Threat or Opponent

I decided that it might be more generic if my posts regarding my limited knowledge and experience of Violence and SD were such it would apply to anything ergo the use of "threat vs. opponent."

An opponent can be sportive or a real violent person. Yet a threat in SD is one that wants some form of harm to come to you quickly, unexpectedly, and with out the ability to return the violence thus making you, the victim, the threat to the threat.

This may seem ridiculous yet in SD vs. Sport MA it might mean a clear division in the mind of the MA as the train and practice thus making them aware of the differences and hopefully that difference being properly and efficiently applied be it either competition or combat.

Lets just say when you encounter a threat, be it a crazy driver on the road; an earthquake; a ripe tide; or Indians surrounding your space, a threat can be anything or anyone that presents the possibility of harm to you - it is a threat but not necessarily an opponent.

Yes, SD mostly involves some violent person, an opponent, yet to me opponents must remain in the realm of competition/sport while a threat is a predator, an attacker, a psychopath/sociopath, or any other harmful event. SD can achieve greater spread in avoidance and protection if we move toward the type of verbiage that is "more relevant" to SD with little or no possible perception it is an other.

An opponent = sport competitor determined to win the contest.
An attacker = a violent person intent on doing harm or removing some asset you have.
A threat = a person or event that may or may not harm you or do harm to you.
A predator = a person with the intent to do damage, period.
Damage = the aftereffects of some threat that reaches its goal be it physical, psychological, or legal with one, two, or all three.
Contest = an action between two consenting persons with the gaol of achieving a "win status."

You can see where I am trying to go and the why of it. I feel "clarity and differentiation" are important if one practices SD or SD-with-MA.