Boston Krav Maga - The Law & Self-Defense
Krav Maga, Self-Defense & The Law
There are many misconceptions and misunderstandings about the Law and self-defense. In fact, many people believe that the term self-defense refers to certain physical methods and approaches to dealing with violence, when really, it’s a legal argument/presentation concerning the use of violence i.e. in claiming that you acted in self-defense, you are admitting to using violence (and potentially causing harm and injury), however you did so because you had no other choice; other than compromising your own safety, such as letting somebody hit you, and causing you harm/injury. By claiming self-defense, you are admitting to acting violently towards somebody(s), and so it is important to understand when you are entitled to do so, the extent and amount of force you are entitled to use, and when you may be acting outside the law – even when it may seem “reasonable” to do so. You can read blog articles on various legal issues concerning self-defense by clicking here
It is worth noting that any time you use physical force, you may have a criminal and/or a civil case brought against you. In Massachusetts, if you find yourself having to defend yourself physically it is almost certain that criminal charges will be brought against you, and that you will be called upon to articulate and explain your reasons for using force against another individual; however clear-cut the situation may seem to you. In a criminal case you will be required to present your story and prove beyond reasonable doubt that you were justified to use the level of force you did. In many cases this will not be hard to do, however if the person who attacked you brings a civil case against you, in order to receive financial compensation for the physical (and possibly emotional) damage they experienced as you defended yourself, the burden of proof is a lot lower e.g. if you caused an assailant to lose a tooth when they attacked you, because you punched them in the face as you defended yourself, in a criminal case it would have to be proved beyond reasonable doubt that this was an excessive use of force – this would be quite a tall order, and it is likely, unless there were extenuating circumstances, that you wouldn’t be found guilty. If your attacker decided to bring a civil case against you – which isn’t uncommon in the US – claiming financial damages for their disfigurement, dental costs, loss of earnings due to the time needed for facial reconstruction etc. if it’s believed that when your actions are weighed up the balance is 51% to 49% in the direction you may have used a bit more force than necessary, you will be forced to make a financial settlement; that could run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Successfully defending yourself against an assault could end up costing you a lot of money, and a lot of associated consequences etc.
Our training and solutions take these things into account, and these issues will be brought up in class, discussed and illustrated. You may have seen YouTube clips of instructors demonstrating gun disarms, and then stepping back whilst pointing a gun at the person they’ve just disarmed – giving them instructions to get down on the ground etc. It looks dramatic, and effective, however the person pointing the gun may find themselves on shaky legal territory if they are forced to pull the trigger. Although, in the moment it may seem that this is a singular incident, it is not; as you disarm and move away from your assailant a “separation” has occurred, and a separate event has been created: one where you are pointing a gun at an unarmed assailant. If that person doesn’t comply but instead rushes you, and you pull the trigger, killing them, the burden of proof will be on you to prove why you shot an unarmed attacker. There are many effective “legal” alternatives, to threatening/using a disarmed weapon against an assailant, that are much more easily defendable in court, however if you’re not aware of these then you may end up acting in a manner which a jury wouldn’t be sympathetic to – even if in that moment you believed you were entitled to do so.
Trite phrases such as, “It’s better to be tried by twelve that carried by six” i.e. do whatever is necessary to get out of a violent situation, and worry about the legal consequences later etc. are all good on paper, when you’re not facing a murder charge, or looking to have to pay out $50 000, to somebody who initiated the conflict, however there are ways to avoid these two alternatives, and find a third. Understanding how to defend yourself legally, protects you from many potential consequences, and makes you more decisive; as you no longer need to worry in that moment, as to whether you are legally entitled to respond in a certain way. This approach is intertwined in every solution we present, and is something that we conduct seminars in, to make sure that our students don’t have to deal with any unintended and costly consequences should they be forced to defend themselves.
The legalities of self-defense are incorporated into our regular training however we also occasionally put on specific seminars addressing these issues and topics. To see a list of our upcoming seminars please click here.
In our Introductory Beginner Classes, we introduce some of the legal concepts that are important to understand, and some of the conditions that need to be met in order to make the claim/argument that you were acting in self-defense. To books a beginner class/seminar please use the button below.
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