skip_hooks=True doesn't work as expected, because on_take_damage is a virtual function. Example:

1. Hook on_take_damage on a human player.
2. Call take_damage with skip_hooks=True on a bot.

The hook will still get called, because bots have their own implementation (CCSBot) of on_take_damage which later calls the overwritten implementation (CCSPlayer).

One workaround would be to create an OnTakeDamage listener and let Source.Python call the listener from an internal hook. Here's some pseudo-code:

# Internal SP code
disabled = False
    
def internal_hook(args):
    if disabled:
        return

    OnTakeDamage.manager.notify(...)
    
def take_damage(self, ..., skip_hooks=True): # Let it default to True
    global disabled
    disabled = skip_hooks
    
    # Use try/finally just to be sure
    try:
        really_do_damage()
    finally:
        disabled = False

# Plugin code
@OnTakeDamage
def on_take_damage(entity, info):
    # You can call it directly
    take_damage()

    # Or delayed
    delay(10, take_damage)

# Or from somewhere else
take_damage()

The listener would also make hooking on_take_damage much easier for plugin authors.