The Finish
6/17/21
Spencer sensei
It is not how you start that is important it is how you finish. This has never been truer than in personal combat and in a life preservation situation against one or more opponents. For the last three decades, after its’ success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Brazilian jujitsu (BJJ) was believed to be the silver bullet of martial arts. The problem is and has always been that it is a great fighting art, but it too has its’ limitations. Recently, A BJJ instructor tried to stop a brutal attack outside a bar in Texas. He was knocked to the ground where his assailants stomped him unconscious and placed him in critical condition. His courage is admirable, but this instance shows the inherent weakness in the art. In one-on-one combat BJJ is very strong, and it is a great tool for controlling a single attacker, but it was never designed to survive multiple attackers. The truth is no system is designed to fend off multiple assailants. Still, it is better to remain on your feet and to be mobile than on the ground and stationery when facing overwhelming odds. Running and striking or hit and run is your best defense and best chance to survive the encounter. You must learn to use all of your weapons, in all ranges of combat, while on the move. All martial arts are designed to ideally engage a single combatant, but life preservation situations are not always ideal.
This is not a put down of any style of martial art. It is also not a promotion of one style over another. It is a call to strengthen your personal fighting skills. We all have our preference, and that is what makes us unique. After decades of training in, karate, BJJ, kickboxing, or your chosen martial art it will become personal. You will discard what you do not like and hone the skills you do like. It is at that point your martial art truly becomes yours. The purpose of this paper is about the need learn to fight in all ranges of combat, with an emphasis on multiple attackers.
As an instructor you must learn a plethora of techniques, that you do not like, because what does not work for you could be the bread and butter of another. No one discipline is the be-all-end-all answer to personal combat. Learn all that you can and experiment with new concepts. Moses Powel sensei once said,” I’ve seen guys bend spears with their throats and crazy stuff, but what I want to know is can he fight?” In the end it all about survival. You can have the most beautiful kata and perform incredible feats during an exhibition, but can you fight? Can you finish an encounter?
Narrow is the way of survival. A narrow hallway or passageway is your friend. If you can limit multiple attacker’s access to your circle of combat, you’ve increased your odds of survival. Mas Oyama once said, “If I were to fight a hundred attackers at once, I would run and find a narrow hallway and drop them one-by-one.” Keep the enemy in front of you, and if possible, out run them. You do not win a confrontation with multiple assailants unless you survive and to survive you must move.
Never walk blindly into a situation even one that feels friendly. Have an exit strategy. Before entering a volatile situation, you must always have a way out. Mentally know what to do if everything goes south. Don’t be the hero plan for the worst and hope for the best because more times than not it will go bad.
Keep your hands up and expect to be attacked. It takes too long to bring your hands into a position to defend yourself if they are at your waist. One of my students watched a film where law enforcement officers were tested to see how quickly they could respond to a punch. When their hands were at their side, the attacker always delivered the blow on target. When their hands were up, the blow could be deflected. So, how do you do this in a non-threatening manner. Hold your hand about shoulder high with your palms facing the opponent while reassuring the adversary that all you want to do is talk. Also remain in a balanced stance so you can move in any direction. You can sometimes deescalate a situation by speaking calmly and using common sense, but not when dealing with a rage filled individual or a person of violence with an ulterior motive. Keep your hands up to protect your head and prepare to move and counterattack. Expect to be attacked but maintain a calm front, so you do not agitate the adversary more.
Keep your eyes moving. I do not know this for certain, but I’m guessing the BJJ instructor in Texas was sucker punched. This is a common tactic of cowards that only find courage in numbers. Know who is behind you and to your sides. Keep your eyes moving and do not blink. Do not get surrounded and move to keep your exit open. Never let them get behind you. If the enemy moves to encircle you, move out of their range of combat and towards your exit.
Look for cover. The Okinawan palace guards, if necessary, would place themselves between the mob and the king. This impediment allowed for the king’s escape. You will not have palace guards to protect you, but there will be cars, trees, signs, fire plugs, bystanders, and other impediments that can be used maintain separation between you and your enemy. Keep something between you and the mob until help can arrive. Mostly, stay mobile because once you’re trapped it is over, and never go to the ground.
Most importantly be ruthless. Facing multiple opponents is a life preservation situation, so you cannot be timid about using lethal force. In the movies after you’ve violently dropped the first two attackers the others will back off. This is not necessarily true of a mob. They’re operating on group think and not self-preservation. They have a goal and not some ideological purpose or ulterior motive. Their goal is to hurt or even kill you. They will become blind with rage in the moment. You, however, must remain alert and as cold heartedly as possible. Injury your attacker severely if they get into range.
You cannot give into fear. Give yourself permission to be afraid later. Fear will give you tunnel vision and that enables your attackers to hit you more easily. A calm mind is to your advantage. If you’re struck in the head, you will see stars and may be momentarily stunned, but you are not hurt. If you’re bleeding, do not panic. A warrior does not stop fighting until the enemy is in retreat. Fatigue makes cowards of us all according to Vince Lombardy. The test to see if I was worthy of black belt was several hours long and was designed to show me that I could push my body beyond what I believed was my limit. Do not listen to your body screaming with fatigue and pain because it is a liar. You cannot give into fear or fatigue because you have a job to do. Stay focused.
Use good techniques. Strike quickly. Punch the first attacker in the throat. It will not kill him/her, but it might slow the mob down. Thumbs to the eyes work also. Try to keep the group at arm’s length and do not let them grab you. Keep moving. Remember they’re running on adrenaline and are not thinking. Chances are good they will not even feel the damage you’ve inflicted until an hours after the encounter. The good news is you too will not feel the pain until later. Strike hard and strike with the purpose of stopping anyone in front of you.
Weapons are your best defense against multiple adversaries. If you played baseball as child, a sixty-mile-an-hour rock is a viable weapon. If you’ve ever watched the television show NCIS, you know Gibb’s rule number nine is to always have a knife. This is true of any volatile situation you may be entering. Know the dangers of the location where you’ve placed yourself. Situational awareness is key. If you get knocked to the ground, by multiple attackers, cover you head and pull your knife. Stab the first attacker in the leg, and you’ve eliminated one weapon. Stab the second attacker in the leg and get to your feet. In most states using a weapon against multiple attackers is okay, but you must know the laws in your state. Sometime the law is on the side of the attacker. Once the attackers back off or they’re no longer a threat you also must deescalate the situation and stand down. Find your exit and get out of Dodge. Even if you survive and were forced to use a knife, you will probably get sued. If they pull a gun, don’t get stupid, and you must run. Look for and find cover. If you’ve stabbed a couple of their friends, you’ll probably get shot, so find somewhere to hide behind. Do not be a hero.
Going to the ground even in single combat has its own problems. Another reason we train not to go to the ground, in a life preservation situation, is there are potential weapons on the ground. Rocks, broken glass, sticks, and nails litter a vacant lot. Any of these things can be used as a weapon in the hands of a deranged man or women. This is not the same situation as taking your drunk Uncle Charley to the ground to keep him from punching your Aunt Edith. Charley simply needs to cool down where a homeless unstable person’s goal is to rob or kill you. The ground in a life preservation situation is not your friend. This does not mean you do not need ground fighting skills because you may find yourself on the ground in a scrap. If this happens, you must know how to respond. Try not to go to the ground.
Time is your friend. The longer you can keep your attackers a bay, the more time you have for the cavalry to arrive. In this situation the first words from your mouth must be call the police. Hopefully, you have one sympathetic ear in the crowd. If you are jumped in an alley, there may not be a crowd, so run till you find one, and begin screaming like a madman for the police or you can even yell fire. Just get law enforcement involved. Your assailants normally don’t want to spend the night in jail. As a last resort, talk to your adversaries engage them on a threatening or philosophical level just buy time. Tell them the cops are on their way. Time is on your side so stall.
In the AOKK we train in all three ranges of combat. We teach punches, kicks, locks, throws, and yes ground technique. The stand is where you want to be when facing multiple opponents and the ground is the last, but if you find yourself on the ground you must be able to fight in that range as well. Understand that not all blows are equal. Elbows are good weapons in single combat, but they can get your arms trapped and once that happens you can be taken to the ground, so your attackers can begin administering kicks and stomps to your body. If you do get tied-up, head butts may get you some separation. Break their nose or split their eyebrow. Make them bleed. Bleeding will stop the untrained attacker. Trying to drive a knee strike into one of your opponents’ groin, places you on one leg, so your balance is compromised. Throwing the opponent that has tied you up is another option. Be careful turning your back to the mob as you make the throw. Do not use sacrifice throws because they will place you on the ground. The same is true of kicking someone in the face. In single combat it can end the confrontation, but if your leg is trapped, when fighting multiple assailants, you will get driven to the ground and the mob will stomp you. Palm heel strikes are less likely to break the small bones in your hands. Thumb strikes, to the eyes, are stronger than finger strikes and can be delivered like a punch. It is important that a student be able to effectively fight in all ranges of combat and know which techniques are truly viable and workable in different situations.
I am a firm believer in injuring the first attacker as badly as you possibly can. Kick him/her in the face and knock them out or punch them in the throat as hard as you can and stagger them. Make them bleed. Always, get your feet back on the ground and move immediately after delivering a counterattack. This violence may deter the mob or enrage it. You must prepare for the worst. Hurt the attackers until they understand the consequences of their actions. Beg, borrow, or steal time so help can arrive. Unfortunately, today the police are often bystanders and do not get involved. Run, move, and attack but do not go to the ground. Use a weapon if available. Do not give into fear. Always move to your exit. It is not how the encounter started that is important it is how you finish it.