How do you know how far to take the fight? Could you enter a fight , one that looks like it could get real nasty,knowing that if you win,and maybe that saved your life, that the remainder of it will be spent in jail cause you crippled some punk!!
The **** law stinks!
How is it that you hear these stories everyday about people defending themselves and their the ones that end up paying for it…
So the attacker has some stitches, a broken nose and a few teeth missing…THE GUY WAS GUNNA KILL ME!!!
The media love it…
Yes, you might have saved your life in fighting for it,but whats the point if you have to think twice before picking up the soap in the shower!!!
Whats your thoughts on this??
Maybe leave the vital organs and face alone and go for the knees??
Take away their mobility??
I could palm strike some guy harassing me, he falls, hits his head on the kerb and is ******* DEAD!!!
The judge looks at me and says you have been training for yearsa in martial arts. You had an advantage over him and you knew what you were doing…so i give you 25 in the slammer!!!
Is there some loophole or sublaw within the law i dont know about??
if i am driven to self defense, it is only in a threat of life. and if my life is threatened, someone is going to die and soon. that being said, i would not think twice when it comes to the defense, atleast i live to see my jail time. but hell, that is some stupid ****. now if i was being robbed, i would let him have it, like i said, only defend if my life is in danger.
Train harder. Develop your ninja mind control powers and no one will be able to bother you ever again, much less involve you in a complicated legal battle.
In all seriousness, I totally empathize with your concerns. It sometimes seems like a catch-22.
The trick is to know the laws in your state or country, and understand the line between reasonable force and lethal force. Brawling in the streets is definitely illegal, but depending on the situations hitting someone, knocking them down, breaking their arm, can be legal in the eyes of the law if properly justified. The problem is finding that justification.
If you break someone’s nose because he shoved you…you’re the attacker.
If you break someone’s nose when he’s trying to stab you or has some advantage over you (i.e. size, etc) things might be a little different.
Find out if your state has a “mutual combat” law. Oregon does. it just means if you both agree on the fight, and not just go to someone and start kicking the hell out of them, but you two have to have said YES I WILL FIGHT. And viola…it’s LEGAL!!!
Well for the most part you’re probably right in that a random guy off the street won’t have any idea where to find you…but you’ve got to still be prepared. Weirder things have happened, you might drop your wallet, he sees where you work, etc.
I’ve been involved in some street action when the cops showed up and it’s definately not a good thing to be there when they arrive. You could be totally justified in the action that you took but the cops can screw you over if they take the other persons side for whatever reason.
In which case you will be off worse in court
Really, how’s that? I could kick someones ass and wait for the cops, or kick their ass and go home. How is the second one worse? it’s not like it’s a high speed pursuit. The cops would have to find you at work or at home whatever.
Well if it was a random assault, I wouldn’t stay there either.
I was just saying you still gotta know the law, etc.
To be honest, I think most fights happen with people you know or have some kind of access to rather than robberies, etc. Places that people will know you like workplace, job, school, university, etc. You’d be surprised the numbers of fights in the workplace for instance.
Well, if that’s the case…just take out their knee so that they can’t follow you…then call the cops. In my experiences, it’s been proven more times than i can count, the person who calls the cops first, get’s in the LEAST amount of trouble!!!
Originally posted by Paul Really, how’s that? I could kick someones ass and wait for the cops, or kick their ass and go home. How is the second one worse? it’s not like it’s a high speed pursuit. The cops would have to find you at work or at home whatever.
You loose credibility by walking away and not being a dutifull citizen and wait for the cops.
Plus, if the Cops find only one Guy there, guess, what his story will be. And what will be written on the Police papers.
If you were attacked why do you go home, and NOT wait for the Cops to lay charges.
When you leave the scene of an incident whether a fight or a shooting you will be percieved as guilty. Its called"flight equals guilt" Just because you break an attackers nose does not mean you will go to jail. There are 4 elements to self defence
ABILITY- Does the person have the ability to hurt or injure you(stick knife gun broken bottle ect)
OPPORTUNITY- Is the person CLOSE enough to you to employ his ability to harm you.
IMMINENT JEOPARDY- Is it happening RIGHT NOW!
PRECLUSION- Have YOU done everything possible including retreating to a safe place to avoid using force.
All four of these things must be present to use self defence.
If you were attacked why do you go home, and NOT wait for the Cops to lay charges.
Because I’ve been there when the cops showed up before and got taken to the cop shop with someone else’s blood all over me held there for hours and screwed with when I was the one who got attacked.
So you go ahead and be the good citizen and see how far it gets you. I’ve learned my lesson.
Varies cop to cop and jurisdiction to jurisdiction
We have a couple of lawyers who train at our school. I was talking to them the other day about this very topic and it comes down to the incrediably vague concept of “expectation of harm.”
What you expect at the time of the conflict in essence dictates as what qualifies is a reasonable and thereby legal response. If you expect that someone is going to kill you, you may legally fight for your life. It is self defense. You may kill your attacker.
The problem is the interpretation of the situation. Will the cops interpret your actions as self defense or murder? If the cops arrest you, will a jury agree with you or the state?
A couple of rules of thumb to minimize your risk of going to jail. Unfortunately, you will limiting your arsenal. Try not to make them bleed. Take a little punishment. Breaking an arm is better than the legs. Do not attack the spine. Unfortunately, no one can predict the future or how others will interpret your actions.
