What Is Self-Defense?

If they’re going to play dirty, don’t throw hands—dodge and run, then call the police.

In public places or under camera surveillance, your first move should be this: as soon as there’s any physical contact, you drop to the ground, start trembling, and work a little foam to the corner of your mouth. Then call the police. Demand compensation for medical exams, medical bills, lost wages, and emotional distress. That’s the playbook—it’s the right approach.

If you’re not in public, your first reaction should be to run. Run, then call the police.

If you can’t pull off any of the above, you only get one shot. You need to make that single opportunity count. Don’t scare them off and then chase them down to keep fighting—that changes the nature of the whole thing. You only have one chance. Use whatever’s around: scissors, a brick, or—in the vein of the Kunshan Long Ge self-defense case—pick up the weapon they dropped. Land one decisive strike. Even if you fully intended it, because you were under threat to your life and acted only once, the law views it as acting in panicked self-defense to protect your life. Unconscious of the consequences, you’ve sent them straight to the foot of Mount Lingshan.