 People train in the martial arts for a variety of reasons, but quite often self-defense is a primary goal. We learn to protect ourselves if we're ever in a dangerous situation, but it's very easy to overlook the price tag. Now I'm not talking about school tuition or equipment, but rather consequences. Let's talk about the real cost of self-defense. If you like our channel and want to show your support, you can join us on Patreon or YouTube memberships and get access to member content such as extra interviews, behind-the-scenes, and additional bonus episodes. We appreciate you all keeping this project growing. I have a feeling that we're going to have quite a variety of opinions on this topic, and that's okay because this is not a simple topic and I'm actually looking forward to the feedback on this one. It's important to establish that this episode is not trying to discourage you to take action or use yourself to fence if you need it. Everyone has the right to protect themselves or their loved ones, and I sincerely hope that if you are ever faced with a situation that you have the tools, both literally and figuratively, to do that. But there's still something else that comes with that that I feel is often under taught, and that's consequence. We are accountable for our actions, and we are fully responsible for the decisions we make. If we are faced with a threat, then that decision may involve a certain level of judgment. We have to decide not only when it's appropriate to defend ourselves violently, but also how. Respond in kind. See, this is a phrase I hear often, and many people use this to set the context of what they feel they are allowed to do to an opponent. Now, I don't quite agree with this, but we're going to come back to that in a few minutes. Deciding how far to go with an opponent is another topic altogether, and we actually already covered that in a previous episode. Today, however, we're going to look at three main consequences you are likely to encounter in the wake of a self-defense situation. Let's start with cost in the literal sense. Defending yourself may end up actually costing you money in several different ways. The first one is liability. The laws and legal system of defending yourself are going to vary greatly between country to country and even state to state. It's a very good idea to research and learn the self-defense laws in your jurisdiction. There can be exceptions, of course, loopholes, conditions, or even compounded effects of laws that you might not even be aware of. Some people feel that they won't be arrested to charge if it's a clear case of self-defense. Well, this may not always be true, and the functional word here is clear case. I want to credit Tidwell Law Group for a blurb that they have on their website that addresses this, and I thought it was a great quote to share. It might seem odd, but no one is actually arrested for acting out on self-defense since no one can be charged with self-defense as a crime. Police officers have a duty to arrest anyone suspected of committing a criminal violation. When responding to a call involving violence and self-defense, all the officers will see is two people in a fight. At that point, both of them could be theoretically be committing assault and battery, even if one person is solely acting in self-defense. The police officer needs to arrest both of them unless there is immediate and clear evidence that self-defense was a factor in one party's actions. Be careful in pleading your case. Any testimony that you give may be used against you, so the better decision may be to obtain counsel. The severity of the costs can also heavily depend on how badly you may have hurt the other person, or how instrumental the law feels you were instigating the situation to begin with. If you did injure the other person, you may have significant medical fees to cover as well, and we all know just how cheap healthcare is in this country. And speaking of healthcare, this is all assuming that you came out of the situation unscathed. Even if you successfully defended yourself, you could still have injuries, blood loss, broken bones, concussions, cuts, or worse, could still land you with some serious medical bills. And as of legal fees and medical bills weren't enough, depending on the situation, there could be property damage as well. While many businesses have insurance, that does not mean that you won't be stuck with the bill. In a violent encounter, people can get hurt, and sometimes this physical cost can be irreversible. Cuts and scrapes are one thing, but broken bones, dislocated joints, concussions, torn tissue, and other internal injuries can be something else altogether. Not everything heals completely. Torn roadhater cuffs, injured knees, backs, can bring lifelong frustrations and limitations. Do you have any injuries that you're still dealing with today? Now imagine being the source of that for someone else. And it might not be avoidable. Sometimes in order to defend yourself, you have to injure someone else, but that's where the judgment has to come in. Are you about to shoot that blade-edge kick to collapse the inside of their knee because they are truly a danger to you, or is it because they made you angry? Bottily harm to either them or you can sometimes be a very hefty toll. This one can really run on the wide spectrum. When it comes to fighting, whether it be for self-defense or combat, there is a major psychological effect in play. Entry in another human being doesn't feel good, or at least it shouldn't. There can often be guilt for hurting someone else, even more so if you had to take their life. There can be lingering trauma from the encounter if it was particularly violent or scary. You may be angry, depressed, or you may find yourself highly suspicious of people going forward. Some people are able to cope with this better than others. Military and law enforcement, for example, often have to make this choice out of necessity. It's not always a matter of trying to mitigate injury, sometimes it's simply a matter of survival and choices have to be made. If a person has been trained and is not as strange as the violence, then they can usually make a pragmatic call in the moment and still sleep at night, though I would still argue that there is still a psychological effect here. Being able to handle situations like that usually requires training and conditioning. So are we clear to respond in kind? Are we justified in using whatever force is used against us? I think it's a tough call and it can't be answered with a simple yes or no. I can think of several situations where it might not be appropriate to respond in kind. If a small woman punches a large man, does that give him full license to decker out? If someone takes the swing at you with a club, even with the intent of hurting you and you're able to disarm them, do you think the law is going to be on your side if you're going to attack them with the weapon and then beat them down? It's not always such a clear call. Context is everything and it can be a real challenge to find that balance between doing what you have to in order to be safe and going too far. I came across a quote online that I liked and it said, a situation should be resolved as peacefully as possible but as forcibly as necessary. We all have the right to defend ourselves from threats we truly feel are a danger to us. But I think it's worth putting out there an awareness that most situations don't end at the end of the situation. And there's a lot of realistic elements that you don't typically encounter inside of dojo training. Most of us don't know what it feels like to break another person's bones in our hands or to have a gun go off next to our ear or to go through a plate glass window while struggling with someone. There are real consequences and real costs to a physical confrontation. Sometimes choosing not to fight can be the better defense if the situation allows it. Now I expect a wide range of comments and that's okay. I think this is an open topic we should be talking about. I welcome any shared experience in the comments or any other considerations that we didn't mention in this video. So train hard and stay safe. Learn to utilize the force that may be necessary but practice the ways of any confrontations peacefully.