Our bodies our designed with a survival mechanism that
does not take into consideration what others might think
about our actions, only what is right for survival of the
species. That's why we have the 95% rule. At times of
confrontation 95% of us (the other 5% are classed as
sociopaths) will have the instinct to run away to protect the
evolution of the species. We won't know this on a conscious
level of course, we'll only know that we want to run and not
why. This is where
the downward spiral of self-doubt begins and subsequently,
in the aftermath the self-esteem falls flatter than a shadow.
Going back to the pub story with my mate the 6th Dan,
escape for him was as simple as walking out of the door to
go to another bar where the threat was not so prevalent. But
he couldn't do that because he reasoned that he had as much
right to stand and drink in that shit hole as anyone else.
Anyway, what would his mates think if he backed down
from this potential confrontation?