Many years ago, my husband went to school in Detroit. Everything was fine until he started Jr. High. In the new school, he got picked on by some bullies. His mom (a tiny little Sicilian lady) told him the next time somebody started a fight to roll the bully onto his back and bleed all over him (my husband’s nose bled easily). He did that once and soaked the other guy with his blood. No more problems. I suppose that the other guy’s mom took a switch to him for ruining his school clothes. LOL.
Detroit also had a policy that they didn’t pass you along unless you passed the grade. So, my husband had some guys in his class in the 8th grade who were old enough to drive beer trucks after school. My husband was a pretty good student, so he bartered with a big Polish guy that he would help the Pollack with his math in exchange for body guard duty. Word got around about that, and nobody bothered him again. He moved to California the following year.
Wow, I admire your mother-in-law for teaching your husband to go “old country” on those bullies.