5 reasons why you should know the law on self-defense.

All across the country people are teaching self defence. Some focus heavily on the legal implications while others overlook it completely in favour of a purely physical response.

I believe that in any confrontation there are three separate fights. The pre-fight, the physical fight and the legal fight. We will struggle to win any of them if we do not focus on them all.

So here are my top 5 reasons, they are not exhaustive and you the reader may have more to add which I would be interested to hear.

1, Cultivate your witnesses.

In the land of CCTV and phone cameras, it is always wise to try to build a picture where it is clear you are not the aggressor. Things like your stance, body language and demeanor will help to create a story that you are just defending yourself. Do it right and the fight may never happen at all.

2, Know the law of the land.

Wherever you are in the world it is important to know what you can and can’t do. After all, what is the point of defending your wife and kids one day to spend the next five years in prison leaving them exposed, vulnerable and financially unstable? Some protector you would be then. People have been jailed for taking things to far and just because someone is violent towards you doesn’t mean you can now do what you like. Reasonable, proportionate and necessary.

3, Understand your enemy.

If the person standing in front of you knows he is going straight to prison if caught they are far more likely to resort to serious violence. Your local chav with 53 previous convictions paying £3 a week in fines is going to have a completely different outlook than a family man with 3 kids and a mortgage. Knowledge is power.

4, Black dog and aftermath.

You need to be able to rationalize and justify your actions both to yourself and others. Being able to articulate that you stayed within the law will help you to come to terms with any action taken. Don’t underestimate the power of this as a lot of people after violence will criticise and over analyze the situation, metaphorically beating themselves up over and over for the things they did or didn’t do. Be prepared for it.

5, Self-preservation.

They say it is not the action that gets you hung but the statement you give afterward. There certainly is truth in that as many people have got away with some terrible things by describing it a certain way, others have lost their freedom as they gave a statement that portrayed them badly. All I know for sure is that the explanation of “ I took this action because after doing a dynamic risk assessment I felt under genuine immediate threat but realised that options A B and C would not work so I took option D but then de-escalated force the moment the threat had passed” sounds a lot better than “I hit him cause he was being a twat”.

There are many flavours to self defense and however you teach it please remember that those people have come to you in good faith. Don’t let them down.

Keep training.

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