[quote]BarneyFife wrote:
Why is self defense suddenly such an interesting topic. fighting is one thing, but if a person is in a self-defense situation, then plan on hospitalizing your opponent. If they draw first blood, fight dirty, fight hard. Dont be afriad to gouge an eye out, and don’t be afraid to strangle them. You have got the right to defend yourself.
Do not use more force then they exert on you. What that means is that if they do not use a weapon, then you can’t but you can still hit em as hard as you like with your hands. If they pull a knife, then you can break a bottle and use it. If they pull out a club, then you can use a crowbar. If they pull a gun, your probably dead, but then you can too.
If you are defending yourself, then do not hold back.
However, if you are an assclown and squirt someone with a water gun, and they beat the hell out of you, and then you paralyze them later on, then every court in the world would side with him.
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Hi Barney,
I agree with your first paragraph completely. I also agree with what you are trying to say in your second paragraph about appropriate levels of force.
But, there is also a lot to be said for “exceeding the threat”. What I mean is that if they pull a weapon and you pull a better weapon, then unless they know they are really good, or just have no care whether they live or die, they will most likely back down. Police officers are taught to do this all the time. If you pull a knife, they pull a gun. If you pull a stick, they pull a gun. If you pull a gun, they will shoot you.
Just because you pull the weapon, doesn’t mean that you have to use it. Intimidation is a powerful tool; rapist, muggers, and bullies use it all the time.
Scrappy,
Yes, I realize that there are some sport oriented schools out there that address “street” effective tactics. My point was not to suggest that sporting types of training aren’t effective for the street. My point was simply to keep the reality of what real combat entails in mind when choosing a good school. If the school trains primarily for competition, but also spends a decent amount of time on “reality based” self defense (postural, verbal, psychological self defense) then that is in my opinion a good school.
Also, as far as the “someone comes into your house, hides in your closet and waits until you fall asleep to kill you” scenario. Actually Sento does address such reality based scenarios. Now am I saying that while you are asleep you will never be vulnerable to attack? No, nor does the system try to convey such a ridiculous mindset.
But, you have to think about what lapses in your awareness would have to be present in order for that scenario to follow through.
First, the person must have gotten into your house somehow. Unless you are a fool and don’t lock your doors/windows, then there must be some sign of forced entry. If there is, they why would you not search every inch of your house for the intruder (most likely armed with a weapon in case you find them). And you would most definetely not go to sleep until you were absolutely, positively certain that the house was clear (you might even double check several times).
As for the possibility of someone getting in while you were asleep. Once again, why wouldn’t you have some sort of burglar alarm to alert you of the intrusion (a dog, an electrical alarm, etc…).
Good training,
Sentoguy