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Defending yourself in the face of an unavoidable threat is one thing. Jumping straight to violence is quite another

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I am training jujitsu

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When knives and guns could be involved, all this talk of martial arts is just plain silly.

Renesis wrote ...

I strongly oppose violence. I have never punched anyone, and i'd like thinks to stay that way.

Cesiumsponge wrote ...

I am going to go out on a limb here and say I am probably one of the few individuals here that have trained with law enforcement and done combat and defensive pistol training, as well as fill my coffers with legal issues specifically pertaining to self-defense (not criminal defense, which is vastly different).

Unless your life is in immediate jeopardy with the ability and opportunity to carry out that jeopardy, you can't go around punching, stabbing, or shooting folks regardless of how much it might bruise your ego or self-respect if they call you names or make passive attempts to coerce you into striking first. Application of lethal force is your last resort and you better be able to justify it with legitimate legal reasons, very clearly, in a court of law or you're going to be spending some time in prison for manslaughter charges at the very least.

Keep in mind that your use of martial arts in a less-lethal manner can be viewed by the first responding officer as a failed application of lethal force. An officer will arrive to the scene and see an injured person(s) and you in perfect health. The injured person will say you tried "some kung-fu stuff" on them and make up a story. A career thug has probably run into the system multiple times in the past and they'll know what to say and how to navigate things that'll make your life more difficult. It's the officer's job to put together what happened but the first thing he will think based on initial impressions is that you're the suspect and your attacker is the victim. Just because you were in the right doesn't mean the officer will see it that way since he has no idea what went down and both parties have equal credibility until he establishes the truth. Self-defense is a very convoluted gray area thick in ambiguous legalese so if you can at all avoid it at all, I highly suggest it.

Also I would not put too much confidence in disarmament techniques taught in passing by martial arts practitioners unless it's something with extensive real-world testing like Krav Maga or if you're at a very elevated, real-world training level and train with actual practitioners of edged weapons and law enforcement for firearms to hone techniques which improvise and deviate from textbook moves. This is your life you're dealing with so honestly figure out how confident you are in your techniques, and do you know your limitations? While martial artists train against basic moves against an armed attacker, law enforcement teaches pistol retention techniques against fighting techniques.

Guess which instructor is going to have more practical real-world, battle-tested experience, or access to such data? The independent martial art instructor that teaches disarming techniques in passing that might get very little real world testing or updating, or law enforcement trainers that constantly incorporate techniques and teach pistol retention to officers and agents that use those survival skills daily?

It only takes one gunshot wound or one knife wound to put you out of the game, even if you do subdue your opponent. Someone versed with a gun or knife can inflict a dozen wounds in several seconds so you only need to make one mistake to end your own life, and Murphy loves a good chaotic battle so chances are it won't be some textbook fight where "move A is countered by move B, and victory!".



If you want to get around thugs, simply ooze confidence and that'll put you on top 9/10 times. Criminals look for the weak. You can be a small guy but if you're walking down the street, keeping your head up, no ipod or bluetooth jammed in your ear, walking with straight posture, and scanning about and making eye contact with all potential people crossing your path, you're going to come off as confident and aware of your environment. Making eye contact, even if it's fleeting, means you've already acknowledged a potential criminal's location and existence. I'm 5'7" and 175lbs, not large or tall by any stretch of the imagination. I've only once been caught surprised by a drifter at a gas station by letting my guard down. Otherwise, I've never been a successful target of a criminal or shady character or gotten picked on because I know how to act confident (even if I might not -feel- confident then). I've been approached once in a great while, but diffused the situation long before anything was to happen through being aware of my surroundings and select vocabulary and or body language. I've never so much as brandished a weapon or drawn from my holster, or even had my life threatened.

Yes, there are diehard scumbags out there that this won't work on, but if you can incorporate some behavior that will persuade 90% of them to leave you alone, why not?

Judgment and awareness are much more important tools than training your fist or firearms until it becomes life-or-death. If you're more aware of your surroundings and more cautious, you can usually spot trouble before it ambushes you, and avoid it before you come across it. Coillah saw the situation up ahead but decided to ignore his gut feeling and charged ahead anyhow hoping for the best. Gut feelings are remarkably accurate and operate on a subconscious level. It bypasses the long, convoluted path of higher brain function like logical processing and simply tells you, "warning!" in a primitive manner you can understand without words or scenario wargaming--uneasiness. Learn to trust it more often and take action.