DUBAI // Martial-arts instructors say they are hampered by vague laws on self-defence, leaving them unable to give their students guidance on how far they can go if the need arises to defend themselves.
"When I first arrived in this country I asked the police about this issue and if, for example, it would be possible for someone to carry pepper spray and use it if they were attacked," said Stephen Drake, a British self-defence instructor, who works in Dubai.
"They never got back to me and I got the impression they weren't even sure themselves."
He teaches his clients how to identify potential trouble and avoid confrontation.
"If someone shouts and swears at you, then walks away, I would say ignore it and go about your own business. On the other hand, if that swearing and shouting turns into pushing and shoving, then I would say you should prepare to run or fight," he said.
Fighting should always be a last resort, but if it does come to that and you get an attacker on the ground then you should not continue striking, he advised.
"You must also remember that a fight is a very stressful situation, and when emotions take over people react differently," he said.
He said he advised his students to run or contact the police once they had dealt with the initial incident.
According to Ahmed Saif, the chief justice of the Dubai Criminal Courts, the law weighs the facts and evaluates the severity of an assault.
"The use and knowledge of a martial art in self-defence is not considered an aggravating circumstance within the law," he said.
The pertinent self-defence law follows four principles. It must be clear that a crime is being committed against a person, his property or on someone else's self or property based on reasonable grounds, and the victim must be unable, for any reason, to go to the public authorities and prevent the incident.
In addition, the individual must have no option but to defend himself. Finally, the defence should be in proportion to the assault.
"One has to avoid any contact when a crime is occurring; if a person is in any of the situations set by the law and is forced to engage, the response in self-defence should not overshadow the level of assault," said Harun Tahlak, a lawyer in Dubai.
"If a person kills someone because, for example, he was slapped, he will be prosecuted."
The law states that killing someone during the act of self-defence is permissible only under certain circumstances.
These include the victim having reasonable fear of death or severe injury, a woman being raped, kidnapping, arson attacks, damage or theft and if a home is being broken into. The law does not allow self-defence in resisting arrest by a public official performing official duties, unless the person being arrested has reason to fear for his or her life or severe injury.
Intent is the most important factor; courts also take into account the circumstances and location of the incident, said Mr Tahlak.
Nicola Reynecke, a South African who trains with Mr Drake, admitted she had never given much thought to the self-defence laws. "I tried to avoid situations where I thought I might put myself in danger; taking the less dark route home and skipping carriages on the tube if I didn't feel comfortable," she said.
However, if one is engaged in a competitive sport and an assault happens it is considered legal if it falls within the rules of the sport, according to Mr Saif.
"If the assault happens outside of [the sport's] rules of engagement it becomes a prosecutable offence," he said.
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