Throwing someone over your shoulder like a rag doll

[Loki's Advocate]

I forgot how easy it is to do this when someone tries to choke you out from behind.

I did it to someone last night- your hands to his wrists, thumbs between his arm and your neck, hips back, back straight, pivot from the hip to the shoulder...

Jeez, he literally went ****-over-head, and luckily landed flat on his back. If he had not done so, who knows how that could have ended up. :eek:

Sod it. The place shall have to get along without me. It's time to say no to working at nights, and no to unavoidable potential GBH (or worse) charges.

[Fenris]

Sound advice regarding personal defence. :)

If the opponent is close enough and you've got solid shoes or boots on, scraping the heel down the shin and violently driving your heel into their instep is also quite effective. And if you're aware of your surroundings and have the physical force at your disposal, slamming backwards into the aggressor to drive them into some jutting fixture or other can help too.

I'm a strong preponent of staying alive and uninjured, so I tend to react to aggression with enough force to stop the person completely - if that means I have to literally beat them unconscious, then that's what was necessary to halt the imminent danger of injury or death.

Avoiding potential GBH charges is partly knowing how much force to use, and partly proving to a jury - if it goes to court - that you felt your health or life were in danger sufficiently to warrant the force you use in defence of yourself. If a man's got you by the throat and is attempting to choke you, by the law of self defence you may use any and all force necessary to protect yourself, and in a situation like that, where your health and life are in danger, potentially lethal force would be justifiable.

Usually though, unless the individual has a weapon, clearly knows how to inflict crippling or fatal injury upon you, or has expressed by word and action his intent to maim or kill you, only enough force to end the confrontation is justifiable in a court of law.

Another factor to bear in mind though is that first and foremost, unless you're in your own home, the law generally requires that you take passive action first, attempt to retreat, and only if pursued are you supposedly able to retaliate.

In your case however, you were assailed from the rear by someone who had placed you in a potentially fatal position, he should thank the gods that he still draws breath.

I tend to ascribe to a simple double-edged aphorism regarding self defence: A man is of no use to himself or his folk if he's dead. To protect oneself is to protect ones folk.

[hrolf]

Being trained to istun, injure, or kill, I have no problem defending myself if I am in danger. Whomever decides to attack me is in for a very rude surprise.