Enter fight instructor Roqua. He may not be Mr. Miyagi; the story that follows may not be Karate Kid. But for better or for worse, after making it past a few more explosions of misplaced anger and completing his training with Roqua, Jake is able to see that fighting is not always a solution. He sees that the only way he can get rid of his anger is to accept his reality, not try to kill it. And he acknowledges that when it comes to getting rid of anger, releasing it on someone else doesn't make it go away.

But because we do not live in a simple world where the only reasons for fighting are anger and selfishness, the story continues. Jake may have given up fighting as a way to destroy a reality he cannot change, he may have already known that it is no way to prove his own value, but when he is given a different reason—to defend others and possibly affect a reality he can change—he gets his gloves back out.

At first Roqua tells him not to go. He tells Jake that there will be consequences for fighting no matter what your reason for doing it. But after the two talk and Roqua sees that what Jake now fights for is something bigger than himself that is worth the risk, both head off to fight their own fights. Jake would rather not fight anymore. Roqua has been avoiding his fight for many years. But as Jake tells Roqua, "Sometimes fighting the fight means doing the one thing you don't want to do."

At the end of it all, the message of Never Back Down is fairly simple. Don't fight when you don't have to. Don't throw punches to change what cannot be changed or to elevate yourself by knocking others down. But when something of value is at stake, when there is something we can do to stop injustice or to make this world a better place, sometimes we must stand up and fight.

Although most of Never Back Down is about physical fighting, not all of our fights will be. To bring the end to some injustices may require physical force. But in many other cases, fighting the fight will simply mean stepping up to the plate, putting out our effort, and risking a bit of ourselves in the process. I can't tell you all of the occasions when that fight is called for. I suspect that it will often come down to the individual situation. But if we take a cue from Jake, following his example of putting others before ourselves and fighting to preserve our connections with others might not be a bad way to start.

As Roqua says to Jake several times throughout the movie, "Everybody has their fight." But when we do fight, the question is, are we fighting for something that is actually of value? And when a fight is necessary, are we willing to take the risk and step into the ring

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