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Adequate or Excessive force for self - defense


Self defense laws vary from country to country. Sometimes even within the same country, the self defense laws vary from state to state. We should always find out the self defense law and it's statutes, where we reside.

Usually there are factors or requirements that are common virtually in all the countries regarding self defense. First of all there should be a justified and clear case of one's life being in danger and hence one responded to protect oneself or their loved ones. Second common factor is about how much force is used. Was the use of force justified or not. 

Often people get carried away in a fight and their emotions get the better of them. This results in one keeping on hitting their attacker even after the attacker is no longer a threat. We need to learn to not let our emotions get the better of us. When sparring in training work on keeping your emotions in check, don't go berserk with emotions just because your sparring partner hit you hard. 

In self defense it is very important from the legal point of view. If we are defending ourself then anything beyond the point where the attacker is no longer a threat can result in a case of assault filed against you. 

If a man is only verbally abusing you etc and you hit him, then that is not called self - defense. If a person is just pushing you or trying to hit you and you remove your licensed gun and shoot him, then that is excessive force. Similarly if someone hits you and you hit back and the attacker has fallen down or is in no condition to still fight back, yet if you keep hitting him out of rage , then this is also called excessive force. 

A physical response that immobilizes the attacker and does not cause him any more harm after he is no longer a threat is called adequate force. 

Anything beyond adequate force becomes a grey area legally. So when you train, just don't work on your strikes, combinations etc but also work on being able to decide how much to strike back, how much power to use,  when to stop, how to detach emotionally from the scenario.

After all self - defense is not a brawl or a fight to the end. It is what we do to defend ourselves and protect our loved ones if attacked by someone violently. So defend yourself as swiftly and appropriately as possible and step away. Let the law enforcement agencies take over and do the due process of law. 

Train like a warrior to be a warrior!!!




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