fuel the fire

and possibly result in your wrists being grabbed. If he
keeps forcing forward, you are in danger, attack is certainly
imminent so make your decision without haste. Indecision begets
defeat.
For the duration of dialogue it is imperative to maintain distance
control until you are able to escape, or are forced or strike. If you
are forced into an attack situation -this should be an absolute last
resort -make it a telling blow to a vulnerable area. Explode into
the opponent with every fibre of your being, then run!! Many
defence gurus advocate a second strike, a finisher. If there is a
choice in the matter, don't do it. The few seconds you buy with
your first strike could easily be lost if you linger for even a
second. With some of the people I have interviewed, and certainly
in many of the incidents I have witnessed, this attempted and
unnecessary coup de grace resulted in the victim being grabbed,
and subsequently defeated. There is also the danger of your
attacker's accomplices (if he has any), coming to his aid if you do
not take advantage and beat a hasty retreat. So unless a second
strike is absolutely necessary the rule of thumb is 'hit and run'.
Dissuasion range, or conversation range usually allows only
8-1 2 inches between you and your potential opponent. If
this is mismanaged it rapidly degenerates into vertical
grappling range and then ground fighting - not a good place
to be if you don't know the arena or are facing more than one
opponent. Whilst conversation distance is not the chosen
range of the majority -most people feel safer at about 4 or 5
feet - it can be maintained so that it does not degenerate
further into grappling range by 'putting a fence around your
factory'.