Man, I haven't been punched in the face in years. My brother and I are pretty accomplished fighters, we started martial arts in our early teens. We used to spar a lot with minimal padding, and tried our best to stay at medium contact. Doesn't usually work, and every so often you accidentally move into a strike that was meant to hit you a lot lighter than it does. You certainly do feel alive with your jaw hurt and head ringing. We've both worked security at several clubs in the city, and there is a big difference getting in the face with a bare fist vs. any kind of covering, lot more damage, too. When a new kid first began to spar, we would always watch their first reaction to getting their bell rung: most of the time they looked shocked, and got more cautious. But every once in a while some kid would react with a little smile, and get a little more aggressive. We liked those kids, and they usually turned out to be really good...