Can you defend yourself?

[Gennadios]

I have 2 years of Muay Thai training, but it pales in comparison to my private security self-defense training, which I like to call Ball Punch Fu.

It was two straight weeks of being taught how to properly position myself to deliver the most effective ball punches and I'm fairly sure that I could nullify 3 out of 5 attackers using the technique. The other two I guess would depend on the actual fight training.

5 women however? Im a goner.

 

[Kopikatsu]

I have to carry a high caliber revolver for work.

So yeah, I think I would be pretty okay.

 

[klown]

Run. If you are outnumbered, try to run. No matter how trained you are, being outnumbered is essentially a death sentence.

I don't care what techniques you think you know or what stories you've heard - if your attackers are experienced and willing to take your life to get what they want, your odds of walking away from a 2 v 1 are slim and none.

From personal experience getting jumped, willingness to take your life to get what they want dies very fast once it's put to the test. I still agree though, walking away from 2 against 1 is very slim if they have resolve.

 

[Thaluikhain]

The question is meaningless unless you start specifying about the hypothetical opponent.

Also, one imagines this kind of question ending with everyone saying they'd be able to beat the average person, which doesn't really work.

 

[Yopaz]

I'm a great runner so I would say yes. My defense is that I'm not there. I guess I could win a fight one one one depending on who I was up against, vut I am also a pasfist so I wouln't get into a fight if I could avoid it. Though I know I am capable of causing greatpain once I have a good enough reason.

 

[newingtonnew]

im a 4th year student of krav maga, and have been in a fight with 4 people at once and i won. krav maga is specially desingend for fighting while outnumbered, and even trains you to fight people who are armed with knives and guns. Mossad? trains in krav maga. so yes i feel fairly confident

 

[Evil Smurf]

I can throw a punch but hate fighting, besides I am so nice no one has a problem with me.

 

[dtgenshiken7]

This is pretty obscure. If I was facing 1 or two UNarmed opponents, I'm sure my adrenaline and basic Tae Kwon Do training would be enough, and I can take a hit well. But if it is even one person with any kind of weapon above a stick, you're not gonna find me fighting unless I have no choice.

 

[newfoundsky]

I'm a skinny guy. To be honest, the only reason I don't get my ass kicked on a regular basis is because all of my friends are very, very large muscular men. And women. I know large people.

 

[mastermarty]

I would be doomed, no matter what. I've never fought in my life, I have no body strenght, and can't stand pain. Also, I do not know how weapons work.

So in a fight I'm completly usseless.

 

[Violator[xL]]

Against five guys, nope, probably not.

I'm rather tall, lean and mean looking so I never really get into situations like this. But if I did.. I'd be screwed.

 

[Naeras]

Five on one?
Run.
Unless you're a martial arts champion, run.
Hell, even if you are, run.

See, almost all martial arts are one-on-one-combat, but five on one means a lot of those skills don't mean jack because you can get surrounded. Therefore, run. If you know you can't get away, you can at least ambush people behind corners and hit one of them with something heavy before running away again.

But yeah, if you're outnumbered, you really should just get the fuck out.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

I've won every fight I've ever been in, in two steps.

1) I say "Fuck this." or some equivalent.
2) I vacate the area as quickly as possible in any direction that isn't where the opponent is.

Luckily the city-centre-at-night scene holds absolutely no appeal for me, so I rarely have to deal with drunken idiots or dicks looking for a fight. The most annoying time of it was when I had to jump in a canal and swim to the other side to get away, still took a stone to the eye, had a black eye for weeks.

 

[TheCrapMaster]

We all like to think we can put up a good fight, but im pretty sure if i for whatever reason found myself fighting someone, my only chance of victory would be when i try to throw a punch the other guy sees how pathetic that punch was and laugh his pants of and walk away.

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

I certainly used to be able to but I've got various shoulder problems at the moment. 17 year old me could easily beat up me now, but 17 year old me was 14 stone and had problems with drug induced psychoses so 17 year old me was a bit of a horrible person, a vicious bastard if you will, who would defend himself by attacking you first just to make sure you never got the chance. There's still a remnant of that in me but it now only comes out if someone hits me so I guess it would depend how hard the first punch from them was.

Also 5-1 is pretty poor odds, best just to run like fuck.

 

[J3bba]

I'm not the most physically impressive bloke around but I can generally win a fight by using my wits. It generally helps that most of the people that try and fight me and drunken morons.

 

[alandavidson]

After over a decade in martial arts, plus being in numerous fights and coming out just fine, I'd have to say yes.

But... the best fight is the one you never have to fight.

Case in point:

I was acting in a play a few years back, and we had to rehearse in a seedy part of town (at the time). For the role, I had an axe (just a small camp axe that you'd chop firewood with - I actually still chop firewood with that axe on a regular basis, come to think of it), which I kept in my trunk between rehearsals. One day group of about five or six walked up to me, and it was clear that they were going to mug me. Already in the process of getting the axe out of the trunk, I just swung it over my shoulder and leaned up against the car.

I was scared shitless. These guys could have easily taken me. It was dark, I was alone, out in the open. But since I kept my cool, and showed them with my body language that if they got any closer I would start swinging, they backed off and cleared out fast.

It's far better to never have to fight. But if you do, make that poor ************ wish he hadn't.

 

[Naeras]

I certainly used to be able to but I've got various shoulder problems at the moment. 17 year old me could easily beat up me now, but 17 year old me was 14 stone and had problems with drug induced psychoses so 17 year old me was a bit of a horrible person, a vicious bastard if you will, who would defend himself by attacking you first just to make sure you never got the chance. There's still a remnant of that in me but it now only comes out if someone hits me so I guess it would depend how hard the first punch from them was.

Also 5-1 is pretty poor odds, best just to run like fuck.

Good post, as this explains something I don't think a lot of people understand. Your best shot at winning fights really is to be psychotic, and preferably drunk/drugged. If you're in a state of mind where you want to hurt someone, you'll generally be able to. This is another reason why running away is almost always the smartest thing to do, because the people who pick fights are generally in that category.

When getting into a fight, your first priority should always be to not get hurt. It's really simple as that.

 

[DanielBrown]

Five guys? Yeah, I'd be fucked as well.
One on one I reckon my chances are more than good. Don't have much experience however. I'm tall as fuck with a muscular build, so people tend not to pick fights with me.

 

[asap]

Being surrounded by 5 guys is actually a fantasy of mine.
come at me bros!