When battered women are violent it is not known if the violence should be labeled 'mutual combat,' 'husband abuse,' or 'self defense.' Following a review of studies comparing the extent of husbands' and wives' victimization and some conceptual issues regarding self defense, data are presented from 52 battered women on their motives for using violence against their partners. The most frequent reason for violence reported by the women was for self defense. Only one woman reported initiating an attack with severe violence in more than half of her violent acts. The concepts of 'self defense' and 'fighting back' were significantly and positively correlated; that is, many women saw them as being the same. The results are discussed in the context of the need to collect data on relevant explanatory variables in family violence research and the application of a feminist perspective to reduce bias in such research. 45 references and 4 tables. (Author abstract modified)