If it were only that easy eh?
Self-defense is meeting a threat with just enough action to neutralize that threat. If you have eliminated that threat, you are no longer defending yourself, but you have become the agressor, subject to societies judgements. So it all depends on your perspective and those of the trial lawyers.
The old saying 'It's better to be judged by twelve than to be carried by six' is quoted by people who've never faced capital charges in a courtroom.
I like the thought of a fight being on a neutral ground. But when is that ever the case? Rare is it that people will fight unless they have a degree of confidence that they will 'win'.
I have asked similar questions on this and other forums. The best answer I heard goes something like this: It's a fight, right up until you don't want to fight any more.
I train to learn the techniques, the applications and combinations of those techniques, and the mindset I will use in the deployment of those techniques. Whether I am 'fighting' or 'defending myself' I use the same techniques.
In a fight I will just try to get the other guy to lose face by giving up or not being able to continue. If you think about it, isolated without a crowd of peers, would you really be fighting someone? Aren't you just trying to save your rep or prove your point? I've been forced to deal with people I would just as soon beat the crap out of. But without other people around, I don't need to save face, therefore I don't need to 'fight'. It's simply easier to avoid or attempt to get along.
If I am defending myself, it has nothing to do with who is watching or trying to prove a point. It's about pure self-preservation and destruction. It's easier (and usually more beneficial) to escape than to obstruct. So all those fancy chopsaki moves I know give way to Nike Power. Still, if I do use techniques, I will use them for maximum effect and destruction.
If I fight with my friends drunken buddy, odds are I am not going to gouge eyes, bite, break joints, or stab sharp things in to make him bleed. But if I was faced with someone trying to steal my anal cherry, you bet I'd do all that and more....
I don't know if this makes any sense, but here it is.
SZ
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