I see you have learned the way of Neville Chamberlain.
No, it’s not negotiations with the bully; it’s avoiding an assault charge when the bully winds up badly hurt.
If you confront the bully, and you block a blow, and return some well place kicks, punches and a nice throw - you wind up going to the jail.
However, if you leave (and NO ONE said that you couldn’t leave without a taunt) and the bully chooses to follow; then it’s self-defence with witnesses to back you up.
I can speak to this from first hand experience; it turned out VERY badly for the bully. In retrospect, I may have gotten carried away; but I can garrantee that this Redneck I dealt with will never be physically able to do what he did to me, to someone else. His knees and arm no longer work quite the way God intended them to work.