In the world of Martial Arts and self defense, there are plenty of
guys and instructors who love to talk about the "KILL" factor.
"You attacker is a cold blooded murdering psychopath. They are
going to kill you, your family, your dog, your friends and use your
bathroom without flushing UNLESS you repeatedly strike them until
they stop breathing."
I've heard the equivalent of that many MANY times by these
"experts".
And you know what, it's not just BAD advice, it is actually putting
you in MORE danger too.
It's a reasonable question. When is it justified to kill someone?
I get asked about this a lot, and I have some questions from
readers on the subject. First, Daniel asks about vigilantism and
mob rule.
QUESTION FROM READER>>>
"don't know if you've seen the movie summer of sam,but its about a
group who accuse some one of being the son of sam killer & set out
to kill him. These people are unpleasant characters them selves &
could be described as bully's. What's your view of lynch mobs,are
you totally justified in killing them like in the movie straw dogs?
Another martial artist has described them as people with a video
game view towards your life & mine who don't care about the guilt
or innocence of there target & get a thrill from violence. If you
were an alpha male with rumours spread about you would your
toughness deter such idiots?
Daniel"
MY COMMENTS>>>
Well Daniel, its something we all worry about. What would happen if
a group of people got so angry that they set out to kill me?
First, there's the mob. Usually a mob gathers because of
vigilantism, as you said. But one of the things you should ask
yourself is, why do they have a mob?
Sure, there is strength in numbers, and that is important in
violence, but there is also something else.
If we could all think rationally all the time, and be clinical and
professional all the time, we wouldn't do or say most of the things
we didn't mean.
In other words, if people really wanted to kill someone, they would
do it. A mob is loud, rowdy and draws a hell of a lot of attention.
Hardly something that will utilize the element of surprise.
So why do they do it?
Because they don't have the BALLS to do it themselves.
They need a mob to DISSAPEAR into. They simply stir up rumors,
throw suggestions out there and most importantly...
They do WHAT THEY WANT WITHOUT THE RESPONSIBILITY.
They might have suggested to beat the person to death, but they
didn't do it, they just suggested it. The person who did it wont
believe they took part either, everyone else suggested it, not them.
Psychologist call this DE-INDIVIDUATION.
It basically means:
"I'm not doing anything wrong, it's everyone else in the mob, I'm
just an innocent bystander".
With that attitude, nobody is going to say STOP, this is getting
WAY out of hand. They will be too worried about getting in the line
of fire themselves.
BUT...
There is something else that fuels a mob, besides de-individuation.
It really is linked with vigilantism.
That's the fact that people are usually just ANGERED or SCARED and
this causes them to take justice into their own hands.
All they really want to do is FEEL SAFE.
They aren't all doing this because they enjoy the VIOLENCE, they
are usually just so intimidated or angered that they turn into
vigilantes.
The answer to Daniel's question is simple. Killing someone in the
moment is NEVER JUSTIFIED.
What I mean is, you cant PLAN or THINK about killing someone in
self defense. Its only until LATER that you can judge whether or
not it was justified.
If you kill someone ACCIDENTALLY, whilst 3 people attacked you for
no reason, you will go before a judge, they'll see it wasn't your
intention to kill someone.
On the other hand, if you start THINKING and PLANNING on killing
someone as a DEFENSE, well that not only screws things up for you
in the court room, it means you are thinking of the WRONG kinds of
self defense.
Killing is attacking, not defending.
The question you really have to ask yourself is not "What do I do
if I'm attacked by a mob of angry people who want me dead?"
It should be "Why the hell would an angry mob attack me if I
haven't done anything wrong?"
Sure, there are the unfortunate cases of mistaken identity, and
yes, there are places where there are people so ignorant they will
dislike you for no reason. But on the whole, the lines you should
be thinking along are:
What are the best ways to AVOID that kind of attack?
How can I spot that kind of situation before it happens?
What can I do in that situation?
The answer to the last question, how do you stop it, isn't to have
the intention to kill.
If it's a case of mistaken identity, do you think they will feel
warmer to you when you threaten to kill them?
I don't think so.
Showing that you are willing to fight in a situation where you are
outnumbered, or people are angry with you is not a good solution.
You may well have to FIGHT BACK, but don't let them THINK you will.
If they see you fight back, it shows you are becoming defensive
about something. They are much more likely to think you are the bad
person other people make you out to be if you start to get
defensive about it.
Don't get me wrong, you do have the right to DEFEND yourself, but
I'm guessing you want to come out alive?
Well, bargaining or showing that you aren't going to do them any
harm is a much better solution than CONFIRMING their suspicions
about you.
You wont get out alive if you make the angry mob... well ANGRIER!
Knowing when to strike is important in any area of self defense.
Much more than if you have to kill someone.
The problem is that most people will never find out that the "KILL"
factor in most martial arts is just to make the instructor look and
sound tough.
When they do find out, it could be too late...
Chamakhe Maurieni is a self-defence expert and a Black belt 1st Dan in Shito-ryu Karate,and Japanese Judo.
He is the author of the book-FACEBOOK IS DECEPTION,available on the smashwords online bookstore
guys and instructors who love to talk about the "KILL" factor.
"You attacker is a cold blooded murdering psychopath. They are
going to kill you, your family, your dog, your friends and use your
bathroom without flushing UNLESS you repeatedly strike them until
they stop breathing."
I've heard the equivalent of that many MANY times by these
"experts".
And you know what, it's not just BAD advice, it is actually putting
you in MORE danger too.
It's a reasonable question. When is it justified to kill someone?
I get asked about this a lot, and I have some questions from
readers on the subject. First, Daniel asks about vigilantism and
mob rule.
QUESTION FROM READER>>>
"don't know if you've seen the movie summer of sam,but its about a
group who accuse some one of being the son of sam killer & set out
to kill him. These people are unpleasant characters them selves &
could be described as bully's. What's your view of lynch mobs,are
you totally justified in killing them like in the movie straw dogs?
Another martial artist has described them as people with a video
game view towards your life & mine who don't care about the guilt
or innocence of there target & get a thrill from violence. If you
were an alpha male with rumours spread about you would your
toughness deter such idiots?
Daniel"
MY COMMENTS>>>
Well Daniel, its something we all worry about. What would happen if
a group of people got so angry that they set out to kill me?
First, there's the mob. Usually a mob gathers because of
vigilantism, as you said. But one of the things you should ask
yourself is, why do they have a mob?
Sure, there is strength in numbers, and that is important in
violence, but there is also something else.
If we could all think rationally all the time, and be clinical and
professional all the time, we wouldn't do or say most of the things
we didn't mean.
In other words, if people really wanted to kill someone, they would
do it. A mob is loud, rowdy and draws a hell of a lot of attention.
Hardly something that will utilize the element of surprise.
So why do they do it?
Because they don't have the BALLS to do it themselves.
They need a mob to DISSAPEAR into. They simply stir up rumors,
throw suggestions out there and most importantly...
They do WHAT THEY WANT WITHOUT THE RESPONSIBILITY.
They might have suggested to beat the person to death, but they
didn't do it, they just suggested it. The person who did it wont
believe they took part either, everyone else suggested it, not them.
Psychologist call this DE-INDIVIDUATION.
It basically means:
"I'm not doing anything wrong, it's everyone else in the mob, I'm
just an innocent bystander".
With that attitude, nobody is going to say STOP, this is getting
WAY out of hand. They will be too worried about getting in the line
of fire themselves.
BUT...
There is something else that fuels a mob, besides de-individuation.
It really is linked with vigilantism.
That's the fact that people are usually just ANGERED or SCARED and
this causes them to take justice into their own hands.
All they really want to do is FEEL SAFE.
They aren't all doing this because they enjoy the VIOLENCE, they
are usually just so intimidated or angered that they turn into
vigilantes.
The answer to Daniel's question is simple. Killing someone in the
moment is NEVER JUSTIFIED.
What I mean is, you cant PLAN or THINK about killing someone in
self defense. Its only until LATER that you can judge whether or
not it was justified.
If you kill someone ACCIDENTALLY, whilst 3 people attacked you for
no reason, you will go before a judge, they'll see it wasn't your
intention to kill someone.
On the other hand, if you start THINKING and PLANNING on killing
someone as a DEFENSE, well that not only screws things up for you
in the court room, it means you are thinking of the WRONG kinds of
self defense.
Killing is attacking, not defending.
The question you really have to ask yourself is not "What do I do
if I'm attacked by a mob of angry people who want me dead?"
It should be "Why the hell would an angry mob attack me if I
haven't done anything wrong?"
Sure, there are the unfortunate cases of mistaken identity, and
yes, there are places where there are people so ignorant they will
dislike you for no reason. But on the whole, the lines you should
be thinking along are:
What are the best ways to AVOID that kind of attack?
How can I spot that kind of situation before it happens?
What can I do in that situation?
The answer to the last question, how do you stop it, isn't to have
the intention to kill.
If it's a case of mistaken identity, do you think they will feel
warmer to you when you threaten to kill them?
I don't think so.
Showing that you are willing to fight in a situation where you are
outnumbered, or people are angry with you is not a good solution.
You may well have to FIGHT BACK, but don't let them THINK you will.
If they see you fight back, it shows you are becoming defensive
about something. They are much more likely to think you are the bad
person other people make you out to be if you start to get
defensive about it.
Don't get me wrong, you do have the right to DEFEND yourself, but
I'm guessing you want to come out alive?
Well, bargaining or showing that you aren't going to do them any
harm is a much better solution than CONFIRMING their suspicions
about you.
You wont get out alive if you make the angry mob... well ANGRIER!
Knowing when to strike is important in any area of self defense.
Much more than if you have to kill someone.
The problem is that most people will never find out that the "KILL"
factor in most martial arts is just to make the instructor look and
sound tough.
When they do find out, it could be too late...
Chamakhe Maurieni is a self-defence expert and a Black belt 1st Dan in Shito-ryu Karate,and Japanese Judo.
He is the author of the book-FACEBOOK IS DECEPTION,available on the smashwords online bookstore
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