There’s a line from the film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” where Bruce Lee’s character tells Brad Pitt’s character “But my hands are registered as lethal weapons. That means we get into a fight, I accidentally kill you? I go to jail.”
He might well be correct about going to jail for accidentally killing someone in a fight. That can certainly happen. But it wouldn’t be just because his hands were registered as lethal weapons. In fact, for most of the U.S. including Maryland, registering your hands as such is not even an option. Not that Hollywood ever let the truth get in the way of a good storyline.
A court might consider your training
A court will take each case very much on an individual basis. While there are certain guidelines it must follow when applying the law, a judge is not going to convict you of a violent charge after a fight just because you happen to have training in martial arts, boxing or something similar. Equally, if the other party dies, the court is not going to automatically charge you with murder or manslaughter just because you happen to have a black belt.
The judge may, however, take your training into consideration. For example, if the other party passed out and hit their head after you had them in a chokehold, the judge may be less likely to write off the brain damage they suffered as an unfortunate accident if they discover you have been trained in how to apply chokeholds with maximum effect. They might decide that due to your training, you should have realized just how dangerous what you were doing was and should have taken more care to prevent serious injury. It could make it more likely you end up convicted of something or that you face more severe consequences.
There is a lot for you and the court to consider if you face violent charges. If you do have training of some sort, be sure to mention it to your legal team so they can prepare your defense with that in mind, as the prosecution may well try to make use of it against you.