Intent, State of Mind, Guilt
AFAIK, there is nothing to support that idea. In fact, given that self-preservation is one of the strongest drives out there, it seems doubtful that they will defend better or stronger by trying to fool themselves that they are attacking rather than defending.
There is lots of evidence to support what I am saying about pre-decision and resolve.
The US Military, Law Enforcement, Martial Artist, and even Golfers train in very specific ways to clear and reinforce the mental path to execution.
They take the entire chain of execution from thought to result and pre-make every decision along every step in the chain until the full and complete result is achieved.
An example many of us can probably relate to:
Mentally, golfers dont swing the club, they hit the ball to where they want it to stop. The final result is part of the mental decision to start the chain of events and involved in every step along the way.
Martial Artists dont just kick, punch, or throw, They defeat their opponent. The decision and resolve to defeat their opponent is present during every link in every chain of execution. Boxers and UFC fighters rely on this to maintain strategy while they are being pummeled. Intent starts with result.
The concept of result guides the building chains of execution until it reached.
Thats what I am talking about here but I am not sure you are.
I don't believe the chain of execution will be the same up to the point of opening fire for the reasons I described above but, for the sake of this discussion, lets assume everything up to the point where you open fire is the same.
You seem to focus on guilt. You refuse to say that you will kill a predator, only that you will shoot him, when you are very likely to kill him by shooting him. You only want to own the trigger, not the entire event. If you were a martial artist, you are stuck on the kick or the punch but not the fight. See what I mean yet?
This is a potential disconnect in the mental path of execution because the result is not complete enough to be able to guide the building chain of execution. Fights dont stop just because someone shoots a gun. Ask any cop who has seen it.
You only want to accept and intend up to where you point the gun, pull the trigger, and feel the recoil.
The chain of events doesn't stop there however. Blood and gore, screaming, unnatural facial and body positions, and even nothing. All of which are huge things that can stay with you for a long time. These huge things can very easily break the chain of execution.
I mentioned that some of those things can stay with you for a long time. After its over, you probably killed him. If you haven't come to terms with that before the act and made it part of the result from the beginning of your actions, guilt will likely eat you alive regardless of what you say now. "What he hell was I thinking?!?!"
As I said before, chain of execution starts with the result. If you can start with an honest and complete result, it will likely guide the chain as it builds its way unbroken to the result. A result you know you can live with.
If you want to say the result you want to start the chain with is to shoot him,its not honest or complete because the fight may continue from there, involve other people, and he will likely die.
If it makes no sense to you, I am sorry.
It might take a competitive boxing or martial arts class for a few years to understand what I mean because Im running out of ideas in explaining it. Honestly, I did my best.
Any competitive martial artists or boxers out there?