Do you feel my friend Harshith used to hit me from behind in a fight between us because he was scared of me?

Harshith was my classmate in 9th, 11th and 12th grade and he was my close friend. But even though we were very close friends we still used to fight. Sometimes in 11th and 12th grade when we used to argue we used to start insulting each other but in a verbal fight I can't win so I used to angry and punch him hard 2-3 times. But he used to not hit me back immediately. He used to keep threatening he would beat me later and used to say "you are hitting someone who is your friend. I am the one who is your friend in class." Suddenly later he used to punch me hard from behind without me being aware of it. Yes he used to always do it that shows he wasn't confident enough to fight me head on. Later when I used to again go to beat him he used to tell me to calm down and say sorry. Then even I used to say sorry and we used to become friends again.