Re: The value of fighting skills for a man?

[OneMale]

Re: The value of fighting skills for a man?

Okay.... gang attacks and multiple-attacker drills and so on. BTDT, IRL.

First time at 13, before I had any real training. Six guys jumped me and beat the crap out of me. At one point I managed to break loose, employed the Nike Defense (ran like hell) and escaped, just as one of them was bringing out a hawkbill knife.

Second time at 17, after some years of training. Four guys jumped me... the first one caught me by surprise and grabbed me from behind. Two of them were bigger than me. KOed one with a side kick to the solar plex. Threw the grabber to the pavement, breaking ribs. The other two went "oh ****" and backed off. I got hit a couple times, no damage to speak of.

Third time, I was a cop... there were IIRC 14 incarcerated subjects I was transporting to a detention facility. I was inside a "sallyport" (security room) with them, by myself, removing their leg shackles, handcuffs and belly-chains. I was unarmed, having stored my weapon in an outside locker (SOP at this facility, no guns inside to prevent inmates from getting them). One inmate and his two buddies attempted to persuade the others to take me hostage and try to escape, just as I finished unshackling the last man. I picked up a handful of belly-chains and said "okay, come on... you'll take me down but I'll kill two or three of you first. Then they won't negotiate, they'll send in SWAT and kill you all." (I also had a knife concealed on my person, something I wasn't supposed to do but always had on me.) I gave them my best crazy-ass-ready-to-die look and dared them to come on.... but the thing is I wasn't fooling, I was dead serious... and apparently it came across. They folded and gave in.

I trained in a form of Aikido for many years, among other things. Aikido comes in many flavors, from the pacifistic/spiritual Shin Shin Toitsu, to the relatively combative systems of Yoshinkan and Tejutsu. I studied an uncommon system with a heavy focus on realistic self-defense, taught by a former police officer who had also studied other martial arts. Part of our training also included multiple-attacker scenarios, usually involving two or three attackers. In those scenarios, typically you'd draw a card from the stack... it might say "three attackers; first attacker grabs from behind w/ bearhug (call surprise attack, defender must allow grip to be made fully), other two attack with punches from the front."

So the way the scenario is conducted, it isn't two or three martial artists attacking the defender with all their skills and full ability, but conducted as a scenario where the attackers are playing the role of street thugs and attacking with methods actual street brawlers might use. Is this realistic? Somewhat.... understand that ALL training is "limited reality training".... that is, it is a SIMULATION of reality where there are restrictions to avoid getting your training partners killed or hospitalized. The more realistic you make it, the narrower the safety margins. It is a trade off.

Disclaimer: This is simply my own experience, I am not speaking for how it is done in any other martial art.

My instructor also talked about real-world gang beatdowns, and his experiences agreed with mine. A LOT of it depends on psychology, and a LOT of it depends as much on the nature of your attackers as it does your own ability/skills/etc.

If you've been targeted by two or three able fighters who have a plan, who know how to work together as a coordinated team, and who are "Mission-oriented" (ie have a strong will to carry out the attack to its conclusion, willing to suffer injury/casualties to accomplish it) then you are in SERIOUS trouble, no matter how good you are. Your best method of surviving such an attack is to avoid it.... to see it coming and take evasive or other action BEFORE the "trap" closes around you.

I did this once in a street-mugging situation. Two guys; one came up frontally, getting my attention... but being street-smart, I moved to one side and glanced behind me and spotted his partner, who was coming up fast on my rear. I took a defensive position where I could see both of them and put my hand on my gun.... they halted, realizing their plan to pincer me had failed, and aborted (ran off in different directions).

OTOH, if half a dozen guys confront you but they aren't really committed or very determined, and lack a plan, you can often put them off by taking down the first/biggest/loudest/leader in a manner that says "F with me and you'll get hurt". This is an exercise in psychology as much as anything. In such a group, there will be one or two pushing to the front, who really want to take you down, and the rest tending to hang back and wait for their "pack leader" to start the show or for a "safe" opportunity to get some. My instructor told us of an incident where three men went after one... the defender grabbed the foremost attacker and BIT A CHUNK out of his arm, stepped back and spat bloody gobbets at the rest, then grinned and said "Who's next?" They backed off.

There used to be a saying in Canada: "One riot, one Mountie". The idea was that the Mountie would identify the leader or most-aggressive person in the bunch and arrest him immediately, taking the wind out of the rest by removing their leadership. Now this would only work in certain types of situations, but you get the point.

If you're pretty badass, you can "win" a gang-beatdown by taking out one or two of the biggest/baddest in the group and SCARING the others into not really wanting to press the attack. But it is dependent on the GANG of attackers being mostly wusses, or low-motivation.

I did this once with dogs. A pack of aggressive dogs came after me once; there were six or seven total. One was bigger and more aggressive than the others... the "beta" dogs were trying to get behind me to bite while the big dog tried to get at me from the front. After a moment of whirling around and kicking and wondering what to do, I got mad and charged the Alpha dog, yelling at the top of my lungs. He freaked and started running away... and so did all the 'beta' dogs. I chased those suckers a hundred yards. :lamo

Multiple attackers who possess real fighting skills, strong will and motivation, the capacity to work together and coordinate their efforts, "mission orientated".... that's different. I don't care how badass you are, you're in serious trouble and you're probably not coming out in one piece, if alive at all.

Best solution to multiple attackers is don't be there.... or break their plan early and pull a gun.

My 0.02


G.

Understand the symbolic motivation and show the substance of similarities to every other symbolic value attached to the same results. Avoid the confrontation is what cyberspace provides.

Breakdown the vernacular tribalism, psychological right/correct. The real substance being lifetimes come in male and female results every re-generation of ancestry into the last ancestor standing until species become extinct.

That is the core of my sole defense. It goes in every possible directive of humanity and is valid from every gender living in this moment regardless the species of male or female results.

Find the center of balance.