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Weapons may or may not be present. One should not assume that because a weapon is not visible that the other person is unarmed. Many times the weapon is only produced after a fight has started or it may be improvised from a nearby object, such as a chair, bottle, billiard cue, etc.
Low-level confrontations, such as verbal exchange, pushing, or grabbing, are more common than serious assaults. So you self-defense training should emphasize handling these types of attacks.
There is always a risk of serious injury: You must deal with the consequences of any hit and have to continue in whatever state it leaves you in. This heightens the level of anxiety and may cause a situation to spiral out of control and become lethal
Confrontations have distinct stages as the interaction between the participants' changes. This means there are different skills sets required at each stage. There is usually an opportunity to halt the flow between stages.
Location and Timing. This pertains to where confrontations occur, when they occur, and how long they last.
- Location and time of occurrence may vary greatly. This means that the type of clothing worn by participants at the time of the confrontation will vary greatly.
- While the initial stages of a confrontation may last from seconds to several minutes to even days, the fight stage is often short in duration lasting only a few minutes if not seconds. The energy expenditure of the combatants in this brief period is high and usually at maximal capacity. Although there is no time limit to a fight, they are usually brief because either or both parties are exhausted, there is a decisive outcome, or at least one side has had enough.
