Originally Posted by
bluefoxicy
He was goading you for a fight. Usually people aren't "ready to fight" until you push them, but if they want a fight they'll goad you to get you to push them so they can go over. It's an emotional thing: they want a fight, but they're not feeling it, so they try to get you to knock 'em into it so they can ride it out.
I think you are probably right. They will almost never do you the favor of initiating violence, which would give you a self-defense alibi for what little those are worth.