Why Pressure is Key to Learning Defence Against Multiple Attackers

You can get a false impression that you have a technique or strategy that works against multiple attackers when in fact it is only working because the group of attackers is not strong enough. Most groups of attackers are low functioning i.e. they attack as individuals, greatly reducing the effectiveness and relevance of the group’s numbers.

A high functioning group will put the individual under a lot of pressure, which will test their real capabilities against multiple attackers. Pressure is derived from the attackers putting a mental and physical demand on the individual in battle. As the pressure level increases the amount of pressure experienced is not incremental; it is more like an exponential curve as you begin to experience high pressures – as seen in the diagram below.

What do these pressure intensity levels represent? The low to mid level is the range of pressure you are likely to experience in a social fight where an argument got out of hand and become a physical confrontation.

The mid pressure level or slightly above it, is where you would experience a serious battle against a single opponent. MMA competition for instance operates at this pressure intensity but they have optimised their fighting art so that it dominates at this level of pressure. What would happen if you added an additional amount of pressure into their battles, say two opponents against one? You would likely see the techniques etc. breakdown, particularly for the person fighting two opponents.

This is not to say that the MMA exponents don’t have the ability to deal with multiple opponents; they just cannot take the same approach as they would for a single opponent. MMA practitioners are skilled up just like any other student of the arts and if they applied the basic strategies against multiple attackers that help you keep safe, then logically I can't see why their outcomes wouldn’t be as good as the outcomes of TMA (traditional martial arts) exponents.

A high level of pressure is where things start to get interesting and this level of pressure can only really be generated by high functioning group i.e. a group that can act in a coordinated manner to quickly round-up their victim, immobilise them and allow many attackers to gang up on them at the same time. The attackers could also have weapons for instance. This high level of pressure tends to destroy techniques, strikes, and anything else you care to name that the individual has in their arsenal.

Some people might argue that high functioning groups are not ‘real’, that the chance of having to deal with such a group is unlikely. In a sense they are correct, but the exponents who are interested in developing advanced skills against multiple attackers will need high functioning groups so that they get the right experience with the right feedback for their training.

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