a few times, was that they were ALMOST ALWAYS just threat displays, particularly if you were in school, and not on the street.
A lot of kids dealt with bullies with wit. Usually, if you can out-insult them, they learn to avoid you. No one likes to look stupid. There is some risk however, because some bullies escalate if you don’t capitulate. Then, you are back to standing up for yourself physically, out of necessity.
There are also different kinds of bullies. There are some that know they can kick your ass. Those are the ones who need the deftest touch, or avoidance if you can manage it. Giving them a fight is exactly what they want, and standing up to them doesn’t work. They’re more than happy to kick your arse a second and third time.
It is a dilemma, whether you make it one or not, if you face consequences no matter which path you choose. A black-eye and a suspension versus social humiliation is not an easy choice, and fighting back is no guarantee to end anything. Usually it does, because most bullies are insecure people and don’t like dealing with people who fight back. But it’s always a risk.
“But it’s always a risk.”
EVERYTHING is a risk to one extent or another. Hell, getting out of bed in the morning is a risk. But we do it anyway because we know that NOT getting out of bed is usually a greater risk, as it advances nothing, and provides nothing; and, if carried to the extreme, will result in stagnation, and eventual failure in life.
That’s why I said previously that there are many ways to fight back against a bully, and those ways are not all physical. Choose your moment, and then make your move. The bully doesn’t even have to know it was YOU who sank them. But YOU will know.