A simple situation:

I was preparing a field for planting turnips, when a bear stumbeled upon the site. I built a cellar, cautiously, and finished it with the bear observing me cautiously.

I thought, that the bear could be trouble later and got overexited. Of course, that didn't really matter.
I died, your thinking? Wrong.

I wielded my club and javelin, and ran at the beast! A few beatings with the club and a few thrusts of my javelin and I and the beast were locked in combat.
My club landed a few times on the beast and it's paws swept near me, but not hitting. We both dodged eachothers blows and attempts to hurt eachother. My body was close to being squeezed out of life many times, but both of us missed eachother several times.
I got lucky and hit the bear dead in the eye with my club, and after a few blows to the bear a mighty thump felled the beast!

I was unscratched and untouched by the bear, and I was midly dissapointed at how the beast hadn't shown decent anger for me. It's struggle felt like a tired, sluggish like the beast was waking from hibernation just now.

However, the promise of new fur clothes for the still-long-away winter lifted my spirits considerably...

There have been times when I've kicked bears to death, rare though those times may be.

I wonder how many kicks you had to use and how aching your toes would be?