All my life I have been a bit of a wimp, never standing up for myself, accepting whatever even if I’m not satisfied, getting bullied, avoiding confrontation.

Now in my mid 20’s I feel this is hurting not just my self esteem but my “rep” around people.

Example: I’m walking around the city and a homeless guy tells me not to take pictures of him and I just ignore him and go on (deep down hopping he doesn’t elevate or confront me), he continues by yelling how he will beat the crap out of me. My friend stops, confronts and challenges him. I’ll just tell him to let it go and keep going. He asks me why I didn’t say anything and I tell him he’s a homeless probably mentally unstable.

But deep down most of the time I just don’t know how to react or deal in a situation like that. Most of the time I just ignore or accept and swallow it hopping it doesn’t turn into a confrontation.

I know BJJ is a start for self defense, but two of the schools I have been to only teach competition techniques and no real life scenarios.

Any advice helps. Thanks in advance.