Slow Havamal 73

The 73rd verse cautions that two men will overcome one, that your running mouth can endanger your head, and that in a hand concealed by a cloak, you should expect to see a weapon.

In four short lines, we get enough advice about personal combat to extend our lives by many years. It’s easy to overestimate our martial prowess, especially for men. One of the things that training martial arts has taught me is just how many people can kick my ass. Short people, old people, kind, unassuming...and of course big and scary. It’s much harder to defeat a single opponent than many folks think. Even if you’re near the top of the pecking order, though, the chances are slim of beating two men who are anything north of incompetent. It happens often in heroic sagas and movies alike. I’m sure a good many people have pulled it off and will again. But as a general operating procedure, fighting at a numerical disadvantage is a fragile proposition.
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