Not all situations call for kicking an attacker in the groin, blasting him with a flurry of punches, and following up with elbows, knees, eye gouges, and head butts until he’s just a bloody, unconscious mess.
That means your self-defense system needs an “injure to a degree” table that gives you more options. Options should be simple and easy, to help make training efficient and effective.
Many self-defense instructors have their own thoughts on the concept of “injuring to a degree.” But, you need to have this clear in your own mind for both legal and ethical reasons.
Here’s an example of a simple, three-level response table to help you think this through. Using three levels helps keep it simple, while still allowing enough flexibility for a variety of threats.
And each level has an intended goal, with tools that could be used to achieve it. And each level can cover a wide variety of scenarios.
In a Level 3 situation you want to “freeze” an attacker, in order to leave the situation.
Your goal is to inflict moderate pain and create distance. Using an strike (such as a groin kick or toe/shin jab) to immobilize the opponent can give you the time and space to make your exit.
Imagine getting bumped by a 17-year-old, who starts yelling at you and puts up his hands to fight and starts shoving you…
You probably don’t want to beat him into a bloody pulp, just “freeze” him up and leave the situation.
A Level 2 situation is one in which you must defend yourself by inflicting damage and pain using controlled intensity, but not going completely all-out.
Using this option you can apply pressure and pain, turning up the “intensity dial” at will.
The best place to do this is on the ground.
It is easy to control a person down there, in addition to keeping them in close enough to inflict pain if necessary.
Because when “pinning” an opponent to the ground, you can tightly control the amount of pain you dish out (i.e. through punches to the face).
An example where this would be helpful is in a one-on-one bar fight or when a police officer has to defend himself.
Another option in a Level 2 situation is to use joint manipulations or submission holds – either standing or on the ground. This is very useful because most observers will only see the end of the fight.
And you don’t want witnesses to just see a vicious display of head butts and elbows. They may not have seen the thug take a swing at you first and their interpretation might be:
“I turned around and saw this guy smashing the other guy’s face in with elbows.”
So, you have to be intelligent about your response to reduce the chance of being accused of using “excessive force.”
You should train this level as much as possible so you have a wide range of techniques to use to ratchet the intensity up or down…
And so you can keep your emotions in check enough to use them.
In a Level 1 situation, your goal is to put the opponent out of commission. This is life and death and you have to use any means necessary to stay alive.
The attacker could be a rapist, home intruder or someone threatening serious bodily harm to you or a loved one.
Head butts, eye gouges, elbows and even biting are all fair game…
And you shouldn’t hesitate to snap bones or strangle an attacker to unconsciousness or beyond…
Causing severe bodily harm – even death – may be your only means of self-defense
Any of the earlier levels can jump to a Level 1 if an opponent introduces weapons to the fight or if you end up with multiple opponents.
Laws vary from state to state, and country to country. Know the laws where you live before setting your limits for this level.
But remember, when your life is truly on the line, all bets are off. Your goal is to survive.
