Agreed that it doesn't really matter if he is fully aware of what he is doing or not. You will have plenty of time to wonder about that after you have removed yourself from the situation. Maybe he actually didn't mean to hit you, but really that's not the point as far as I'm concerned. As I've stated a rare hitting or two is not necessarily a big deal, but from what you have described, this person has the mentality of an abuser, and that's what's important. He won't change, and it will get worse.