how much force should you use

[Shadow Skill]

Remember the society we live in. We're not fighting off people who genuinely want to murder us and our family, most of the time we fight. Usually its people who **** us off or we **** them off. Is it worth severely injuring them? What about the legal consequences? The medical bills and financial hardship they could incur?

Yeah, chances are they probably should've thought of that before they got into a fight with you. But you should understand where your opponent is coming from, as well. We're all inconsiderate *******s at one time or another, the only difference is those inconsiderate *******s we mess up, probably don't have the training we do. And as such, we have a responsibility to it as well.

I was reading the timming and striking thread and this made me think. when in a fight how bad do you want to mess someone up should you grapple them and choke them out or should you just let your hands fly.
personaly I'm more of a fan of striking. plus everytime I think of choking someone out I get reminded of my brother who got charged w/ strangulation when someone pulled a gun on him.. whole nether story
do you even have time to consider the options, or does pure reaction and repetitive traing kick in

[iron_leg_dave]

I was reading the timming and striking thread and this made me think. when in a fight how bad do you want to mess someone up should you grapple them and choke them out or should you just let your hands fly.
personaly I'm more of a fan of striking. plus everytime I think of choking someone out I get reminded of my brother who got charged w/ strangulation when someone pulled a gun on him.. whole nether story
do you even have time to consider the options, or does pure reaction and repetitive traing kick in

I train striking everyday. Very seldom do I grapple at all anymore.

I have been in a handful of confrontations as an adult, usually with drugs and/or alcohol involved and they always came down to either chin na or closing the gap quickly and choking to submission except one, but I outweighed him and caught him while he was moving and drove him into a wall. It is usually my voice that ends it and I will reason with someone once they have accepted defeat.

I also was almost beaten once and ended up ending it with a carefully placed punch to the back directly over the heart, which caused him to go limp for a few seconds and then sit up and try to catch his breath before leaving and not coming back.

I use striking as a supplemental tool for real life grappling instead of vice versa, and years of kung fu has yet to change that reality for me. Your instinct is to control, and there is more control once contact is made, then in any kind of standoff.

[iron_leg_dave]

Also, I do longfist, but have never actually used a kick in a real fight as an adult outside of practicing with pads. I've never even thought about kicking in a real fight since I was a child and our fights were full of them... But that was the 80's.

[Scott R. Brown]

According to most laws...you are allowed to use just the same amount of force as is used against you. Unfortunately the advantage then goes to your attacker because you cannot legally end a confrontation by escalating to a higher level of attack than the one used against you.

So for example, if someone pushes you and you break his jaw, legally you are in the wrong and may be held criminally and civilly liable. You may use great bodily injury only when it is attempted against you, but once the opponent submits or becomes unable to defend their self you must stop your attack.

It doesn't seem fair I know, but that is the law in most places!

[Lee Chiang Po]

I wish I could say that I have never initiated a fight, but I have. When I was in my prime I took money to do such things. However, no matter if you do that or if you are strictly self defense, you have to use your head. There is seldom going to be a situation that allows you to simply bust someone up. These times do exist I suppose, but not under most circumstances. You should never kick anyone in the upper body or head. For any reason, unless you have deadly intent. Twice in my life I have seriously regretted my actions. Both incidents led to the lose of life. In one case I was no billed by a grand jury. But in the other case I was billed and charged with involuntary manslaughter. The charges stuck and I was convicted. In the first case I was alone against 2 people, one attacking me from the rear. But in the other case I had control of the situation and took that extra step and delivered a kick to the top of a fellows head. It happened so quickly, and once done I could not take it back. There has never been a day that I did not regret what I did in either case, but I can not take it back.
When you overpower someone, you then become the aggressor. He is now the victim, so you have to then be extremely careful that you do nothing that will give you grief later on.

[iron_leg_dave]

I wish I could say that I have never initiated a fight, but I have. When I was in my prime I took money to do such things. However, no matter if you do that or if you are strictly self defense, you have to use your head. There is seldom going to be a situation that allows you to simply bust someone up. These times do exist I suppose, but not under most circumstances. You should never kick anyone in the upper body or head. For any reason, unless you have deadly intent. Twice in my life I have seriously regretted my actions. Both incidents led to the lose of life. In one case I was no billed by a grand jury. But in the other case I was billed and charged with involuntary manslaughter. The charges stuck and I was convicted. In the first case I was alone against 2 people, one attacking me from the rear. But in the other case I had control of the situation and took that extra step and delivered a kick to the top of a fellows head. It happened so quickly, and once done I could not take it back. There has never been a day that I did not regret what I did in either case, but I can not take it back.
When you overpower someone, you then become the aggressor. He is now the victim, so you have to then be extremely careful that you do nothing that will give you grief later on.

Geezuz... dude, that is some heavy schlitz.

[Shadow Skill]

Geezuz... dude, that is some heavy schlitz.

no kidding,

[SPJ]

I was reading the timming and striking thread and this made me think. when in a fight how bad do you want to mess someone up should you grapple them and choke them out or should you just let your hands fly.
personaly I'm more of a fan of striking. plus everytime I think of choking someone out I get reminded of my brother who got charged w/ strangulation when someone pulled a gun on him.. whole nether story
do you even have time to consider the options, or does pure reaction and repetitive traing kick in

only enough to defend ourself.

we do not take laws into our own hand.

that would be the job of the police and other law enforcement officers.