Safety in the Midst of Multiple Attackers

It’s a natural reaction to back away from a threat or attempt to go around it. Conventional wisdom therefore says that you should get to the outside of the group of attackers, use one of the attackers as a shield against the others and try to only fight one person at a time. For most people that probably holds true, however for those exponents interested in advanced skills against multiple attackers you will need to get used to the idea of doing things a bit differently.

One of the reasons that advanced defence skills against multiple attackers is different from the usual fare, is that you have to account for high functioning groups. These groups consist of attackers that can act in a coordinated manner to quickly round-up their victim, immobilise them and allow many attackers to gang up on the individual at the same time.

The goal is still to fight only one attacker at a time, but a high functioning group will not allow you to use their members as shields, nor will they allow you to stick to the outside of the group. Your only option is to go through the attacker, not around them; you never try to find a hole to squeeze through between two attackers. To weave your path around the attackers is a sure fire way to allow the group to track your progress and take you to ground, or it gives them time to use their weapons.

You go straight through the nearest attacker, rather than go around an opponent to find the next attacker. You always attack the closest opponent regardless of any strategic assessment.

So using advanced skills you have to do something unnatural, that is, instead of backing away from the threat or trying to keep to the outside of the group, you have to view the attacking group as a sea of safe islands. The aim is to move from one safe island to the next in the shortest amount of time. Acceleration and utmost adherence to non-grab attitude are key elements of making this work.

It is possible now to outpace the surrounding attacks where every opponent encountered must be thought of as a potential safe zone along your line of progression to a safe exit. If you try to run around people or get stuck on one attacker, you will be a clear target and your chosen direction readily identified. By moving through attackers you also leave them in your wake as human debris that helps prevent other attackers getting you from behind.

So, how can you accomplish something like what I have described above? The answer to this is Energisation and it is too big a topic to describe in one paragraph.

As always with group work, train safely and under the supervision of a qualified instructor.