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The law is relatively simple to state: you have a right to use reasonable force to defend yourself or third persons. You are entitled to use deadly force if you are threatened with deadly force.

If you do exercise your right of self-defense, be sure that it is necessary. Do not overreact. If you do, you will be liable for the excessive force. If a simple "No!" will work to dissuade someone from bothering you, then say "No" rather than breaking the person's nose. If you are able to push someone away, then do that, rather than kick the person in the groin. However, if your back is against the wall, and you are threatened with deadly force, then you are legally and morally entitled to use deadly force to protect yourself.

However, the application of these principles may not be clear. If you injure another person, that person may file a civil action against you anytime within two years from the time of the injury. The frustrating problem is that although you may have a clear idea of what happened, and firmly believe that you were exercising your right of self-defense and that the force you used was reasonable under circumstances, the stories of the other person and witnesses may not coincide with your version.

The truth is rarely clear cut, and where there are different stories about what happened (as there usually are) remember that it is a jury that will be resolving those differences, sometimes two or three years after the incident. The jury may believe you or they may not. If they do not, you will be held liable for the damages the other person sustained. That will include any medical expenses or wage loss sustained by that person, as well as damages for any pain and suffering incurred in the past or that the person will likely sustain in the future.

In addition, you could conceivably be held liable for punitive damages.Those damages may be awarded to the plaintiff in a case where the defendant acts in deliberate disregard of the plaintiff’s rights.

Finally, although you may have liability insurance coverage, either through your homeowner's or renter's policy or perhaps a comprehensive liability insurance policy, those policies will contain an exclusion for intentionally caused injuries. If the exclusion applies, your insurance coverage will not cover the damages and you will have to pay the plaintiff.

If a criminal proceeding is instituted. you could be prosecuted for anything ranging from simple assault to murder, depending on the circumstances. Deciding the issue of guilt or innocence will again be up to the trier of fact, the jury.

They may or may not agree with your version of what happened. If they do not, you will be subject to the appropriate criminal sanctions, which could include imprisonment.

The martial arts may come into play another way. If you disclose that you are trained in the martial arts, it may justify the use of even greater force on the part of a person with whom you are having an altercation.

It is not true, of course, that black belts in taekwondo or any other martial art must register their hands and feet with the police. You don't need a license to have a black belt. But the other person does not have to stand by and suffer a potentially deadly assault without exercising appropriate self-defense. Disclosure of your abilities may bolster the other person's claim that he thought that it was necessary to use a weapon against someone who said he was a martial artist.

In some jurisdictions, it is possible that a person's hands and feet may be considered a deadly weapon. If so, criminal conduct will be aggravated. In other words, it becomes a more serious offense. It is a more serious criminal offense to attack someone with a weapon rather than with bare hands. If a weapon is involved the criminal assault may be deemed to be an aggravated criminal assault. Because the crime is more serious, the criminal penalty is also more serious.

If you assault against another person, without justification, you may be subject to a civil action or criminal prosecution. Involvement in either is highly unpleasant. If you are forced to defend yourself, you may still be subject to civil or criminal actions.

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©2002-2008 Minnesota Taekwondo Center, Arden Hills, Minnesota.