MANY are looking for a way to differentiate combative and self-defense but in reality, one compliment the other.
Some define combative as an assault or aggression, while self-defense is more of a counter to assault, but what is the difference actually?
Complicated as it is, combat and self-defense are like identical twins with differences overshadowed by overwhelming similarities.
Just to make it clearer and easier to understand especially for non-combatant and non-violent people, physical protection of life resorting to violence is combative and self-defense all in one. If that makes it more complicated, here is a scenario that makes combative a self-defense and self-defense a combative:
A lady walking home alone in a street corner is conscious about the situation while having a mind set on what to do just in case there would be harm. True to her intuition, someone was waiting for a victim and saw the lady and was waiting to grab her with the intention of robbing her or more.
As soon as the lady felt someone approaching, she prepared herself for possibilities of danger, reaching for her pepper spray and setting her plan if ever this man assaults her. The man then blocked her path and was asking for the lady to give him her belongings and even wants her to strip her clothes off.
The lady, sensing it was not a simple robbery surprised the man by pressing hard on her pepper spray to the face focusing on the eyes of the man while giving him a hard kick to the nuts and the ran a s quick and as far as she can heading to the nearest populated place, police station, establishment etc. to ask for help just in case the man followed her.
The lady setting her mind on a possibility of danger, prepared with something to use is pre-empted self-defense. Her actions in assaulting the man with the pepper spray and kicking him in the nuts is a combative action that purposely temporary disabling the man giving her time to ran for safety and ask for help, but if the lady is a martial artist, turn of events would be a little different and more unfavorable for the man.
Basically, combative is learning the skill for self-defense and self-defense is knowing what to do in dangerous situations and having the arsenal to counter it. Combative is self-defense and self-defense is combative, depending on situations.