Hitting a girl is okay in self defense

Life or death circumstancesIn Round 1, Con wrote that"The exception to this [it not being okay for a man to hit a woman in self-defense] would be clear life or death circumstances. So let's keep lif or death circumstances or any situation that is obscure and unlikely to happen in real life or extremely rare out of it."Please note use of the word clear in "clear life or death circumstances" because of course any circumstance is potentially life or death. A woman could be trying to cut of a man's leg with a chainsaw and accidentally kill him; she could be playfullly punching him as a bet at a party and accidentally kill him (1); she could hit him with a shoe and accidentally kill him (2). Life is fragile.By including the word "clear" however, I think Con is restricting the exclusion to situations which are more likely to result in death than not. In relation to the example with the power tool, it really depends on contextual factors whether it be considered a clear life or death circumstance. For instance, if the woman has a large number of pets and she has amputated a leg from each of them, but they are otherwise happy and well cared for, then her past behavior lends credence to the theory that she wants to do the same to her boyfriend, especially if she shouts "I want your leg off". Con will no doubt argue that such a circumstance would be covered by the "extremely rare" condition; I include it as an example only to demonstrate that context is vital in judging whether a situation be CLEAR life or death.Self-defense and the strength differentialI agree with Con that large differences in strength and threat should be considered when judging the morality of hitting in self-defense. For example, in most circumstances, a three-year-old running at someone with a baseball bat shouting "die die die!" would not warrant self-defensive violence, but the same actions by a huge man could well do.Some men are very weak, though. Some men are elderly, disabled or sick. Men who have grown up in very poor circumstances do not always gain the same kind of bulk and strength as people who have better nutrition in childhood (3).Therefore, when considering strength difference, it should be based on the individuals concerned. A healthy 25-year-old female kickboxer could easily assault and harm a 75-year-old disabled man who is recovering from surgery.Other circumstances that could affect the threat differental include the women having weapons or there could be several of them attacking a man at once. There could be situations that constrain a man's response - for example, he could be holding a baby or a little kitten, and his attempts to protect the vulnerable creature with his arms leave him more vulnerable to assault.Hitting backIn my Round 1 example, a woman is using a weapon to attack a man who cannot get away. I say that it would be okay to hit her arm to deflect the weapon. That deflection may give him the opportunity to escape uninjured.I suggest that it is not only okay for him to defend himself in that way, but that he is morally obliged to defend himself. Not only will that preserve his own body for future good works, but by escaping assault he protects the woman assailant from committing the crime of seriously injuring him.(1) http://articles.chicagotribune.com...;(2) http://www.cbsnews.com...;(3) http://www.thelancet.com...;