[4Freedom]

If you mean by serious, where the motive was more than just let's see who's tougher or robbery? Where I believed they wanted to severely injure me or leave me for dead? Situations where I didn't have a weapon or any back-up? Me or them? Where I couldn't talk my way out of it.

Only two come to mind that I still think about from time to time.

In these two incidents there was more than pride or money on the line.

How about you?

[RLK]

Had people come after me with knives and clubs, and maybe a few other things. Was a bartender and bouncer in a low caliber night club where people once rode motorcycles in through the door and around the pool tables. I carried a PPK in a shoulder holster. I was recruited out of a karate class to come in and run the place on weekends after the new owner took it back from the motorcycle gangs. The gangs kept trying to take it back. Those are the high spots. There's a lot I'd rather not talk about, but you get the idea.

[Quilla]

If you mean by serious, where the motive was more than just let's see who's tougher or robbery?

I would imagine that the former can be as dangerous as the latter. One of our local karate (Yoshukai) instructors teaches in several satellite dojos in and around LA (Lower Alabama). He has mentioned that on a few occasions his classes have been interupted by good ol' boys (translated: rednecks) curious about the 'who's tougher' issue. After several attempts at dissuading them from the obvious, this 6th degree black belt settles the debate rather easily.