Punching someone is a decision, stabbing someone – if you are armed with a knife, or have picked up a stabbing/slashing weapon in the course of a fight – is a decision. It is not one that you can reach only being 50% sure of your choice; hitting someone with only 50% of your power, will and emotion behind it is a dangerous and possibly irrelevant thing to do. When you decide to do something in a fight it has to be with full conviction, belief and harmful intent i.e. you have to be willing to inflict the most serious and utmost pain upon the person you are dealing with. Why? Because they have given you no choice; If you have to hit them etc, it’s because that is the only solution left available to you, the only one they have given you. You have the “Moral Authority” to act.

I still recall the student who once asked me, if they eye gouged an assailant, should they do it to an extent of “just enough”. If you have to eye gouge somebody it’s going to be an eye gouge, there are no degrees of extent. If you punch a person, you are going to punch them. There should not be at this point an internal debate around “reasonable force” etc, if you have to punch somebody “reason” left the building several hours ago and you are into the stages of animal instinct and survival. You should always assume the person you are dealing with has a knife, until proven otherwise. The only time you will know that they don’t have a knife, or are unable to use it is when they’re unconscious; till that point they have a knife. How hard are you going to hit/punch a person you believe has a knife? If it’s less than 200 % you need to have a rethink. How quickly do you want to end a fight, which could see a knife being pulled? Before it’s begun and that means hitting first, and with everything you’ve got. This is reality.

The “world” doesn’t like this message. It wants us to take our assailant by the hand, sit them down around a campfire and teach them the words to, “I’d like to teach the world to sing.” This is the Zen Bullshit and option that those who have never dealt with violence like to believe that martial arts and self-defense offers. The world doesn’t know about or deal in violence and I’m happy to say that we know better: that we do. When I put my hands up in an interview/fence/de-escalation stance I’m telling everybody (not just my assailant) that I don’t want to fight. I’m giving my aggressor every, and I mean every opportunity to walk away – not even back down – simply walk away. If that choice isn’t taken then you/I have the moral authority to act and that means acting with 100% conviction, because nothing less will cut it. Everybody should be ready to walk away however when that isn’t an option the only one that is left is full force and absolute pain.

I know this is against everything that civilized society promotes however where violence is concerned society and it’s civilized behaviors cease to be relevant. Survival becomes key. If I have told a person I don’t want any trouble, whilst I back away, and they still keep coming I have the moral authority to act (I don’t need a lawyer or my best friends opinion), I just need to act. I have two choices. If I’m not able to position myself and the other person to land a devastating power strike, I will set one up with a soft strike, such as an eye strike/gouge or a hit to the stroke, or I will put myself in a position to finish them with one strike – it may take more but each one is delivered with that intent.

I will present a made up statistic, 90% of all fights see the person making the first strike walk away with less injuries and consequences: sometimes referred to as a “win”. This is why throwing the first strike, with intent, is so important – as is following it up with equal intent. The first strike should disrupt the attack, the second should damage the attacker (combine the two and your ahead of the game), the third should be aimed at destroying the person and after that it’s about disengagement.