Copyright © Geoff Thompson 2004
The right of Geoff Thompson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, nor transmitted, nor translated into a machine language, without the written permission of the publisher.

'When facing multiple opponents you must attack first and keep attacking until the danger subdues.' – Miyomoto Musashi

'February 1993, Salisbury, Wiltshire.
'After leaving a nightclub at 1.15 a.m., a twenty-two year-old married woman passed two men in the shadows on her way home.
'Following a brief exchange of words she continued walking, but the two men quickly caught up with her again.
'While one man stayed behind the women, the other stepped in front of her. He then grabbed her, ripped her clothes off and raped her.' – Unleash the Lioness

We've all seen the films and TV programmes that show the good guy dispatching a crowd of baddies one at a time, systematically and with textbook technique. Looks good doesn't it? In reality – forget it. Forget it in a big hurry because it's comic book stuff. I have faced multiples on more occasions than I care to remember and it frightened the shit out of me every single time. Your only chance of survival in these scenarios is either to break the minute mile and run away, or attack first and hit everything that moves.
If you are fighting one person and you make a mistake you can always fall into the support system and use the back up of the techniques therein. If you muck up when facing numbers you'd better get a liking for camping because you may be looking at living in an oxygen tent. I have seen many men kicked to pieces, and know many of them died as a consequence of beatings involving more than one opponent.

Before detailing my theories on dealing with multiple attackers, I feel I must be brutally honest and inform the reader of the high skill factor and sheer bravado needed when attempting such a feat. The only truly safe cure is prevention. It's OK me talking about the fact that you should be pre-emptive and attack first, but that is not much use if your attacking tools are not up to scratch. If you are going to be first your attacking movement needs to be ferocious, not just enough to stun the guy that you hit but also to frighten the shit out of his partners in crime. If you do not sufficiently put the fear of God into them then the chances are you are still in the mire.

An effective physical response is not always about being fast, strong, accurate, trained or even brave, though they are all, of course, important factors. First and foremost it's about being cunning, ferocious and, above all else, 'first'. This is especially so when dealing with two, three or more attackers. If you're not first, you will most likely be last. As we all know, 'last is lost' in the pavement arena. I have been involved in over a hundred fights where the numbers were against me; I won because I was first to initiate the physical attack.

As detailed in earlier chapters, most assaults are preceded by verbal entrapments. These may be short to blunt or long to prolonged. Former or latter, it is present and you must – if all other options have been exhausted – act by attacking as soon as you are sure an attack upon your person is imminent.

With the lone assailant you may prolong the verbal and control range using a simple fence whilst concentrating upon him and your attack/escape. With multiple attackers this is not so easy. While it is possible to control the range of one assailant it can be very difficult to control the range of several at once, so time is of the essence. The longer you take to analyse the situation and prepare, the less chance you will have of effecting a pre-emptive attack because the attackers will gradually be surrounding you and getting closer in order to make their assault a little easier. When they do attack, it will not be one at a time like in the films, but all at once and with brutal ferocity, leaving you very little chance of fighting back.

The concept of blocking an attack rarely works, especially with multiple attackers.

THE RED LETTER SYNDROME

Beware! For every 2-3 seconds (variable) that you delay your first pre-emptive strike you will be fighting one more opponent. With every passing second they will get closer. If you manage the pivotal seconds effectively, your first attack will be to the opponent in front, then to the next closest/most dangerous opponent. If you mismanage your allotted seconds your strategy must change. I call it the Red Letter syndrome. If you have three Red Letters (bills), which do you pay first? You don't pay the one that fell through the letterbox this morning, you pay the one you've had the longest, the red one, the one that is threatening to cut you off. So, if you mismanage your allotted time, your fighting strategy must change accordingly.

If the opponent on your right or left moves to your blind-side, he becomes the most dangerous opponent. Due to the tunnel vision that accompanies adrenalin, the victim often does not see the offside opponent. Ironically, he is the one most likely to initiate the attack.

As detailed in previous chapters, part of the attack ritual is the pincer movement. One attacker, usually the one facing and threatening you, will deploy your attention whilst the other/s attack you from your blind-side.

I have never found a cure for tunnel vision; it will, it seems, always be a part of conflict, so it is most important to be aware of this ploy. If you are faced by numbers, deploy your vision so that you do not lose sight of the other antagonists. If they try to move to your off side, change your position slightly so that you can still see them and use your outstretched hands to control the range between you and them. If you feel an attack on you is imminent pre-empt it by attacking them first.

This is the absolute pivotal factor in such a scenario: attack first. Attack is your best means of defence. After your pre-emptive strike, it is best to make your escape, if possible. If not, hit everything that moves and scream using 'Kiaa' to underline your resolve, to psyche out your antagonists and to attract attention to your dilemma. What weapon you use to attack is your own choice; whatever it is it should, as always, be your best shot aimed preferably at the vulnerables: eyes, throat, jaw, etc.

As with every scenario that begins with dialogue, use the four 'D's; only make a pre-emptive attack if no other option is open to you.

If the attackers have not heeded your warnings to back off and are still forward moving, then use your lead hand fence to keep a safe distance. Be submissive, engage the opponent's brain using your action trigger, and attack.

Personally, my own pre-emptive strike would be a right cross/hook to the jaw, preceded by some kind of mentally disarming verbal. Hopefully, having neutralised the first person, I would then attack the remaining antagonists with head, punch or kick, depending upon my distance from them.

There seems to be a big ego problem with confrontation, especially with men and especially when they are with their women. They feel that to avoid is to bottle out. Not so. Even Sun Tzu, a great warrior general some twenty-five centuries ago, advised flight when the numbers were stacked against you. Ego does not or should not come into it: you are not defending your ego, you are defending your life. So if you can run then run for your life. There will be another day, another arena where the odds will not be so great.

Remember the sequence: avoidance, escape, dissuasion, attack.