If it's a fair fight, you're doing it wrong.jmra wrote:mrvmax wrote:We are not in grade school anymore and I am not in the WWF or UFC so there is no reason for me to be fighting anybody. If someone is hitting me then as soon as the assault begins I assume they are trying to kill me and I will stop it with whatever means that is necessary. For some reason men are programmed to think that fights are ok and are no big deal but I think otherwise since there is no reason I should be in one. I avoid all the machismo between men about who can beat up whom, it is nonsense and I will remove myself from those situations.
I haven't exchanged blows with anyone since grade school. I don't have the slightest idea how well I would fare in such an exchange today and have no desire to find out. Unless you fight for a living there is no such thing as a fair fight. I'll do whatever I can to avoid a confrontation including de-escalation and retreat if possible, but if both of those measures fail I will use any tool at my disposal to defend myself and my family.
On a more serious note:
The big key is, once the aggressor / attacker stops their attack, so must the use of force. It's this way for cops, and I look at it like this for all. If you choose to go mano a mano with an attacker, you must stop beating him when he stops beating you. If you choose to draw your weapon, and he stops, you may go no further (although you don't necessarily have to reholster until you no longer reasonably perceive a threat; after all, he still has his fists/knife/goblin posse). If you have to shoot, you stop shooting once the threat has been de-escalated, whether through surrender, flight, incapacitation, or death of your attacker.
Also, two other points: The threat of deadly force IS the use of deadly force. And, hands are deadly instruments, even when not using them. Scenario: You are beset by Joe Critter, and you have parity of size and apparent fitness levels. You do NOT know Joe's prior experience in fistfights, nor do you know his pain tolerance, nor whether he's on recreational pharmaceuticals. Simple size/strength parity does NOT equal a presumptive "fair fight." But let's assume for the moment that it does, and you decide to defend yourself with the same weapons he's using, fists, instead of pulling your firearm. What happens if you lose the fight? If you're unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, he now has access to not only your wallet (threatening your financial security and that of your family), but also your still-holstered pistol. There is no reason why he cannot search you, find your gun, and make certain you can't ever fight again.
Fists can be deadly force. The threat of deadly force is using deadly force, and can (and usually should) be responded to in kind. If you're carrying, ANY fight is a potentially deadly fight, regardless of whether you ever clear leather. Don't get into these situations, but if you can't avoid them, win them. Period. Full stop.