To what extent would you protect yourself??

[ThuNder_FoOt]

If you were involved in a Life Threatening self-defense situation, to what extent would you protect yourself? Paying respect to all the current laws in cycle, what level of self-preservation would you deem acceptable?

 

[Zoran]

To what ever level of force is necessary to ensure my survival. No more, no less.

 

[Damian Mavis]

Exactly, I think the question should be "to what extent are you WILLING to go?" Me, I'm willing to kill, assuming the situation called for it. Especially if it's not just me I'm protecting but someone like my wife.

Some people are not willing to kill or be killed, they will be killed simple as that. Living under the illusion that your training makes you Bruce Lee and all you have to do is rely on a few simple moves to disarm a knife or gun wielding attacker and you will save the day without hurting anyone too bad is ridiculous. Hopefully most of us will go our whole lives without ever encountering violence to that degree though, but not everyones so lucky.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[Zoran]

Originally posted by Damian Mavis
Me, I'm willing to kill, assuming the situation called for it.

Agreed.

Living under the illusion that your training makes you Bruce Lee and all you have to do is rely on a few simple moves to disarm a knife or gun wielding attacker and you will save the day without hurting anyone too bad is ridiculous.

Yep, too many movies and some instructors that feed their students these false hopes. When you are in such a life threatening position, walking away with your life is a bonus, not a guarantee.

 

[LadyDragon]

If its my life or yours, you'd better believe I'll do what ever necessary to make sure I'm the one who survives. What ever the situation calls for is what I'd do.

Your not going to kill some one over a verbal altercation, but if it escalates and they some how have a weapon, then if dirty tactics is what its going to take for me to live, then thats exactly what I'll employ.

 

[MJS]

What extent would I go to? It depends on the situation. Trying to talk your way out is the best road to take, but sometimes it not an option. I would do what I had to do to protect myself. Would I get my a** kicked? I dont know..maybe/maybe not. I do know that I won't go down without a fight.

Mike

 

[Black Bear]

Can you rephrase the question? There are a lot of dimensions to this. Are you talking about what level of force are we willing to exert, or how badly we are willing to hurt someone, or when we call it quits, or what?

There is no such thing as "level of self-preservation".

 

[rmcrobertson]

Nobody knows for sure what they will do until they are actually in the soup--the real soup, not the macho posturing soup of the majority of fights whose basic reasons haven't changed since childhood ("Oh yeah? Well I DOUBLE-DOG dare YOU!!") That's why professionals and military types generally have the advantage over the rest of us, and even they don't usually know what they'll do in a given situation.

We are taking refuge in our training, in the "automatic," responses we internalize and in the relative calm good training instills. We are relying on not being so shocked as someone who's never been hit.

But none of us know for sure. With any luck, we won't have to find out, either.

 

[Ceicei]

Originally posted by Zoran
To what ever level of force is necessary to ensure my survival. No more, no less.

I have to agree with Zoran. That, too, is my philosophy when it comes to a life-threatening situation.

- Ceicei

 

[someguy]

I couldn't say as i haven't ever been there. Until I am I couldn't say truethfull. I'd perfer it to stay that way.

 

[Chronuss]

"Whatever the attitude, so is the response."

 

[Rich Parsons]

Originally posted by rmcrobertson
Nobody knows for sure what they will do until they are actually in the soup--the real soup, not the macho posturing soup of the majority of fights whose basic reasons haven't changed since childhood ("Oh yeah? Well I DOUBLE-DOG dare YOU!!") That's why professionals and military types generally have the advantage over the rest of us, and even they don't usually know what they'll do in a given situation.

Robert et al,

You skipped I dare you and the Straight Double Dare. At least you did not go right to the triple dog dare.

And Yes, Professionals and Military have the edge base upon training and they will not know until the moment of action.

Originally posted by rmcrobertson

We are taking refuge in our training, in the "automatic," responses we internalize and in the relative calm good training instills. We are relying on not being so shocked as someone who's never been hit.

Being hit can cause delay or lack of reaction. And the automatic response is good to train for and relying upon it all you can do, unless you take premptive action.

Originally posted by rmcrobertson

But none of us know for sure. With any luck, we won't have to find out, either.

Unfortunately, I know from my history that I will do certain things. I have done certain things. And I most likely would do them again. Mind you, knocking someone out and then using the pen from your pocket to pull their tongue out of their throat when a minute or seconds before he was trying to kill me and I was trying to stop him. So, yes, it is not only what you will do to survive, it is how you are trained or even de-sensitised to certain issues or things. Also it will determine how you react after the theat is over.

So, on one hand I agree that none of will know for sure how we will act. Yet, given my previous history, I have the confidence that I will or can act in certain ways.

Just my opinion


:asian:

 

[Ceicei]

Originally posted by Rich Parsons
Unfortunately, I know from my history that I will do certain things. I have done certain things. And I most likely would do them again. Mind you, knocking someone out and then using the pen from your pocket to pull their tongue out of their throat when a minute or seconds before he was trying to kill me and I was trying to stop him.

You did THAT? Well, it's good you know yourself. I hope the attacker thanked you for saving his life...

- Ceicei

 

[Rich Parsons]

Originally posted by Ceicei
You did THAT? Well, it's good you know yourself. I hope the attacker thanked you for saving his life...

- Ceicei

No, he wanted to press charges. I pressed charges also and it went no where. His friends al wanted to pick him up and carry him away, I tried to keep him stable, until the ambulance arrived.

The key thing that helped me was what I said before the conflict and the witnesses confirmed that I was not interested in fighting and asked him to take his hands from me. Etc.

Even though I did do that, I also seconds before dropped him on his head. His head fell about 5 feet to the pavement. I was trying to stop him from seriosu hurting me, and I was doing everything and anything to make sure he did not.

:asian:

 

[ThuNder_FoOt]

Black Bear:

Its apparent that no one will know 100% what will be done in any given situation, but I think everyone can come to "some degree" of an assumption as to what they personally feel is acceptable, in a Life threatening situation. And this was my question.

 

[Black Bear]

My remark had nothing to do with not knowing ahead of time. I literally don't understand the what is being asked in the question. Is it a force continuum question, or what? Because if so, then the answer that would be practically, legally, and ethically sound is, use enough force to end the threat, whatever that is. I dunno, maybe I just don't get it.

 

[MA-Caver]

Originally posted by Rich Parsons
Robert et al,
And Yes, Professionals and Military have the edge base upon training and they will not know until the moment of action.

Being hit can cause delay or lack of reaction. And the automatic response is good to train for and relying upon it all you can do, unless you take premptive action.

Unfortunately, I know from my history that I will do certain things. I have done certain things. And I most likely would do them again. Mind you, knocking someone out and then using the pen from your pocket to pull their tongue out of their throat when a minute or seconds before he was trying to kill me and I was trying to stop him. So, yes, it is not only what you will do to survive, it is how you are trained or even de-sensitised to certain issues or things. Also it will determine how you react after the theat is over.

So, on one hand I agree that none of will know for sure how we will act. Yet, given my previous history, I have the confidence that I will or can act in certain ways.

Just my opinion
:asian:

Exactly ! No one does know what they can or WILL do in any given moment. Train for years and years and act appropriately or freeze up or somewhere in between.
Being WILLING to Kill? Hmm, neat concept. Unless you have already done so it's not as easy as one may think. If you have a concious and not a mean streak/bone in your body then actually doing it and then "feeling" O.K. about it later are two different things. Ask any (military or law-enforcement) veteran about their first confirmed kill. I'll be willing to bet that MOST of them (not all) will say that they felt pretty crappy about it. For military guys doing it over and over again numbs that crappy effect and it becomes "part-of-the-job". But that first one I'll bet you had the most effect in most cases....with some it was the last one. This is from veterans that I've talked to seriously about the subject. Some have chosen to block out the memory for their own reasons.

I've never killed but I've come close several times. I don't know how I would feel once I confirm that an individual is dead by my hand.
Like some of the others here I will go to whatever extent is necessary to protect my life and those around me who are threatened. I do believe in justifiable homicide/self-defense because better them than me.
How I will choose to deal with it afterwards will depend largely upon the circumstances. I still follow the "oath of peace." I pray that I will still be able to follow it when push comes to shove.

:asian:

 

[jukado1]

If the situation called for it would i kill ?, YES, if the situation is that far gone, the attacker is not a normal ? rational person, if the attack is this vicious, it's probably better for me to be attacked then some person who has no training, and no chance to defend them self. if this animal is willing to do this much damage to me they will do the same to anyone else that gets in their way. if i have the chance to stop this animal, and i don't, the blood of their next victim is on my head. someone once asked Bruce Lee if he would feel bad if he hurt or killed someone who attacked him, he said "no,, i didn't hurt them, they hurt themselves." meaning if they didn't put themselves in that situation nothing would have happened to them.

 

[7starmantis]

I dont think I would ever intintionaly kill anyone in any situation. That being said, if I'm in a situation where I truly fear for my life or the life of someone close by, I would use the highest level of force I know. To assume that a lower level of force will do the job is to assume you know the attackers motives, training methods, and pain threshold, which is, in my opinion, a big sometimes fatal mistake. If I'm attacked, I'm going to assume its to kill me, which means I'm going to use not just whatever works, but the highest level of force I know to stop the situation as soon as possible.
See even if the attackers motive is not to kill me, he/she is putting me in a situation that could very well turn to that. Something could happen, one of the attacks could kill me, so to end that threat of death, I will react in the highest force possible until the threat is removed.

then you must stop.

7sm