Multiple Assailant Training

Realistically, there are few things that would be more frightening than dealing with multiple assailants, armed or otherwise. The problem for me is that, thank God, I've never had to do it. My training has consistented of sparring with up to three opponents, and I can tell you it wasn't realistic.


If I were working with a group to attack someone, I'd want to:

1. Attack simultaneously - none of this "line 'em up, punch 'em out" stuff, where the attackers take turns getting kicked in the head and backfisted. One of the reasonsthat I hate most martial arts movies is that they don't reflect the reality that the odds are way against you. I read something on DefendU or somewhere, that above two or three attackers, the assailants just got in each others way, and weren't effective.
2. Take my victim down and stomp him - taking down a defender takes away his mobility and gives you the opportunity to kick and stomp without much risk.
3. Attack from behind - not only for surprise, but because it is less risky. Again, you can get him on the ground and stomp him into the pavement.
4. Use weapons - again, less risk. If you gave me a choice between a blade or club/staff, I'll take the impact weapon every time. However, I may pull out and use the unseen knife for stabbing once I have gotten behind the victim, or when he is down. I never want him to see it.

Scary? It is to me. So how do you defend it (without a firearm)? Multiple attackers definitely constitute deadly force, and you need to escalate your response. While I may have fun with a single attacker, the odds go way down when there's a weapon or numbers against me, even worse when there are both.

Food for thought, eh? Please research this and get back to me. We WILL be working on it.