Great Post! I am a Criminal Defense Lawyer and former prosecutor in a chicago collar county. Self-Defense does apply in Illinois. Although NO-ONE, and I mean NO-ONE (other than the mayor's and alderman's bodyguards) can legally carry in Illinois.
The prosecutor in the zimmerman case should be disbarred.
The first prosecutor who reviewed all the evidence from an objective viewpoint saw a clear-cut case of self defense backed by physical injuries to zimmerman and eyewitness accounts, all of which corroborrated zimmerman's account.
But, if I was in that situation I'm not sure what I would do. I was taught a japanese tradition of Miyamato Musashi to:
"Defeat your enemy before he can even think to oppose you."
The mind is the greatest weapon we possess. Confuse, scare, disorient, surprise. Anything to extract yourself from dangerous situations. It seems as though Zim was in the process of getting the **** kicked out of him and his only option was deadly force to stop deadly force from killing him.
After the first punch I would have tried to run, but if not possible I would immediate start acting absolutely bleeping crazy; I mean really crazy. People tend to back off when they think someone is unballanced, unpredictable. If I couldn't do that I'd use an old trick I learned froma teacher. They also used this (in part) towards the end of "Get Smart." Clinch him in and kiss him right on the lips. He will react by jumping back. Then add witha wink "Hey baby, I've got AIDS, let's ****. It works. Mis-direct them.