With the release of the CCTV footage showing an American student being beaten by a group of Muslim men; illegally enforcing Sharia Law in a London suburb I am going to look at multiple attackers.
Just as the main aim of being on the ground is getting to your feet ASAP, the main aim when confronted or attacked by a group is to effect an escape ASAP.
Unless the attack starts without warning; one of the attackers will be acting as the mouth piece. Its his job to distract you, to make you concentrate on him, you are being lined up for an attack from a different direction, from one of the silent partners in the group.
Getting lured and subsequently trapped by the mouth piece diverts your attention from your main aim, ESCAPE. The mouth piece is going to use all manner of insults and arguments to disengage your brain and draw you into a position of vulnerability.
This is the moment tunnel vision sets in, your focus is now on the mouth piece, this is where most untrained people fall foul. You will be fixated on the mouth piece, you won't see anything but him and you won't hear any other sound but his voice until BAM, you've just been hit.
Once that first blow lands, a shit storm is also about land, ON YOU. However many people there are they are all going to attack at once, kicking, punching and if there are weapons, they too are going to be used.
Just as the main aim of being on the ground is getting to your feet ASAP, the main aim when confronted or attacked by a group is to effect an escape ASAP.
Unless the attack starts without warning; one of the attackers will be acting as the mouth piece. Its his job to distract you, to make you concentrate on him, you are being lined up for an attack from a different direction, from one of the silent partners in the group.
Getting lured and subsequently trapped by the mouth piece diverts your attention from your main aim, ESCAPE. The mouth piece is going to use all manner of insults and arguments to disengage your brain and draw you into a position of vulnerability.
This is the moment tunnel vision sets in, your focus is now on the mouth piece, this is where most untrained people fall foul. You will be fixated on the mouth piece, you won't see anything but him and you won't hear any other sound but his voice until BAM, you've just been hit.
Once that first blow lands, a shit storm is also about land, ON YOU. However many people there are they are all going to attack at once, kicking, punching and if there are weapons, they too are going to be used.
Click on the video and lets have a look at the footage.
At 17 seconds he is surrounded by 5 guys to the front and left and right but no one to the rear, his escape route.
The next act is typical, no cognitive thought of escape and tunnel vision sets in. He argues with the short guy to his right, exposing his back to the fat guy on his left. He had to expose his back to someone, and the fat guy was the best option as he was not going to run too far or too fast. This on the victim's part though was not a planned move.
What he did:
He pushes the short guy but closes with him at the same time so they are holding each other's arms so he cannot get free, at 23 seconds the rest are on him because he did not create space.
What he should have done:
Violent push on the short guy to; if not send him sprawling then to create space and then run full speed to his right, his rear previously. No pre-emptive strike in this case, if it didn't work there would be no space created and no time to correct the decision and run.
He breaks away at 30 seconds. He is either not a very fast runner or more likely he is dazed from the previous blows.
At 37 seconds they have him again up against the wall. He is standing square onto them trying to cover up but exposing all of the bodies target areas to his attackers, his head is down with his arms over his head. Here he cannot see where his attackers are, where the blows are coming from and cannot mount an attack from this position.
I have been in a similar position before, more attackers, and I was not alone.
I ended up with my back against the wall next to a friend with around 7-8 guys around us. Both in combat stances and fighting back anyone who ventured in. Effectively fighting back puts doubt into those attacking you, by effective I mean you seriously hurt one of them. They are then unsure whose turn it is to attack next.
To get to this stage you have to weather the initial attack by fighting and making space so that from everyone attacking at once it slows down to limited sporadic singular attacks.
All the while you are looking to escape. We escaped by both going on the offensive against one person, creating space and running as fast as we could.
Lots of people have different plans for this, a set of S.O.Ps if you will; but any actions you undertake will be dictated by what is happening on the ground at that time.
So here are some of my pointers.
I would not choose a doorway option as you are hemmed in and there is still going to be at least two attacking, more if the doorway is larger and the only escape is through the attackers. But if you are protecting someone, your spouse for example then a doorway would be a better option as you need to be in front of them to defend them anyway. But these are best or worst case scenarios, depends on how you look at it.
You could argue that the wall will protect your back, it does but again you have to work at your escape route.
With gang and multiple attackers you will more than likely not have the choice of where to stand your ground. Running at the earliest option is the best plan.
You can see from this clip and other clips how fast it all happens and how much ground the fight can cover in a short space of time. Each move and stop will bring different escape options.
The idea of using an attacker as a shield or a battering ram is ok if the numbers of attackers and the situation allows for this, and if your attackers are standing in such a fashion that you can use one as a shield or push them into each other then great. But here we have to remember that if we can grab them then they can grab us.
If you are protecting someone, it is going to be a big problem. They're just going to have to run the gauntlet, sorry more like walk the gauntlet. It's going to be a fighting retreat. You and who you are looking after are going to get hurt, maybe more than normal because you cannot escape as fast as when on your own. You're going to be in the contact area a lot longer.
There are drills for the IBG or parent protecting someone who is either a child too old to be carried, very old or has an injury there are drills
Because of the sensitive nature of this drill, the violence, it's not something that you can easily train for with the child. There has to be a lot of talking with the child first for them to understand what is happening, why it is happening and how they can help.
One person plays the child, one the BG (bodyguard)/ parent and one acting as attacker. One variation is where the attacker has to get to the child but not attack the BG, the BG can only push the attacker away. The BG also has to give orders to the child.
Another is where the attacker can attack the BG to get to the child, the BG here can fight back, much harder. Then we put in multiple attackers, weapons and different locations, open spaces, getting in and out of vehicles, corridors, lifts, in fact most locations.
At all times you have to be in touching distance of the child / adult so you can feel where they are, you haven't got time to be looking around to see where they are.
Difficult part for parents and child is telling their child to run when it is safe to do so while they cover their escape.
Most instruction only covers the physical aspect but if the child is (and will be) traumatised, frozen in place, then the training is useless, so with children there has to be a lot of loud talking if not shouting during training to simulate shocking the child into action. with older kids it is easier to sit them down, talk and go through what the training is for and why you are doing it.
A good game for the kids is to play this with both parents with no mention of what the game means. One tries to catch the child and the other defends. You could encompass trying to take the rag from the child's back pocket for instance. Make it fun.
Training can also be done both armed and unarmed, single BG /parent, single/multiple kids lots of combinations.
These drills not only train the individual but they highlight one of the main factors that will affect a lot of people in these situations, FITNESS.
It's not pretty, and it's very tiring. Most people do not realise the amount of fitness you need for a situation like this. If you cannot breath you are not protecting yourself or anyone else.
Are you physically fit enough?
Are you mentally fit enough?
Are you just outnumbered or are you also outwitted?
Stay Dangerous
Rock
At 17 seconds he is surrounded by 5 guys to the front and left and right but no one to the rear, his escape route.
The next act is typical, no cognitive thought of escape and tunnel vision sets in. He argues with the short guy to his right, exposing his back to the fat guy on his left. He had to expose his back to someone, and the fat guy was the best option as he was not going to run too far or too fast. This on the victim's part though was not a planned move.
What he did:
He pushes the short guy but closes with him at the same time so they are holding each other's arms so he cannot get free, at 23 seconds the rest are on him because he did not create space.
What he should have done:
Violent push on the short guy to; if not send him sprawling then to create space and then run full speed to his right, his rear previously. No pre-emptive strike in this case, if it didn't work there would be no space created and no time to correct the decision and run.
He breaks away at 30 seconds. He is either not a very fast runner or more likely he is dazed from the previous blows.
At 37 seconds they have him again up against the wall. He is standing square onto them trying to cover up but exposing all of the bodies target areas to his attackers, his head is down with his arms over his head. Here he cannot see where his attackers are, where the blows are coming from and cannot mount an attack from this position.
I have been in a similar position before, more attackers, and I was not alone.
I ended up with my back against the wall next to a friend with around 7-8 guys around us. Both in combat stances and fighting back anyone who ventured in. Effectively fighting back puts doubt into those attacking you, by effective I mean you seriously hurt one of them. They are then unsure whose turn it is to attack next.
To get to this stage you have to weather the initial attack by fighting and making space so that from everyone attacking at once it slows down to limited sporadic singular attacks.
All the while you are looking to escape. We escaped by both going on the offensive against one person, creating space and running as fast as we could.
Lots of people have different plans for this, a set of S.O.Ps if you will; but any actions you undertake will be dictated by what is happening on the ground at that time.
So here are some of my pointers.
I would not choose a doorway option as you are hemmed in and there is still going to be at least two attacking, more if the doorway is larger and the only escape is through the attackers. But if you are protecting someone, your spouse for example then a doorway would be a better option as you need to be in front of them to defend them anyway. But these are best or worst case scenarios, depends on how you look at it.
You could argue that the wall will protect your back, it does but again you have to work at your escape route.
With gang and multiple attackers you will more than likely not have the choice of where to stand your ground. Running at the earliest option is the best plan.
You can see from this clip and other clips how fast it all happens and how much ground the fight can cover in a short space of time. Each move and stop will bring different escape options.
The idea of using an attacker as a shield or a battering ram is ok if the numbers of attackers and the situation allows for this, and if your attackers are standing in such a fashion that you can use one as a shield or push them into each other then great. But here we have to remember that if we can grab them then they can grab us.
If you are protecting someone, it is going to be a big problem. They're just going to have to run the gauntlet, sorry more like walk the gauntlet. It's going to be a fighting retreat. You and who you are looking after are going to get hurt, maybe more than normal because you cannot escape as fast as when on your own. You're going to be in the contact area a lot longer.
There are drills for the IBG or parent protecting someone who is either a child too old to be carried, very old or has an injury there are drills
Because of the sensitive nature of this drill, the violence, it's not something that you can easily train for with the child. There has to be a lot of talking with the child first for them to understand what is happening, why it is happening and how they can help.
One person plays the child, one the BG (bodyguard)/ parent and one acting as attacker. One variation is where the attacker has to get to the child but not attack the BG, the BG can only push the attacker away. The BG also has to give orders to the child.
Another is where the attacker can attack the BG to get to the child, the BG here can fight back, much harder. Then we put in multiple attackers, weapons and different locations, open spaces, getting in and out of vehicles, corridors, lifts, in fact most locations.
At all times you have to be in touching distance of the child / adult so you can feel where they are, you haven't got time to be looking around to see where they are.
Difficult part for parents and child is telling their child to run when it is safe to do so while they cover their escape.
Most instruction only covers the physical aspect but if the child is (and will be) traumatised, frozen in place, then the training is useless, so with children there has to be a lot of loud talking if not shouting during training to simulate shocking the child into action. with older kids it is easier to sit them down, talk and go through what the training is for and why you are doing it.
A good game for the kids is to play this with both parents with no mention of what the game means. One tries to catch the child and the other defends. You could encompass trying to take the rag from the child's back pocket for instance. Make it fun.
Training can also be done both armed and unarmed, single BG /parent, single/multiple kids lots of combinations.
These drills not only train the individual but they highlight one of the main factors that will affect a lot of people in these situations, FITNESS.
It's not pretty, and it's very tiring. Most people do not realise the amount of fitness you need for a situation like this. If you cannot breath you are not protecting yourself or anyone else.
Are you physically fit enough?
Are you mentally fit enough?
Are you just outnumbered or are you also outwitted?
Stay Dangerous
Rock
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