Unarmed Combat - Martin J Dougherty - E-Book

Unarmed Combat E-Book

Martin J Dougherty

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Beschreibung

With the aid of superb line artworks, Unarmed Combat demonstrates to the reader how special forces soldiers are taught to excel in hand-to-hand fighting: how they maximise bodyweight, and the use of various strikes, throws, locks and constrictions to defeat opponents. It explains how different martial arts have been combined by military units to create hand-to-hand combat systems for defence against multiple assailants, for fighting on the ground, for dealing with edged and impact weapons, what works against attackers with firearms and – more importantly – what doesn’t. With tips and techniques from Unarmed Combat experts, the book is divided into two main sections. The first covers the mental preparation needed to be ready to defend yourself. The second covers the physical techniques needed to defend yourself, and if necessary, strike back to temporarily incapacitate your attacker and escape. With more than 300 easy-to-follow artworks and handy pull-out lists of key information, Unarmed Combat is the definitive guide for anyone wanting to be ready for anything - it could save your life.

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UNARMED COMBAT

SAS and Elite Forces Guide

MARTIN J. DOUGHERTY

This digital edition first published in 2011

Published by

Amber Books Ltd

United House

North Road

London N7 9DP

United Kingdom

Website: www.amberbooks.co.uk

Instagram: amberbooksltd

Facebook: amberbooks

Twitter: @amberbooks

Copyright © 2011 Amber Books Ltd

ISBN: 978 190 869604 5

ILLUSTRATIONS

Tony Randell

All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the author or publisher, who also disclaim any liability incurred in connection with the use of this data or specific details.

www.amberbooks.co.uk

Contents

Introduction

PREPARATION

1. The Threat

2. Win Without Fighting

3. Training to Win

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

4. The Basics

5. Unarmed Combat Training

6. Your Body’s Weapons

7. Striking and Grappling Methods

8. Locks, Controls and Chokes

IN ACTION

9. Tactics

10. Defeating Unarmed Attacks

11. Defeating Hand-Held Weapon Attacks

12. Defeating Firearm Threats

13. Fighting on the Ground

14. Fighting Under Adverse Conditions

Final Notes

Index

Other titles in this series:

SAS and Elite Forces Guide: Crisis Survival

SAS and Elite Forces Guide: Military Survival

Survival Techniques

Website: www.amberbooks.co.uk

Appstore: itunes.com/apps/amberbooksltd

Facebook: www.facebook.com/amberbooks/

Twitter: @amberbooks

INTRODUCTION

Special forces are renowned for getting the job done fast and efficiently. This often requires the sudden and overwhelming application of violence, giving the enemy no chance to respond. The same tactics are used in special forces unarmed combat systems, which emphasize quick, simple and deadly responses to whatever threat may present itself.

Special forces soldiers are normally armed when carrying out their missions, enabling them to deal with opposition quickly and effectively. However, some circumstances require a more personal approach to combat. Weapons can jam or be dropped, sentries must be eliminated quietly, or a disarmed soldier may need to escape from his captors.

If a special forces soldier has to resort to unarmed combat, something has usually gone wrong. His personal weapon, sidearm, knife, grenades, entrenching tool and various heavy objects among his kit that could be used as improvised weapons are all either inaccessible or else he has been caught unprepared. In such a situation, the most useful tools in the soldier’s armoury are his aggression, self-confidence and will to win. These are the weapons he carries with him everywhere.

Most of us will never be required to search a building for terrorists or to rescue hostages from gunmen, but ordinary people do find themselves in danger. The circumstances may be less extreme, but the threat is no less real. An effective response can literally save your life.

Assault team

This heavily armed special forces team carries a range of weaponry, but none of it is any use unless directed with skill, courage and determination.

Special Forces Combat Techniques

Most people do not have the time to undertake lengthy combat training and to find out what works and what does not. Fortunately, the techniques employed by special forces troops have been pressure-tested under the most difficult conditions possible. If a technique works for a wounded soldier outnumbered four to one by armed men, in the dark and in the midst of a gunfight … it will work anywhere.

There are no real ‘secret combat techniques’ used by special forces troops. What there is, is a tried and tested body of technique which is both simple and deadly, coupled with determination to survive and win.

Special forces in action

Sudden assaults from an unexpected direction are the hallmark of special forces operations. Once the attack begins, relentless aggressive action overcomes all resistance.

Chin jab

The upward palm shot to the jaw, or ‘chin jab’, was taught to World War II commandos. It is an extremely effective strike producing a fast knockout.

1

‘Know your enemy’ is a profound military maxim. It also applies to self-defence.

The Threat

A key element in military planning is to make an assessment of the threat likely to be faced. This permits the correct equipment to be issued and a suitable plan to be put in place. For example, a team assaulting an oil rig seized by gunmen would not expect to encounter armoured vehicles and can probably dispense with antitank weapons. Combat will likely be at close quarters where sub-machine guns and shotguns are more useful than sniper rifles. No special forces team would ever be committed without at least some understanding of the threat to be faced.

The same philosophy applies to self-defence. In order to defend yourself effectively you need to understand the nature of the threat as it really is, rather than relying on an impression gained from movies and headlines. What sort of threat are you likely to face? What will an aggressor actually try to do? What are the odds of being faced with a weapon or a gang?

FALSE IMPRESSIONS

It may seem from a cursory look at the news that the streets are a battleground, a deadly arena of fists, guns and knives. In fact armed attacks are not at all common, though they are serious enough to merit attention when they do happen. Lesser levels of violent assault are more frequent, but even these are not as likely as many people think.

Extreme threats

Generally it is better to surrender property than to tackle weapons, but if you think you are going to be harmed anyway, fighting is your only option.

Be aware!

Most robberies and many assaults are opportunistic. Distractions such as phones and music can make you vulnerable

The perception of constant street violence derives mainly from the fact that it gets reported while its absence does not. Headlines like ‘nobody got stabbed today’ would not sell a lot of newspapers, so we are told about incidents that do happen and never hear about the millions of people who go about their business unharmed. To illustrate that, look at this page. The words stand out but there is a lot more white space between and around them. You do not notice it because it is not brought to your attention. So it is with violence – a lot more people do not encounter violence than do. That said, if it happens to you then it does not matter how uncommon it is.

THE LIKELY THREAT

As a rule, civilians are most likely to face an unarmed threat. This does not mean the level of threat is trivial – anyone is capable of killing with their bare hands if they try hard enough, and being kicked while helpless on the ground can result in death or permanent injury. Attacks with weapons are less common. When they do occur they tend to involve small, easily carried and concealed weapons, such as knives, or items that can be quickly picked up and used, such as glasses and bottles.

Blunt-instrument attacks are generally more premeditated, as the weapon has to be carried openly if it is large enough to be any use. Other weapons such as chains and samurai swords are quite rare. As to firearms, in Britain at least attacks are still relatively rare.

There are two likely forms an attack might take. The first is a sudden assault with no warning. This is almost always premeditated, and the aggressor might use deception or stealth to get close enough to attack. The other sort of assault gives you more warning, but there are other problems associated with it. This is an escalating confrontation that becomes violent.

Surprise Attack

Surprise attacks are very hard to deal with. Not just because you can be taken out by the first blow, but also because psychologically it is very hard to get into a combative mindset while you are shocked and hurt. Military training teaches troops to switch on their aggression instantly, and good self-defence training does too. In both cases the aggression is controlled and directed; there is no point in firing or flailing wildly.

However, it is better not to be caught by surprise if at all possible. Stealthy attackers can be somewhat countered by:

•  Staying in lit areas.

•  Not walking close by blind spots such as corners.

•  Not allowing yourself to be distracted by music or your phone.

Deceptive attackers often use distraction techniques such as asking you the time or for cigarettes. This allows them to get close enough to launch their attack without warning. If at all possible, you should not allow anyone you do not trust within arm’s reach.

Knife threat

Any armed threat is extremely serious. It may be better to surrender property than to tackle a weapon, but be aware that some attackers will hurt you even after being given what they want.

Confrontation

Confrontations erupt over all kinds of things, especially where alcohol is involved. Most do not lead to violence, and of those that do, many could have been prevented. The key is to remain calm and not allow yourself to be drawn into an escalating confrontation, and never to allow anyone to get close to you while they are in an aggressive, confrontational state.

The usual pattern for a confrontation is for it to begin with an exchange of words which become more abusive, aggressive and threatening. This is often accompanied by arm-waving and ‘posturing’, along with violence against objects. An individual who mouths off, inviting you to ‘come here if you think you’re hard enough’ while remaining out of reach or backing away generally does not want to fight. Unless you say something that pricks his ego enough that he just has to attack you, he will normally satisfy himself with a barrage of insults and go off to tell his mates he won. That is not very pleasant but it is a better outcome than a fight.

Escalation

Sometimes, but not always, a confrontation escalates. Someone who starts getting closer and pushing or grabbing you is a very serious threat. He will probably keep on escalating the situation until something makes him stop – something you do or perhaps an outside intervention – or until he gets what he wants. You might be lucky; he might just want to rag you about a bit to show how tough he is. But you cannot predict how much violence he wants to do to you, so hoping for the best is not a great strategy.

Some confrontations go straight to blows of course. There is no set pattern that must be observed. Likewise, the assailant may be satisfied with hitting you a couple of times, but equally he might be willing to stamp on your head while you are helpless on the ground. Bystanders might also join in – it can and does happen. The point is that once a confrontation becomes physical you have no way to know how bad it is going to get, and the outcome of even an unarmed attack can be life-changing or even life-ending.

Wrist grab

Wrist grabs are normally a factor in domestic situations or arguments rather than full-blown fights. All the same, you must yank yourself free immediately in case the aggressor decides to follow up with a blow.

Open hand threat

Posturing with splayed hands is a classic sign of aggression. The woman cannot say for sure whether the man is about to become violent. She has adopted a ‘fence’ posture to keep him at a distance.

Real Fights

Whilst almost anything can happen in a fight, an analysis of vast numbers of altercations shows that the same things tend to come out over and over again, whilst others rarely happen at all. Most situations involve at least some ‘posturing’ and threats, which we term the open-hand threat. Once matters get past this stage, physical violence ensues.

By far the most common gambit in a street fight is the big swinging punch with the strong hand. Over 80 per cent of injuries resulting from street violence are caused by blows to the head. Grabbing and wrestling are also common. Real fights never look like a Kung-Fu movie; they are a desperate blur of aggression and brutality. You must be prepared for this reality if you want to survive.

TIP: STREET FIGHT FACTS

• Most aggressors will simply wade forward swinging, and grab once they get close enough. Even people with some training are prone to behave like this under the stress of combat.

• Complex strategies are uncommon and do not work very well. Fights are not chess games where moves and subtle countermoves are played out. Simple movements performed with confidence and aggression work best.

• Distance tends to decrease rapidly. It is instinctive to close with an opponent, so unless there is a conscious decision to keep the range open, e.g. to use superior boxing skills, most fights close in fast, at which point grabbing and grappling takes place.

• Going to the ground is common in fights that go on for any length of time, often because the combatants simply fall over something or each other. However, by the time most fights reach the ground someone is winning and what happens on the ground is often a beating rather than a fight. It is relatively rare for a fight to go to the ground while both combatants still have a decent chance to win.

Facing Aggression

Fortunately, most of the people who start fights are not very skilled. They rely mainly on picking fights with people they think they can beat (or restricting themselves to posturing and threats if they are not sure) and using sheer aggression to defeat their victim. This can work very well, since most ordinary people are unused to raw aggression.

Aggressive body language

We recognize aggressive body language instinctively. Snarling, shouting, ‘pecking’ the head forward and so forth are all part of ‘posturing’ intended to cause fear and intimidation.

As a result, most ‘fights’ are not really fights at all. What they are, is someone picking a victim, establishing dominance by posturing and threats, and then unloading a barrage of blows once they are sure the fight can be won. More than anything else, good training must teach the student to overcome their fear and react intelligently and effectively. Without this, you are beaten before the fight has started.

MARTIAL ARTS VS UNARMED COMBAT AND SELF-DEFENCE

There is a difference between unarmed combat and self-defence. Unarmed combat is all about killing or incapacitating an opponent as quickly as possible. For a soldier on a mission, that is exactly what is needed. However, for civilians there are other considerations, most notably laws governing the use of force against other people. There are circumstances when a civilian is entitled to injure or even kill a person, but in order to avoid legal trouble the use of force must be appropriate to the circumstances. Thus, while unarmed combat skills can be used for self-defence, not all unarmed combat is self-defence as such.

TIP: COMMON ATTACKS

• Big swinging punches are the commonest attack by far. Usually the first attack comes from the strong hand – the right in most people.

• Jabs and other lead-hand punches are very uncommon. An aggressor might swing right-left-right, but is very unlikely to open with a lead-hand shot.

• Kicks are normally used against downed opponents but are occasionally directed at the legs and lower body. High kicks, and any sort of trained martial arts kicks, are very rare in real fights.

• Knee strikes sometimes follow a grab. This is an instinctive movement and is thus fairly common where a fight has become a wrestling match.

• One-handed grabs are common. The usual pattern is to grab clothing with the weak hand and hit with the strong one. Grabs with the strong hand are normally used to exert dominance in domestic violence situations. They are not common in fights.

• Two-handed grabs may be used to exert dominance or to set up for a headbutt.

Idiotically high kicks

This sort of thing is incredibly rare in the real world, for the very good reason that it does not work. Kick low if you kick at all.

Any responsible instructor will ensure that his students understand the relevant law governing self-defence, just as military instructors ensure that troops understand when it is acceptable to use their weapons or unarmed combat skills, and when it is not.

Martial Arts

A great variety of martial arts and self-defence training is available for anyone who cares to look. However, care should be taken when selecting a class. Almost any martial arts instructor will say that their art is excellent for self-defence, and in some cases they are correct. However, most martial arts contain a large amount of material that is not really useful to someone looking for pure self-defence. Some teach ‘self-defence’ techniques that simply will not work and might get the user killed or seriously injured.

The commonest reason for this deficiency is lack of knowledge. Most martial arts practitioners train against other martial arts people, usually from the same system. They get to be very good at dealing with their own style. It should also be noted that many martial arts teach defences specific to their own system. For example, Karate blocks are great for dealing with Karate attacks, but not so good against wild hooking blows thrown by the typical ‘street’ aggressor.

Martial Arts and Sports for Self-Defence

•  Boxing – Some of the best striking skills you can get, also stance, footwork and strike defences. Sparring to build skills and fighting spirit.

•  Brazilian Ju-Jitsu – Teaches mainly groundfighting skills. Excellent for ‘positional’ skills, i.e. learning to get an assailant off you. Also joint locks, chokes and strangles.

•  Kickboxing – Similar to boxing but also with kicks. Note that many kickboxing kicks are not really suitable for self-defence.

•  Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) – Teaches all-round fighting skills. Also excellent for fitness and conditioning.

•  Judo – Probably the best ‘standup’ grappling training available. Teaches throws and takedowns, and how to avoid being taken to the ground. Also some groundfighting and an excellent fitness workout.

•  Ju-Jitsu – Teaches all-round fighting with kicks, strikes and grappling skills including groundwork.

•  Muay Thai, or Thai Boxing – Probably the best striking art of all, with some grappling and clinching skills too.

Just because an art is not listed here does not mean it is worthless for self-defence. These arts were chosen because they are widely available and tend to be the same wherever the class is found. Quality can of course vary from class to class.

Close-in grappling

Many fights become a close-quarters wrestling match. A martial art that does not prepare you for this is not a good choice for self-defence.

Self-Defence Training

There are plenty of self-defence courses on offer, but they can vary considerably. Some are simply ‘applied martial arts’, offering what amounts to a watered-down martial arts syllabus which in come cases can be entirely divorced from reality. Others are decent enough in some areas but do not deal with a wide enough spectrum of threats. Examples include courses on ‘breakaway techniques’ which are designed to release the user from a grab. So far so good, but the range of threats is much wider than that.

TIP: SPECIALIZED MARTIAL ARTS

If you decide to learn a martial art, keep in mind what it is intended for.

As an example, Taekwondo is a striking-only art with rules against certain strikes. Taekwondo fighters often become very good at fighting one another in a formal sparring match, but can develop ‘blind spots’ regarding many of the things that are not permitted in their competition rules. This does not make Taekwondo bad. Far from it – it is an excellent sport for building fighting spirit, developing balance and fitness, and learning some powerful kicks. What it is not is a complete self-defence system.

Similarly, Judo teaches awesome grappling skills, is excellent for fitness, and allows players to develop a deep understanding of how to keep their footing while sending others crashing to the floor. But it does not teach how to deal with strikes, because these are not allowed in a Judo match.

Good self-defence training teaches students to deal with all of the likely threats, and concentrates on a small number of highly flexible skills rather than enormous numbers of specialized and complex techniques. It also includes as much realism as is practicable, simulating the stress and fear of an assault. In the military, battlefield skills are practised under conditions that are as realistic as possible, so that troops do not panic under stress and forget their training. Good self-defence trainers have learned this lesson and adopted the concept, if not the exact same methods.

Going Your Own Way

If it is not possible to find a self-defence instructor who can provide suitable all-round training, it is possible to find the necessary components from what is on offer and essentially build yourself a set of skills. For example, a boxing or kickboxing class will teach good striking skills plus sparring and fitness work while Judo or Ju-Jitsu will provide excellent grappling skills. This is not an ideal solution as it does mean taking part in activities that are not all that relevant to self-defence, but some of those activities are good fun and/or useful for fitness, so the time is not entirely wasted.

It is also possible to obtain some training equipment and do some work with a friend. Care is necessary here – formal classes have insurance in place and qualified instructors to ensure that risks are kept to a minimum. It is better to find a class if at all possible, backing this up with some fitness training or relatively low-risk activities such as bag work or striking focus pads.

Deflecting a grab

The aggressor’s attempt to grab has been knocked aside, but this has not ended the situation. What’s to stop them trying again?

TIP: EVALUATE WHAT YOU ARE TAUGHT

It is worth evaluating what is on offer in the light of the information in this book. Different answers to the same threat may be equally valid … but they may not. The techniques in this book have been pressure-tested in real combat against someone trying to cause injury or even death.

Others may not have.

In particular, practising choking and strangling techniques without proper supervision is not a good idea at all.

Finding a Good Class

It is hard to say exactly what makes a good self-defence or martial arts class. However, there are certain warning signs that can help you avoid wasting your time in a poor one. You can still get a lot out of a class that exhibits some or all of these traits, but generally speaking the quality of self-defence training suffers when these things happen:

•  Air-punching – You cannot learn to deliver force with a strike without hitting something. Good training involves hitting focus pads, punchbags or other resilient objects.

•  Overcomplication – Complicated techniques simply do not work under pressure. Good training emphasizes simple, reliable tools that work under a range of circumstances.

•  Excessive ‘martial-artyness’ – Long lectures about ‘samurai spirit’ and philosophy, excessive time spent bowing and performing obscure rituals. Good training is simple and to the point.

•  Wild claims and secret techniques – Elite Ninja Death-Touch techniques do not exist. A class that promises to reveal unknowable secrets of the elders after years of training is probably just trying to retain members for financial reasons. Effective techniques are simple and quite mundane.

•  Excessively formal, neat and tidy techniques – Good training looks a bit scruffy because students are pushing their limits and responding to a range of threats rather than simply working through neat set-pieces.

•  Too many grades – Some martial arts have a great many belts and grades, often as a way to generate revenue. Not only is this expensive but it usually results in vast numbers of techniques being taught, many of which are of dubious usefulness at best.

Working a bag

A wildly swinging bag may impress ignorant onlookers, but a good strike or kick dents it and causes it to shudder rather than swing.

Striking post training

Martial arts striking posts (Makiwara) can be used to train a range of blows including punches and hammerfists. The latter use the base of the hand and not the knuckles.

Legal Considerations

Soldiers carrying out a legitimate mission against an enemy force need not worry too much about legal considerations as their use of force has already been sanctioned by their superiors. Obviously, there are still some considerations regarding civilian casualties, surrendered enemy personnel and the like, but overall soldiers in wartime are free to engage the enemy as necessary. Indeed, they are expected to do so.

Military personnel also encounter dangerous circumstances where the situation is not entirely clear. Troops are often deployed on peacekeeping operations or to protect humanitarian aid workers in a lawless environment. In such situations, soldiers have to follow Rules of Engagement that indicate what actions are lawful and which are not.

Rules of Engagement

Civilians, too, are subject to rules of engagement. The law on self-defence varies from one country to another, and it is wise to check on the local circumstances when travelling. The general situation tends to be that there are specific laws against doing violence (or even threatening violence) against other people, but self-defence makes these actions permissible if the circumstances necessitate them. Thus if, for no good reason, you punched some random person you just met, you would be committing a crime. However, if that person took a swing at you, you would be entirely within your rights to use force to stop them.

Your Right to Self-Defence

You have the right to use force to protect yourself or someone else from violence or crime, but your response must be proportionate to the level of threat you face. Your use of force is only self-defence as long as there is a threat – if you have to hit someone 92 times to make them stop attacking you, then there is nothing wrong with that if they were still a threat after 91. If you then continue to beat on them after they are helpless, you become the aggressor and can be prosecuted.

TIP: THE LEGAL ISSUE

The whole legal question can all be summed up like this: if, after you have dealt with the threat, someone asked you ‘did you really need to do that?’ and you can honestly answer ‘Yes, and here are the reasons …’, then you will not have committed a crime if your answer seems reasonable. You might have to explain yourself to the police, but if you can show that you genuinely perceived a need to defend yourself, then you will have remained within the law.

Imminent attack

Clenched fists are a clear indication of violent intent. The aggressor here has ‘chambered’ his right hand to strike – you will need to act fast or get hit.

Note that your opinion of how much the person deserves a good kicking for hitting you does not count – self-defence applies only while there is a threat. If you want to get some payback after the threat is nullified that’s your choice, but you will answer for it.

Use of Force

You do not have to wait for someone to hit you before you ‘fight back’. Not only is this not necessary, it is also undesirable as you could be taken out of the fight by that first blow. You are entitled to use an appropriate level of force as soon as you recognize a threat.

Note the use of the word ‘appropriate’, not ‘minimum’. The law does not require a person to carefully work out exactly what level of force is required to stop an attack, nor to match a given threat with a textbook response. So long as your actions are reasonable under the circumstances you are justified in law. Thus someone who uses a weapon against an unarmed but physically superior individual is probably not committing a crime.

Perception of Threat

The level of force used must be appropriate to the threat as you perceive it to be – and you have to be able to justify your perception. Hitting someone because ‘they looked a bit dodgy’ is not acceptable, but if you can explain what signs of aggression you saw and why you feared for your safety, then so long as your response was proportionate to the threat you thought you faced, your actions are justified in law.

This does mean that an honest mistake can still constitute self-defence. If, for example, someone gave you reason to believe they were about to hit you and you knocked them out, they might claim your actions were unreasonable because they were ‘only having a laugh’. However, if you can show that you genuinely thought there was a threat that justified knocking the ‘aggressor’ out, then doing so would be legal.

TIP: SELF-DEFENCE AND THE LAW

Self-defence law is in fact very much as common sense would suggest:

• You are entitled to use force to deal with a threat.

• You are entitled to use as much force as you need.

• The amount of force you use must not be excessive.

• Once the threat is nullified, you must stop fighting.

• You can strike first if the circumstances warrant it.

• You may arm yourself if the threat is severe enough to justify this.

Crossing the line

There is no doubt about the threat here – the aggressor has made an attacking move and needs to be dealt with decisively.

When It’s Over, It’s Over

Once the threat is nullified, you must stop because further violence is not self-defence at all. You are entitled to ensure your safety by making sure the attacker is unable to continue, but once that is obvious then you are expected and required by law to cease using violence.

Much the same comments apply to military personnel. If someone ran at an armed patrol waving a weapon, they would be entitled to shoot in order to stop him. Even if the weapon later turned out to be a realistic replica, they would still have acted lawfully because a lethal threat was perceived – and a lethal threat justifies a lethal response such as opening fire.

If the aggressor was hit but still kept on charging, the troops would be justified in continuing to fire. If the aggressor went down but kept pointing his weapon at them, they would still be justified. There is a possibility that the target might be disabled but the troops might not yet have realized it. They would be justified in making sure the threat was nullified during this time. But if he was lying helpless and disabled, then further shooting on their part would be excessive.

Extreme Measures

There are circumstances where extreme force is justified. There is no tit-for-tat ‘he’s got a knife so I can kill him’ principle, but if your only course of action to stop an attacker from doing something extremely serious to you resulted in his death or very serious injury, then so long as your actions were warranted by the circumstances, they would be lawful.

Note that you are not required by law to try to escape from a situation or to surrender property rather than fighting for it. However, if you do claim self-defence then you will need to show why you could not have used other means to end the situation without violence. For example, if you chose to fight someone when you had a clear opportunity to escape, you would be required to explain why you did not take it. There may be a good reason of course, which is fair enough. But if there is not, then this might undermine your assertion that you only did what you had to in order to protect yourself.

TIP: STAYING OUT OF LEGAL TROUBLE

As a general rule, your claim to have acted in selfdefence will be greatly strengthened if you can show that you did not want to fight and took steps to end the situation without violence. You are not required by law to do any of these things, and indeed the aggressor might not give you the chance to, but if you had the opportunity and instead chose to bash his head in, your claim of self-defence might be weakened.