190 Broadway
Garden City Park, NY 11040
(516) 741-4994

The following article was written and published in Official Karate magazine in October 1979. It was revised by the original author after an interview with Kyoshi Romeo in March 2000.

STAYING LEGAL WHILE
STAYING ALIVE

by W. ADAM MANDELBAUM ESQ.
(edited and revised from a 10/79 Official Karate article)

Streets are becoming meaner and the martial arts are responding accordingly. "Combat Karate" schools have arisen and full contact no holds barred bouts have been nationally televised. Movies show eye gouging and groin stomping in slow motion and close up - and those are just the comedies.

This increasing tendency to play up the violence and play down the self control aspects of the martial arts causes an increasing risk of the martial artist going too far in the defense of himself, others, and especially in the defense of property. Going over the legal line may cause a martial artist to eat institutional food for a stretch, and turn what started out with the defender as the good guy, finishing up with the defender being the defendant.

This article is about how to avoid that.

RETREAT-HELL (YES)

Here's a scenario. You've just been confronted by a would be predator, and knowing that your sidekick (or whatever technique is combat relevant at the time) can stop a charging rhino, and that your shuto is faster than a speeding bullet, you smile as you demolish him into dust and debris. Sounds good, right?

Maybe not so good after the fact, killer. In many Eastern state jurisdictions there is a long standing doctrine known as the "retreat rule." This less than macho legal principle requires you to run away (when safe) before using deadly force on your attacker.

But you can stand your ground when you are in your house, your business premises, your car-places where you have a legal right to be and some ownership interests. Further, the retreat rule does not prevent you from defending yourself with less than deadly force. That ridge hand to the throat may not be defensible, but perhaps a knife-edge kick to the knee may keep you safe, sound -- and out of the pokey.

When you are at risk of grave physical injury or being killed, then the skies the limit when it comes to self defense-for example, when you are attacked by an armed opponent, and you are not as well equipped. Also, the nature of the attack effects the nature of the defense. Is he trying to gouge out your eyes, or merely grab your wrist? (Jurors may want to know).

Those martial artists out West who might read this have it easier. Usually, their rules of self-defense are somewhat looser. (Probably a throwback to the good old cowboy days). You'll also notice their ability to legally carry weapons is a great deal easier than those of us back East.

The point is, you have to taper your response to the attack, and insure that it is appropriate under the circumstances. Easier said than done, but with a system like TAI ZEN, which trains a variety of levels of response to predator actions, you have appropriateness built into the training, and in your reactions when it comes to street reality. TURNABOUT AIN'T FAIR PLAY.

Remember, confrontations of the violent kind can often take place in front of witnesses. (Those are those strange creatures that can turn reality into fantasy when it's testimony time). Fights, on occasion, take place in public places, like bars, for example.

So there you can be, minding your own business, ogling somebody else's girl at the bar, when that somebody else grabs you by the lapels and begins to inquire as to the meaning behind the visual attentions you are paying to his significant other. Since you question his ability to verbally understand the purity of your motives, you execute some beautiful technique, which places the gentleman in question upon the floor, with little present ability to resume his former position.

That's good, so far. However, when you proceed to crush all of the bones in his skull with your boot, or play kick the can on his ribs while he lies on the floor, you have just entered a region known as the Turnabout Zone. You have gone from defender to attacker -unnecessarily- and why are those men in uniform slipping bracelets on your wrists all of a sudden?

Self defense is just that. Defensive. Some schools say the best defense is a good offense. However, TAI ZEN differs, and teaches the best defense is a good defense. Regardless of your agreement with the above from a martial point of view, legally-these are words to live by. Once the risk is over, the fight should be over, and if you go too far on the street, you just might go "up the river."

Force responses must be reasonable under the circumstances. Who determines that? Well, the less you engage in overkill, the less likely that twelve people (who don't know you, weren't there, and don't want to be where they presently are in relation to you) will make that determination.

By the way, you can even be wrong and still be right-as long as you were reasonably wrong. How's that again? Let's say you see a close up predator reach into his jacket at waistband level, while he's telling you, that you will soon be "dead meat." You think, quite reasonably enough, that he's going for a gun. You therefore allow him to directly and personally explore the possibilities of an afterlife. Well, turns out he didn't have a gun-but under those circumstances you were acting reasonably. Probably.

Lesson: circumstances control. Witnesses don't accurately recall or observe circumstances. Best bet? Use your head while your fists and feet are otherwise engaged.

DEFENDING OTHERS

Yes, you can defend third parties. Your wife, your dog, your child, your friend, your old Uncle Fred. But again reasonable response is required. Remember this: the third party defender stands in the same shoes as the victim. In other words, what you did to defend good old Uncle Fred, must be what you should have done to reasonably defend yourself in Uncle Fred's position.

DEFENSE OF PROPERTY

Here's where you really have to be careful. Sure you have a name for your car, sure you've been through a lot together, (stop signs, traffic signals, roadblocks, etc.) but guess what? Your car ain't a person. If you catch somebody carving their initials in your brand new paint job, you may reasonably use force to stop the carver. But first, legal theory requires you demand him to cease and desist, unless this is useless at the time.

But what if the thief or vandal puts up a fight? Then we go to lesson one above. Reasonableness still rules the day or night.

As a practical matter, most thieves or vandals are going to split if they are caught. As an emotional matter, you may wish to chase them down the street and turn their heads into tapioca. But don't do it, unless you like rooming with guys with a lot of tattoos and not much discrimination in who their sexual partners might be.

LEARNING THE LAW

The regulations of your state may often be found in libraries-and they are certainly somewhere on the internet. The statutes themselves don't go into too much detail, but often, after the black letter of the law, in the books, and in some internet sites, there are cases which deal with what was reasonable under the circumstances of a self defense situation. Review them.

One of the many nifty things about TAI ZEN, is it's concentration not only on effective self defense, but the focus on the likely legal consequences of the defensive moves used.

So now it's time to expand your legal education, and if you happen to live close to a school teaching TAI ZEN-why not come by for a demonstration in how to stay legal while staying alive in this violent world and violent times.