Most people have no idea what happens in a fight or self defence situation however let me tell you that it ain’t pretty.
Lets take the average street fight. You are out on the town with the girlfriend or your mates and its the end of the evening. Straight to the kebab house we go.
So here we are ordering a large lamb kebab and some idiot who has decided to cause trouble has taken offence at YOU. I mean this cant be happening to you, here you are at the end of a great night out and this guy who is coked up and drunk wants to fight with you. All you really want to do is eat your food and go home.
Then it happens…….. He swings a punch at your head and instinctively you hit the Obliterater (People who own DL pack 1 will know what this is) and the guy is out cold. Your hammer and strike did the job and all those months training DL were worth it. But wait a second…… you have a guy out cold at your feet and you hear those police sirens coming. What do you do now?
The video below is a ‘kebab shop fight’ that you need to watch and study to see real violence in action. You will see and learn a great deal from this because you will see how the dynamics of a fight quickly change and innocent bystanders can get hurt
You Fought The Guy But the Law Won!
The subject of self defence is vast, and just a random stroll on the internet will serve up more experts on the subject and I have heard every type of bravado you can imagine but I have never seen a comfortable defendant in a crown court. Yet if you get the aftermath of a fight wrong that’s exactly where you will be, no matter if you were in the right or wrong.
Now lets be clear this isnt a lesson in the legal aspect of self defence which differs country to country. This instead a lesson in moral and ethical self protection and we will address some key issues. So lets get back to our original scenario.
1. The Man is out Cold!! Do you stay or do you go?
This is a situation that you need to address at the time but I ask you this, if you flee the scene do you look guilty or innocent?
2. Do you Offer the Male first Aid if You Know it or If you Dont What could Happen to You?
3. What If He Gets Up Again and Still Wants to Fight?
The above questions are ignored by 99% of the worlds martial arts experts but here at Defence Lab we need to focus on the things that are important to our students and this goes far beyond just being a self defence lesson you attend each week. Defence Lab offers the ability to learn online both for free at Andy Norman.tv and also via this blog.
The Moral Dilemma
When you defend yourself you inflict physical damage on another human being and regardless of if you are justified or not this is actually still an assault. The only reason you can justify this is self defence.
Now put yourself into the shoes of a cop, you arrive at this kebab house and find a guy knocked out on the floor and you standing there over him. What would be your first thought? Would you really think that you were the innocent person or the guilty one?
I think you can understand. But what if you had left prior to the police arrival but later tracked down because of the CCTV in the kebab house. Do you think that it would be easy to explain that you were the victim?
I am not saying that this is an easy situation but it happens and it happens a lot. This guy has just attacked you and you used reasonable force to defend yourself and now he is the victim, it doesn’t seem right and it isn’t but you need to take action to sort this out.
Firstly don’t panic! This is the worst thing you can do.
Yes this wasn’t a great thing that has happened but it has so we need to find a way of letting the truth about this incident be easily discovered. However dont expect all the random strangers watching to all the police and tell them that it was you that was attacked first, trust me they will be thinking of getting home and eating their kebab and not proving your innocence. So what should we do?
Get out your phone and politely ask to video them, ask them for their name and address and say what they saw. It might be a few words like “John Smith from 41 Liverpool street and that guy attacked you first”. Or you can simply get the notes application out on your phone and get their names. But when you have adrenaline rushing through your body your hands may be shaking and being able to type may not be possible so video may be a great option.
This may sound un realistic but this type of thing is excellent and given that your phone is likely to have video function you should get this sorted asap to help justify why you have just KO’d a guy!!
Preserve Life
Whatever way you look at it your aim should be to preserve your life first however what about the attackers?
Now the macho attitude is “so what”, but what would happen if he had a serious injury? What if you have a first aid qualification and you did nothing?
This may sound over dramatic but unless you have been to crown court you will not understand just how these details can make a difference. Just by showing that you actually considered treating for first aid but couldnt because of X,Y,Z may go a long way to helping build your case for self defence. We are not saying you should or shouldnt treat for first aid, the circumstances will dictate everything but consider it.
But I Didnt Ask For This
This next video is very disturbing.
The story is of a female named Nikki Brewer. She was attacked and suffered life changing injuries but even despite the police catching him he walked free either due to a police error or a loop hole. Read the article here and watch the video below
You might go out this weekend and not be looking for any trouble and don’t want any, but sadly due to the world having an abundance of not very nice people you desire for a great and trouble free night out may not go to plan.
This is sad but a fact of life. It doesnt matter if you wanted to get involved or not, that doesnt matter. You are there and you need to think about YOUR future.
If you train in Defence Lab then you will have a great set of skills to help you but the aftermath of a fight will be strange ground. How you react is going to be key. Like we said dont panic but above all realise that if you start screaming or shouting then it reflects on how you have dealt with this situation. If you start pulling your shirt off and being all angry it will be a little harder to convince people that the hammer strike you just smashed a guys face with was done in self defence.
The below video shows the classic shirt off situation. Who looks the idiot?
But What If I Get Arrested?
Ok now we are onto the serious side. You have attacked in self defence but the guy who attacked you is on his way to the hospital and the police are taking you to a cell.
Its the height of unfair isnt it! But this is where 99% of people go wrong. The police do not arrest and say you are guilty, instead this is an opportunity to preserve evidence and get further evidence. Arresting you should the logical step so they can get witness statements and also examine CCTV. They wont let you go home because they need to get to the bottom of this and do it when everyone is sober.
When you get arrested in the UK you will have a rights and entitlements and this includes speaking with a solicitor. It is a process, plain and simple but so many people resist being arrested even if they have actually done nothing wrong. So remain calm and let things get sorted.
Conclusion
Most people dont consider what happens after a self defence situation, they never give it a thought, but by reading this you have.
Now life is not set or fixed and self defence situations arent either. You will have to judge any situation as you find it but consider how you will explain what you have done!
To finish off we will show you some street fight footage that shows a dynamic incident.
Until next time shape shifters: