My personal preference would be to walk away if someone tried to wind me up or be a nuisance. There are two reasons for this:
1) He is either drunk, an idiot, or showing off. I think someone already mentioned on this thread that Sun Tzu in Art of War advocates the best strategy for War is to avoid it.
2) The other reason being that if I had no other option i.e. I or someone I love is about to get seriously damaged, I would tear the fucker apart using very means at my disposal even if it meant my own destruction. No issue with putting fingers into his eyes, boot between the legs, rips the earlobes off, or putting a stool up his nostril.

If its is hell you want then it is hell you should get.
I believe there was a story about an Italian Carabinieri (Italian Gendermarie) who was captured in Iraq and was about to be turned into a beheading video clip. Sensing his fate, I believe he violently struggled knowing his pride and honour of the unit was at stake. Such was his actions that they had to pop him with a bullet. Sure he lost his life but in the end he made a point to his captors. His country, his unit, his family and every decent man out there should be proud of him and what he did.