Hitting the throath as selfdefense?

[joesteph]

If someone was bothering me on the street and I felt threated, and they came within or closer to the 3 feet range that you mentioned . . .

If someone were bothering you on the street, Tiger, I think anyone would understand that you felt threatened. It may be that you tried to walk away, or it may be that you had to stay where you were (waiting for a train, a bus), but if he approached you, "talking trash" as the officer who is my Sensei put it, you were in a self-defense situation.

The three feet referred to is actually estimated by you and, frankly, it really isn't so far away. I don't believe you have to give the number, or even say personal space, but you can tell the police officer(s) that he began to move in, you definitely felt threatened by him (what he was saying, how he was moving his hands, even that he was getting in your face), and you acted to protect yourself.

The police are pretty sharp; they'll catch on quickly as to who was the aggressor here.

[tallgeese]

It's all about the way in which he approached you and your articulation of such. Did he say anything that would indicate he was going to be a threat? Were his hands clinched? Arms up in an aggressive posture? Hand up to hit you? What was his gait patter like? What was the situattion leading up to your preemptive action? If the answers to these indicate he was about to aggressively try to injure you, you're going to be alright.

Next, where were your actions in realation to his threat? Did he reach out to grab you and you shin him in the head? Might be out of line. But, did he reach to grab you and you countered with a stiff arm drop that sent him back a few feet? Probibly ok this time.

It really is about the actions of what transpired up to that point and how you describe them and your expectation of being hurt. Then, the cops will look at your response as it relates to what a reasonable person woould think of as a threat.

If your good at the first and have solid reasoning for the second, you'll be fine.

[blackbelt94]

a hit to the throat is an immediate end of the fight. but, i can say from several times of experience, it is extremely painful (not to be taken lightly) and very easily a kill shot, not to be used unless absolutely necessary

[tallgeese]

It can be an immediate fight ender. It might not be as well.

I've seen plenty of guys get clocked in the throat during sparring at high intensities and still have it together well enough to stay in the fight.

It can also be that the shot is a hair off, or the angle is slightly wrong or any one of a thousand other things. I think we'll all agree that it's a good tool to have, and practice with. I just caution everyone that trians with me that nothing is a guarentee. I try never to let my mind assume that a fight will end with any strike.

[sensei8]

I too don't want to kill anybody! I just want to protect my family, friends, loved ones, and myself as effective as I can.

Having said that, if I hit someone in the throat, and the attacker dies, then I will live with it, whether it's in prison or at home is up to a court of law.

This, imho, is a sensitive topic because we all talk about effectiveness, but, the outcome of the effectiveness loans itself to the moral side of self-defense.

I don't want to...but...I don't want to be killed myself by a determined attacker.

[tallgeese]

That's why we talk about stopping a lethal force threat in LE rather than killing. We do what we do to stop life threatening behavior, not because we want to kill someone.

You're going to be on solid ground legally as long as it meets the "reasonableness" test. If you reasonably believed that your life was in danger, and acted in a reasonable manner, then you're pretty safe in the courts.

[Kuma]

If the situation warrants deadly force, you'll be in the clear. A simple bar scuffle though, might be a bad idea.