Sometimes we forget that we can disengage from the fight. If you have someone in a clinch, you don’t have to take them down. You can shove them away and remove yourself from the situation.

If you’ve taken someone down, you don’t have to follow them to the ground.

If you’re mounted on someone, you can get up and leave.

Unless you can’t. Then it’s up to you to use the appropriate amount of force.

From the book When Violence in the Answer.

With my skillset and my physical advantage, there was a very good chance I would win a confrontation against that man, all things being equal. But that’s just it: we didn’t know if they were equal. We didn’t know if he was carrying a weapon. We didn’t know how unstable he was.

It can be exciting to think about how we can use our hard earned skills in a real fight. And let’s be honest, we’re probably thinking about how we’re going to win by using some slick technique and get out of there without a scratch. And nine times out of ten, you’re probably right. But there’s that one, and that one could be the one that destroys everything.