Zillmann defines aggressive behaviour as, ‘any and every activity by which a person seeks to inflict bodily damage or physical pain upon a person who is motivated to avoid such infliction’ (1979, 33). He distinguishes between offensive and defensive aggression. Offensive aggression is when a person seeks to inflict injury or pain upon a person who is not attempting or has not been attempting to inflict injury or pain upon them. Defensive aggression is when a person seeks to inflict injury or pain upon a person who is attempting or has been attempting to inflict injury or pain upon them. Offensive and defensive aggression are at the heart of all activities associated with preparing a person to engage in a violent encounter (Fight Activities; see chapter one). Injury and pain are at the heart of offensive and defensive aggression, therefore, injury and pain are at the heart of all Fight Activities. While injury and pain are at the heart of all Fight Activities, they are not explicitly studied in their literature. This book is unique in Fight Activities literature in explicitly exploring injury in chapter nine while this chapter explores pain.
The abovementioned article is worth a read for anyone involved in the martial arts until they get to read my chapter on the subject.
