The 2nd Battle
In our last post we discussed the mental/emotional battle faced in every self-defense situation. In this installment we will discuss the physical battle that must be won in a self-defense situation.
One would think that this is simple-and it is (kind of). We have already established that you must be able to mentally be prepared to fight the fight and win. You must know you are mentally able to pull the trigger if you must. You must have a plan that may or may not involve using deadly force. You must then be able to handle the aftermath, which involves the feelings of guilt that most feel after using deadly force, as well as the stress from a trial or investigation, or both.
In this, the physical battle, you have already mentally prepared yourself for any battle you may encounter. You have asked yourself "what if" I encounter an attacker in the convenience store? Would I be able to defend myself without unnecessarily taking a life? Now you are going to take the next step and physically defend yourself and enter the fight.
If you are going to go with the less lethal methods first, are you physically in good enough shape to take the attacker on? Are there too many of them? Is the attacker in much better shape, larger or much younger than you? All of these factors play into the decision to physically take the fight on.
Then there is the matter of actually winning the fight. If you physically defend yourself and the attacker decides to sue you because you possibly used "excessive" force to defend yourself. Remember, you are the one who is bound by the reasonableness of the fight. The attacker doesn't care about reasonable, or they would not have attacked you in the first place. Although the idea is for you to win the battle, be prepared for a legal battle as well.
The next part of the physical battle is being able to wield the weapon you are using. Let's assume you will be using a handgun. You must have a weapon you can function. You must have a weapon that's carriable so that you don't leave it behind when leaving home or getting out of the car. It must be one you can use safely to defend yourself and others. The best way to find out what type of handgun suits you is to actually hold one and, if possible, shoot a few rounds through them. We occasionally hold workshops in which we invite gun stores to come in with a few handguns to let students handle and fire them. They do not sell them at the workshop, but you can make arrangements to go to their store later to buy one if you see one you like.
Another part of the physical battle also has to do with the weapon. Do you have the necessary training to be able to accurately engage your target? This is one area that most people don't think about. They think they can go to the range a few times; hit a paper target and they're trained. It's more than that. The average encounter lasts 3.4 seconds. If you have trained with your handgun, drawing from the holster averages 1.7 seconds. This means that you have used half of the encounter time just getting your weapon from the holster. This does not include accurately hitting the target. This means that the one who gets an accurate shot off first wins the battle.
Can you hit your target while being shot at? Can you be sure the shot you take will not hurt an innocent bystander, such as a 4-year-old on a tricycle across the street? Can you move while shooting? Do you automatically find cover while engaging the threat? These are all things that you must consider and overcome when being threatened. We haven't even mentioned yet your method of carry and accessibility to your firearm.
The last thing I'll mention in this article is how the battles build upon each other. The mental element hopefully has prepared you to take on the physical battle. The next one we will consider in our third installment will be the legal battle and how the first two battles influence the third.
Remember, you are on your own for legal representation unless you have Self Defense Coverage that works and is not underwritten. Shop around for the one that provides what you need, such as Unlimited criminal and civil attorney fees, mental counseling, weapon replacement and cost effectiveness. Is it administered as insurance, which means they can decide not to cover you. We chose to align ourselves with Right to Bear Self Defense. They have met all the above criteria plus more. Check them out and make your own decision. We have put the link below for your convenience.
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