Self Defense and the Law
Like I said, it's a judgment call as to whether you prefer to be a law-abiding citizen or whether you want to get a broken jaw and eat your meals through a straw for the next month.) You can't follow up by kicking out his knee and elbowing him into unconsciousness. Likewise, if you duck under his punch and shove him away, that's all you are allowed to do, even if you know he'll try again. You cannot pick up a convenient shovel and try to cave his skull in.
To use another example, if he punches you in the jaw, you may punch him back, but you are not allowed to pull out a knife and stab him, then claim self defense. This is far beyond a proportional response. If he attacks you with a weapon and you are miraculously able to disarm him (this is much more difficult than the movies would have you believe), you may not continue to attack him; your options at this point are to stand there and see what he does next, or run away.
You are allowed a little more leeway if you are attacked while at home. The key word here is "attacked." If you surprise a burglar and he immediately starts running out the door, you can't shoot him, or tackle him and pound on him, or anything like that. Even if he has your stuff in his hands. You may only hurt him (or try to hurt him) if he decides to use violence against you or your family. However, while he remains on your property, you can certainly pound him until he's unconscious or he manages to get off your property. (Once he's off your property, that's it, however. You may not chase after him and tackle him to administer more chastisement, nor can you shoot him as he's running down the street.)
[Editor's note: Much of the material contained in this article is taken from the Web site of Marc "Animal" Macyoung, one of the foremost experts on violence, criminal behavior, and self-defense -- especially as it relates to martial artists. Macyoung's site is at http://nononsenseselfdefense.com and I highly recommend it.]
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