If you are trying to understand men, there are several ideas that can help. Men need to be defensive. Men can easily get the idea that other men are interested in preying on them and that idea is often correct. Men understand there is a competition for prestige and position among them. Looking tough or wise can be useful in gaining some prestige or rank. Some psychologists say that in general, men are better with inanimate or abstract things. In general, men would rather deal with principles or laws than the individualities of separate people.
Many men enjoy competition. Of course, they want to win the contest but simply competing, trying to defeat others, trying to surpass them, is itself a pleasure. The trying by itself can give a purpose, a mission to accomplish. It also helps to understand that many men actually enjoy rough physical contact with others. A good body check given or received can be a pleasure.
If a man gets drunk or is highly exultant, he can have a high level of energy and arousal. In that state, he may not know what to do with the energy he feels and may wish to get into a physical fight with a reasonable opponent. Not someone too different from himself or too much stronger or too much weaker but someone with whom he can have a strong tussle. That would be a contest of a different kind. Such a situation might not arise consciously or in a planned way but in the right mood, a man may be looking for someone to fight.
The book "Fighting for Life: Contest, Sexuality and Consciousness" by Walter Ong is not easily available but shows masculinity in a memorable light. Basically, the Jesuit scholar author shows that in all societies, boys and young men need to struggle for a place, just as males in other mamalian species do. For humans, the struggle is often in words or dollars but it is a struggle nevertheless.
