How To Fight Against Multiple Opponents
Fighting on the streets is one of the worst decisions person can make as it does not do you any good. Want to prove you are tough by risking your health and life? Great. But engaging in a brawl with multiple opponents is even worse.
However, life is not always sunshine and rainbows, it will put you in a situation where the only choice you can make is to clench your fists, tighten your jaw, and start swinging punches to protect your life or the life of your loved ones. Running away is always the best option, but not available in every situation.
Thus, in this article, we will give you some valuable tips on how to fight against multiple opponents to increase your chances of getting out of trouble without serious injuries or other consequences.
Use verbal tactics first and give them what they want
If you are sure you haven’t done anything wrong, try to resolve the situation using verbal tactics. Give your best to explain to attackers that this is a misunderstanding or that you are not the person they are looking for. Positive and natural interaction with the attackers, without any shouting or raised tone, will calm the situation.
If they want money, give them all the money. If they want jewelry, give them all the jewelry. Yes, this piece of asset probably has a sentimental worth to you.
But is it worth your life? Is it worth it for your kids to lose a parent, mother son, or brother because of it? Be rational, you are worth to your kids or family members far more than this piece of jewelry.
Special awareness
If verbal tactics do not give any result, use the precious seconds to analyze the situation and space you are in and the objects around you. Spot in which direction is the best to run away, how you are going to move, and whether are there any objects that you can use as weapons to defend. Overall, plan your defense.
Lastly, determine who is the leader of the group. In most cases, that is the loudest and most aggressive person who does not stop talking while the others remain silent.
Neutralize the leader first
Every violent group that is looking to rob or attack someone has a leader. An alpha who is manipulating the behavior of others and is leading them towards the same goal. This specific person should be your first and main target. When things get out of control and the fight breaks out, be sure to give your best to neutralize the group leader, or at least hurt them first.
If you blast them with a well-placed shot and they go down, the rest of the group would likely back off. Or, seeing their “toughest and most capable” leader going down would destroy their confidence, and decrease their aggression. You can use this moment to further calm the situation down, or run away.
Do not get caught in a triangle
Movement is crucial when you are fighting multiple opponents. You should never allow yourself to get “stuck” between opponents.
You may miss a few shots, and absorb some damage, but never get caught in a triangle, surrounded by attackers from all sides. Once they have your sides and rear, the fight is over from the strategic point of view.
No matter what you do, it is impossible to defend in this situation simply because you can’t see the strikes coming at you from all sides. And if you watch combat sports, you may have heard that the shots you don’t see are the ones that actually knock you out.
Keep opponents in front
In order to defend, you must always know where the attackers are and keep them all in your line of sight. This is crucial as it allows you to adapt your movement according to the position of the attackers, and always keep them in front. This is the only way you can neutralize them one by one, and prevent them from attacking you from the sides or rear.
Keeping your opponents in front is probably the hardest thing to do. You must remain calm, have good special awareness, and have good balance and footwork to know in which direction to move at which moment. But no matter what you do, just be sure not to freeze and stay in one place because this means you will lose. Attackers will quickly overwhelm you from all sides, and it won’t end well.
Target the pressure points
This is easier said than done as hitting sensitive body areas is really hard to do. Even trained strikes have a hard time finding pressure points in a fight.
People not trained in martial arts would have a hard time hitting anything in a chaotic situation such as fighting against multiple opponents. However, there are specific situations where any person can hit these areas.
For example, if one of the attackers manages to grab you by the arm or shoulder, they will be close enough for you to blast them straight in the groins, nose, throat, or solar plexus. Just one well-placed shot would force the attacker to crumble down to the ground in serious pain. Instead of wrestling or trying to get out, focus on the pressure points and use them to your full advantage.
Use objects around you as a weapon
There are situations where you won’t have any objects around you, such as if you are fighting in the parking lot for example. But in most other places such as a nightclub, there will be plenty of objects you can use to defend yourself.
Remember, there are no rules once your life is in danger. However, this does not mean that you should cross the line beyond self-defense. But if you spot an object next to your hand like an ashtray, or a bar chair, be sure to blast the attackers with it, or at least try to back them off in some “safer” way.
For example, you can throw a chair at one opponent to buy some time and immediately switch your focus to the other. However, don’t forget that this can also backfire on you as the opponents might decide to grab one too.
Stay mobile
No matter where the fight takes place, the number of attackers, or whether you have objects to use as weapons or not, be sure to always stay mobile. Yes, you are going to get scared and overwhelmed with adrenalin, as all people would, but staying in one place and freezing means giving up and losing. You are making yourself an easy target for the attackers to blast you with hard blows and do whatever they want with you.
Instead, always give your best to make rapid movements in all directions not just with your foot, but with your upper body as well.
This way, you make yourself a smaller target and force the opponents to miss a lot of punches and kicks. This is crucial because when a person misses a full-blown shot, they usually lose balance as well and often fall down to the ground, which you can use to your advantage.
Run as soon as you spot the opportunity
The last one is quite obvious, run as soon as you spot the chance to do so. If the opportunity arises after the first punch, there is no point in battling with other attackers. Turn around and run as fast as you can.
But again, be sure to have good spacial awareness, and even before the fight begins, determine in which direction you are going to run. If you don’t think about it, you might run into a dead-end street for example.
Final Words — Your Life is in Your Hands
Street fighting is fraught with danger. You can end up seriously hurt, in jail, or dead. Thus, be sure to avoid violence at all costs and give your best to use verbal tactics to talk your way out of trouble.
But if the fight breaks out, the most important thing is to stay calm. With a calm mind, you can assess your situation, and plan your defense to maximize your chances of survival. Always be on the move, never stick in one place, use objects as weapons, throw strikes as fast as you can, and once you see the opening, run as fast as you can.
