Fight vs. Defend

Caveat: Please make note that this article/post is my personal analysis of the subject and the information used was chosen or picked by me. It is not an analysis piece because it lacks complete and comprehensive research, it was not adequately and completely investigated and it is not balanced, i.e., it is my personal view without the views of others including subject experts, etc. Look at this as “Infotainment rather then expert research.” This is an opinion/editorial article/post meant to persuade the reader to think, decide and accept or reject my premise. It is an attempt to cause change or reinforce attitudes, beliefs and values as they apply to martial arts and/or self-defense. It is merely a commentary on the subject in the particular article presented.

This article is mine and mine alone. I the author of this article assure you, the reader, that any of the opinions expressed here are my own and are a result of the way in which my meandering mind interprets a particular situation and/or concept. The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of other martial arts and/or conflict/violence professionals or authors of source materials. It should be quite obvious that the sources I used herein have not approved, endorsed, embraced, friended, liked, tweeted or authorized this article. (Everything I think and write is true, within the limits of my knowledge and understanding. Oh, and just because I wrote it and just because it sounds reasonable and just because it makes sense, does not mean it is true.) 

Fight or Fighting: take part in a violent struggle involving the exchange of physical blows or the use of weapons; engage in (a war or battle); quarrel or argue; take part in a boxing match against (an opponent); move forward with difficulty, especially by pushing through a crowd or overcoming physical obstacles; command, manage, or maneuver (troops, a ship, or military equipment) in battle; a purposeful violent conflict intended to establish dominance over the opposition.

Fight (legal term): An encounter, with blows or other personal violence, between two persons. See State v. Gladden, 73 N. C. 155; Carpenter v. People, 31 Colo. 2S4, 72 Pac. 1072;Coles v. New York Casualty Co., 87 App. Div. 41. 83 N. Y. Supp. 1003.

Defense or Defend or Self-Defense: the action of defending from or resisting attack; military measures or resources for protecting a country; a means of protecting something from attack; fortifications or barriers against attack; (in sports) the action or role of defending one's goal against the opposition AND resist an attack made on (someone or something); protect from harm or danger; (in sports) protect one's goal rather than attempt to score against one's opponents. AND the defense of one's person or interests, especially through the use of physical force, which is permitted in certain cases as an answer to a charge of violent crime; The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger. 

Self-Defense (legal term): The legal defense of self-defense in California law means that you can't be found guilty of a violent crime that you committed in order to protect yourself, as long as your conduct was reasonable under the circumstances. For purposes of the self-defense legal defense, “Reasonable under the circumstances” means that you need to have: Reasonably believed that you were in imminent danger of being killed, injured, or touched unlawfully, Reasonably believed that you needed to use force to prevent that from happening, and Used no more force than was necessary to prevent that from happening. Self-defense can be a useful legal defense to a number of California crimes, including: Murder, Assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery, and battery on a peace officer. 

I want to note that this is a terse rendering of the terms for the sake of brevity for this article and that in the last term California goes on to define the legal definition such as, “Imminent danger of being killed, seriously injured, or unlawfully touched with a reasonable belief in threat and a reasonable response. It also includes a “Stand Your Ground” law and Self-Defense and Special Situations, i.e., defense of others/defense of property; self-defense and third parties; self-defense and the initial aggressor; and imperfect self-defense. Also add in Self-Defense applied to specific crimes, i.e., battery, battery on a peace office, resisting arrest, robbery, rape, murder and burglary. There is more and they differ in each local such as states, counties, cities, etc. so it is critical to find those laws long before you encounter a need for self-defense.

Take a look again to the definitions provided and it becomes apparent that the chasm between fighting and defense/self-defense is wide and filled full of obstacles, obstructions and grave dangers. As Marc MacYoung, Rory Miller and many other professionals state pretty clearly, self-defense is a complicated and dangerous field to walk and without the full skinny on the subject you will encounter many potholes, roots, and other obstacles that will trip you up and land you on your ass or even kill you - something to consider in your self-defense training and practice. 

Fighting, to my mind, is a mutual combative situation where both parties exchange blows, etc., to win. Defense or Self-defense is when one of you attacks the other without that mutual implied agreement and the actions of the defender is about avoidance, deescalation and survival. There is no intent to win or lose but to stop the threat and gain safety and security from that treat and the damage they are trying to inflict or inflicting. This is simplistic and will go into a greater detail especially when you face the first responders and all the repercussions of either fighting or self-defense. 

Those professionals mentioned and listed for reference below have written many books explaining how all this works and that is not a legal rendition but simply their teachings. The legal aspects require you find a good self-defense attorney and have them explain how the law will work if you need to deploy your self-defense skills. 

Just Sayin!

Primary Bibliography of Self-Defense (Some titles have RBC drills included):
MacYoung, Marc. "In the Name of Self-Defense: What It Costs. When It’s Worth It." Marc MacYoung. 2014.
Miller, Rory Sgt. "Meditations of Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence" YMAA Publishing. 2008.

Bibliography Articles on Self-Defense/Conflict/Violence

The main page leading to the articles I have chosen as a starting point to attain knowledge of conflict, violence and self-defense is: http://ymaa.com/articles/society-and-self-defense where you can navigate to the below or you can simply find a title below and click for direct access to the articles. Most of these are actually introductions to the references written by the authors themselves. It is advisable to start here then move on to the more in-depth stuff in their publications. This section will get you a beginning understanding necessary in phase one of learning self-defense. 

I.M.O.P. Principle—Intent, Means, Opportunity and Preclusion http://ymaa.com/articles/2014/10/imop-principle-intent-means-opportunity-and-preclusion
Introduction to Violence: Scale of Force Options http://ymaa.com/articles/introduction-to-violence-scale-of-force-options
Facing Violence: The Unconscious Stuff-Finding Your Glitches http://ymaa.com/articles/facing-violence-the-unconscious-stuff
Violence: What Everyone Needs to Know About Fighting http://ymaa.com/articles/violence-what-everyone-needs-to-know-about-fighting

Secondary Bibliography of Self-Defense (Some titles have RBC drills included):
Ayoob, Massad. “Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self-Defense”Gun Digest Books. Krouse Publications. Wisconsin. 2014.
Branca, Andrew F. “The Law of Self Defense: The Indispensable Guide to the Armed Citizen.” Law of Self Defense LLC. 2013.
Goleman, Daniel. "Emotional Intelligence: 10th Anniversary Edition [Kindle Edition]." Bantam. January 11, 2012.
Miller, Rory. "ConCom: Conflict Communications A New Paradigm in Conscious Communication." Amazon Digital Services, Inc. 2014. 
Miller, Rory and Kane, Lawrence A. "Scaling Force: Dynamic Decision-making under Threat of Violence." YMAA Publisher. New Hampshire. 2012
Miller, Rory. "Force Decisions: A Citizen's Guide." YMAA Publications. NH. 2012.
Miller, Rory Sgt. "Facing Violence: Preparing for the Unexpected." YMAA Publishing. 2011.
Miller, Rory. “The Practical Problem of Teaching Self-Defense.” YMAA. January 19, 2015. http://ymaa.com/articles/2015/1/the-practical-problem-of-teaching-self-defense
Elgin, Suzette Haden, Ph.D. "More on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense." Prentice Hall. New Jersey. 1983.
Elgin, Suzette. "The Last Word on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense" Barnes & Noble. 1995
Morris, Desmond. “Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behavior.” Harry N. Abrams. April 1979.
MacYoung, Marc. “Writing Violence #1: Getting Shot.” NNSD. Amazon Digital. 2014.
MacYoung, Marc. “Writing Violence #2: Getting Stabbed.”  NNSD. Amazon Digital. 2015.
MacYoung, Marc. “Writing Violence #3: Getting Hit and Hitting.” Amazon Digital Services, inc. NNSD. April 20. 2015. 
Elgin, Suzette. "The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense" Barnes & Noble. 1993.
Elgin, Suzette. "The Gentle Art of Written Self-Defense" MJF Books. 1997.
Maffetone, Philip Dr. “The Maffetone Method: The Holistic, Low-stress, No-Pain Way to Exceptional Fitness.” McGraw Hill, New York. 2000
Strong, Sanford. “Strong on Defense_ Survival Rules to Protect you and your Family from Crime.” Pocket Books. New York. 1996.
and more … see blog bibliography.
Jahn, C. R. “FTW Self Defense.” iUniverse. Amazon Digital Services. 2012
Jahn, C. R. “Hardcore Self Defense.” iUniverse. Amazon Digital Services. 2002.

Bibliography of RBC Drills (Some titles have RBC drills included):
MacYoung, Marc. "In the Name of Self-Defense: What It Costs. When It’s Worth It." Marc MacYoung. 2014.
MacYoung, Marc (Animal). “Taking It to the Street: Making Your Martial Art Street Effective.” Paladin Press. Boulder, Colorado. 1999.
MacYoung, Marc. "A Professional's Guide to Ending Violence Quickly: How Bouncers, Bodyguards, and Other Security Professionals Handle Ugly Situations." Paladin Press. Boulder, Colorado. 1996.
Miller, Rory. “Drills: Training for the Sudden Violence.” Amazon Digital Services, inc. Smashwords. 2011.
Quinn, Peyton. “Real Fighting: Adrenaline Stress Conditioning Through Scenario-Based Training.” Paladin Press. Amazon Digital Services, inc. 1996

My Blog Bibliography
Cornered Cat (Scratching Post): http://www.corneredcat.com/scratching-post/
Kodokan Boston: http://kodokanboston.org
Mario McKenna (Kowakan): http://www.kowakan.com
Wim Demeere’s Blog: http://www.wimsblog.com
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