There are entire movies based on tropes. The trope of the tired old man that just wants to be left alone who is bothered to the point where he is forced to react, forced to take action.

People forget that there are old soldiers and there are bold soldiers, there are very few old and bold soldiers.

Those grizzled old men are sometimes more than they seem at first glance.

One of the favorite stories my family tells is of the day when a friend of ours, a former mercenary, yes, verified, was trying to teach my daughter some self-defense. I was only paying half an eye on them when I heard him tell her, “Just kick him in the balls”.

I stood up and told them both, “no”. Yes, if you get a guy in the balls he might stop attacking, but that is not for sure. In addition, most guys have a lifetime of experience guarding the family jewels. I told them that a leg sweep was much better.

Our friend is in his early to mid 20s. I’m old, slow, and fat in my late 50s at the time. I went over to give a short demo. He and I put hands on each other and I asked if he was ready.

On his “yes” I swept the leg, he went horizontal, I pulled up just before he hit the ground.

He was very, very surprised. He didn’t expect an old man to be able to do that.

Old men have to be tricky. Don’t assume that just because they don’t run like the wind they can’t do.

Remember that quote from Quigley Down Under I said I didn’t like them. I never said I couldn’t use one.

And another from Dean Brody