Any strategies for defending against multiple oppenents?

[Akira13]

I've been taking Goju-Ryu Karate for about 6 years, and we've never really gone in depth on the subject. Does anyone know anything about what you should do in that situation?

[equaninimus]

Run. Very fast. Not towards a cliff!

[Akira13]

That was pretty obvious. But if there was no where to run, what could you do to at least survive?

[equaninimus]

I would inflict as much damage as possible on the closest person. It would not be pretty, or nice, or "chivalrous" to use the terminology of another thread. Then I would un-* the area as quickly as I could!

[Akira13]

Alright thanks.

[Karateka_latino]

Don't try to "fight" them, Hurt them. As much as you can. Try to find a weapon and Hurt some more. And as soon as you have a chance to get away, do it. Don't try to "beat" them, just try to open your chances to run away from the conflict.

[TheDevilAside]

beat the holy **** ******* *********** *** (you get the idea) out of the first guy that you can get ahold of, with some luck, the rest will become quite disguisted with what you did to the first guy, and they'll back off.

[granmasterchen]

you have to be very vicious....run around and move about quickly so that you aren't in the same space for too long,.keep moving and attacking and be very mean., this is not sparring, this is a fight, and you have to survive....you can't go easy anymore

[White Warlock]

Battling multiple opponents is not as hard as most people think. You can freely hit all of them, but they can hit only you. This is an essential part of the strategy when dealing with multiple adversaries.

 

There are paths and angles. If you allow them to surround you, then you are in trouble, and is essential that you remove yourself from the center of hostilities. What you want to do is get them to 'crowd' each other or get in each other's way. You can do this by attempting to line them up, or have their paths cross. This essentially limits the amount of targets to one at a time, mobility is the key. Stand still and they have time to move around you. One step of yours can equate to 4 or 5 of their steps, so you can undermine their efforts far quicker than they can undermine yours.

 

Now, who to attack first. The first person to attack is the person who is most likely going to attack you. When dealing with multiple adversaries that clearly intend on causing you physical injury, you 'have' to be the aggressor. Two factors decide who you must attack first. One is, the aggressiveness of your different adversaries, and the other is, proximity.

 

Do not spend too much time on any one adversary. Strike and move. Do not allow anyone to get behind you and at the first 'reasonable' opportunity, run.

 

And, of course... if there is a way to 'talk' your way out of it all... even if you have to apologize for having done nothing wrong, swallow your 'ego' and do so. Property is not worth it, ego is not worth it.

 

edit: yes... being vicious is important. Those holding to a degree of hesitation may back off. But, don't focus too hard on any one opponent with your fury, as you can get mentally locked down. Also, if possible, periodically yell "stop" and "fire" at full volume. This 'can,' surprisingly, end it. "Stop" reminding them that 'they' were the initiators, and "Fire" reminding them that people might come to your rescue, or police may be coming any minute. The mental game is just as important as the physical game.

[Bretty101]

Go absolutely psycho!! Shouting and really hyper, this generally makes them hesitate. Don't shout at them as this builds adrenaline in your opponent, shout at yourself like your nuts. Alot of attackers will think twice.

 

If it all goes wrong, I'd try and keep moving round so your only fighting them one at a time and totally mess up the first guy you can get your hands on (as previously mentioned).

 

I was attacked last year by 3 men. I punched the smallest guy (he had a bottle) into the biggest guy and outrun the third!

 

Bretty