MMA...Multiple Attackers

[Bruce W Sims]

Since I study and teach Hapkido I can only comment on Aikido as a kind of "distant cousin". What I have seen is that even the people who train in Aikido don't have a clear appreciation of what they are learning.

If one trains in one of the earlier practices such as Shioda, Tomiki or Saito's variation there is a very clear sensitivity to training for combat. In the Aikido community itself, these variants are "frowned on" as rather de classe'.
Yet, when it comes to training LEO-s for the metropolitan police, these are the variations that the Japanese prefer.

Now, in the U S the practice of Aikido is more likely to follow one of the traditions coming out of the later years in Ueyshiba's life such as Tohei or Saotome. There is lots of talk of "Ki", "becoming one with the attacker", "compassion" and so forth. This is all well and good for New Age-ers among us. I should mention though that Bernie Lau Sensei a long time MA teacher, Aikido-ka and police veteran of many years has repeatedly spoken against high expectations for such traditons in combat.

As far as Hapkido goes, we get a lot of feedback that Hapkido people are to pre-occupied with "winning" and I cannot say that this isn't true--- just not in the sense of competition. As I mentioned before, the focus of Korean martial traditions is to restore the "Hwa" to the community. If I can do this by apologizing and buying a guy a drink, thats still good Hapkido. If it takes breaking a knee and choking a person out, there is that option as well. As far as multiple attackers goes, the rule is only use as much technique as is necessary to make good an escape. FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[Water Dragon]

I learned some really good multiple attacker stuff in CMA. But none of it involved standing around to duke it out with a streetgang. It was all create a line and walk through it then run like hell stuff. If you want to fight groups of people, go learn how to use a knife.

[johnnycache]

http://www.gunblast.com/images/Butch...RugerSP101.jpg

that's good for five of them. More, if they're lined up right.

But seriously - MMA fighters deal with multiple scenerios the same way TMAers do - by fighting as best they can. Training MMA doesn't stupefy you in such a way that you start to think "when confronted by several men I should tackle one"

However, vis a vis a system with no viable groundwork, it does give you greater escape options if you're confronting multiple attackers and one of them tackles you.

[uki]

isn't this where weapons come in?? bats, sticks, and pipes are great equalizers of the odds.

[goju]

this is what i do

step 1.tell them to halt for a moment

step 2. put on my chuck norrris action stretch jeans

step 3. limber up then scratch myself

step 4. tell them to wait here while i go to the store and get me a monster enrgy drink


step 5. drive back to area get out of my car and pound down the monster

step6 .crush can on my head to show off my tough manliness to my foes

step 7 grab the crotch of the nearest person and rip it off and shout"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!" at the top of my lungs while i hold his bloody genital for all to see

step 8. laugh at foes as they tremble in terror

step 9. takes monies and girlfriends from attackers then watch them run for their lives