In most altercations, the first to use violence is the likely winner. Unless you walk around with a knife in hand all the time, it is unlikely to make a difference. Even then, you must always be prepared because even holding a knife, you have blind spots to be exploited.

I am tall with broad shoulders for my height. I think of my size as being an easier target for a bullet, though in practice I know that difference is rather insignificant. I look at displays of strength and force as weakness and fear. Even a kid can pull a trigger.

I primarily fear groups of stupid people, and the intelligent. I am probably biased because I am too large and intimidating to be worth the effort to fight, and have little that anyone would want. No one can fight off several attackers at once. The human propensity for dogmatic stupidity and confirmation bias is horrendous. On the other hand, I fear the domination of the intelligent, because the human capacity for cleverness is beyond the scope of anyone's ability to counter.

In pretty much every situation, you are safer if you run. Instead of working on fighting back, having sure footing, agility, and confidence in your ability to run faster and further than any opponent is far more likely to save you. Your stride is much shorter than mine, but you are likely to be able to change directions faster than me and my momentum. Like in american football, I must increase the buffer distance before engagement when facing a smaller person in order to prevent them using my momentum against me. When I am all out in pursuit, it is the moment just before contact that is critical for awareness, confidence, and the agility to change directions quickly that will prevent me from catching you. It is also a mistake to assume I will tire or lack endurance to chase. You must have a stronger spirit than your opponent and the confidence that you can out agility them every time they try. There is no fairness in this type of altercation. I know that is scary. It is always better to turn to flight first in the fight or flight mechanism. Then come back with your fight when you control more variables.