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Originally Posted by Hardball
I like the way Excessive force say's, If you gonna use force make it Excessive force. LOL
But seriously though, local, state and Federal laws will penalize you if you "go too far" How far is too far? What techniques or scenarios are protected by the law? If you are jumped by 3 drug crazed thugs, can you break one of their necks with that technique that you learned in Judo? I see it all the time, martial artist hurting someone in self defense situations. Is it really survival of the fittest? Is it kill or be killed? What are your duties as a martial artist? How will you be treated by the first responding police? The courts? Anyone ever think about this? Does anyone really care?
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This is essentially the same thing I posted under the "Ambushes" thread but thought I would carry over to here.
Most states allow you to use the amount of force that is necessary to safely escape the situation. Check the laws in your state. Most state laws can now be found online. If the laws are sketchy, check with a lawyer or your local police department. The question becomes exactly how much force do you need to use in order to successfully escape this particular situation? Honestly, only the intended victim can know that for sure and it will be based on the totality of circumstances. Example: if I strike the assailant once and he he turns to run away, obviously I can not chase him down to continue hitting him. At the point the assailant stops his assault to run he has ceased his attack. If we continue to chase him we have now become the attacker and can easily find ourselves being taken to jail. However, if we strike the assailant and it has no effect we may be forced to continue striking until the threat ceases or until we get a clear path of escape. In any case, if you can prove that you didn't have any other choice but to use physical force to escape the situation you will likely be OK. In order to successfully prove this in court you must demonstrate some knowledge of the laws as well as show an understanding of the reasonable person standard. It's also a good idea to know when lethal force is justified. Basically, you just apply the AOJ concept (ability, opportunity, and jeopardy). A= Did the assailant have the ability to severely injure or kill you? In other words was he big or strong? Did he have a weapon? Was there more than one assailant? O= Did the assailant have the opportunity to severely injure or kill you? In other words was he close enough to attack? If he had a weapon, is he in range to use that weapon? Lastly, J= Did the assailant demonstrate an intent to cause you severe injury or death? Did you make a threat on your life? Did he make a physical gesture of killing you?
If you can answer yes to all of those questions than physical force is completely justified.
On a side note: I always tell my students that they should never let their fear of the law keep them from saving their own life or the life of a loved one. In other words if they fear for their life they should do whatever is necessary to safely escape the situation. While it is true that in some cases the laws have been turned on the intended victims. However, as the old saying goes "better to be tried by twelve than carried by six". In other words I would prefer to be alive and face the consequences.
Steve Zorn, ICPS