then man up and throw down to protect yourself...If he was being an ******* and threw a punch your way, don't hesitate to throw one back if you are justified.
This is a tricky point, but I disagree.
"Higher standard of care" applies to CCW-holders: we are expected to go REALLY out of our way to avoid, descalate or dis-engage from a physical conflict, because we know we're armed, and we know it could escalate into deadly force.
If he thows a punch, and you throw a punch back, you'll be having a lot more trouble explaining to a jury why you eventually shot him. You can of course try the "Well, he STARTED it!" defense (doesn't work for my sons). He'll say you started it, and most witnesses will say, "I don't know, I just saw two guys fighting so I started yelling, 'Fight! Fight! Fight!'"
As I said: if he hits you, go down. Stay down. Hands up, "I'm done. I give." Whatever. You tried to end the conflict.
It's very hard to continue fight with someone you just knocked down--most people would walk away. If he continues the fight by kicking you with a shod foot after you're down and not fighting, THAT is considered deadly force: draw your gun and see what happens next.
"But if I do that, he might kill me before I shoot him." Yes--and that risk would fulfuill the "in immediate, otherwise unavoidable danger etc." requirement we've been talking about.
I personally would not want to try to sell either the "Well, if I had let him punch me he could've killed me," or the "Well, once he punched me I had to punch him back" theories to a jury after a shooting that resulted from such an altercation.
If you want to punch someone back--leave the gun at home. Please.