What is the best martial art against multiple attackers?

Over the years, the chances are that you’ve heard of the term ‘multiple attackers.’ This is used to describe a scenario where you’re outnumbered. This number could be a two vs one scenario, or even a five vs one if you’re unlucky enough. With this said, we should reiterate that you should always try your best to avoid any combative situation.

Even if you could easily defeat your opponent, there’s always a chance that their friend jumps in. On a separate note, you could even get tried for attempted murder if things go wrong. At the same time, sometimes fighting is inevitable and you have no other options but to defend yourself. In this scenario, it’s best to know the most effective martial art to be able to fend off multiple attackers. Before continuing, please note that we’re not mentioning weapons-based martial arts in this article as these give you a significant advantage. Instead, we’ll be focusing on fighting with your body parts.

Against multiple attackers, grappling sucks

Before continuing, we should state that most grappling-based martial arts are excellent for self defense. Whether it’s Judo, wrestling or BJJ – they’re all proven to be effective. That is, in one vs one scenarios. In short, grappling is great when it’s a fair fight as you can get up close and pin your opponent down. Sadly, grappling isn’t as good when you’re outnumbered. Imagine a Judo world champion vs two people. Undoubtedly, they could quite easily defeat a random member of the public. However, many of their attacks would fall short against two random members of public.

For instance, if they went to take someone down then they could get hit whilst trying to initiate a throw. Even if they did manage to execute a throw, they’d end up on the floor where they’d be even more vulnerable. For the most part, grappling is systematically flawed against more than one opponent. Most of the time, grappling aims to take people to the floor in a dominant position. So, if you do this then it could end up creating more trouble than it’s worth.

BJJ is the worst martial art against multiple attackers

Speaking of grappling on the floor, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is big on ground fighting. As we’ve seen in multiple self defense and MMA videos over the years, BJJ is certainly legit. Still, as it involves ground fighting, it’s simply not suitable against multiple attackers.

Imagine getting someones back and starting to choke them, only for their friend to soccer kick you in the head or stamp on you. With all the technique in the world, there’s very little you could do and even in fundamentally good positions, you’d still be vulnerable to strikes from an outsider. Simply put, BJJ is great against one person, but against more it struggles massively.

When it comes to multiple attackers, striking is better

So far, we’ve established that grappling can become troublesome. This means, it’s time to look at striking. Most of the time, striking is preferred against multiple attackers. The reason for this is that it’s harder for aggressors to get behind you and start making vulnerable angles to attack. So, as long as you manage to face your attackers, then you at least have a chance.

Regardless, it doesn’t matter if you’re way better than your attackers, most of the time you will lose against higher numbers. Obviously, there’s no shame in this and it’s not a fair fight. Still, these things definitely happen.

Boxing is the best martial art against multiple attackers

One of the best martial arts to learn for general self defense and street fighting is boxing. However, it’s also the best when it comes to defending against multiple attackers. Although it’s not perfect, it definitely has its advantages and if your technique is good enough, you’ll always have a chance of victory, no matter how small this percentage is.

So, why is boxing so useful against multiple attackers? The reason why boxing is so effective against others is that it relies on speed which means it can be difficult to properly hit a boxer. You may aim for their face in one spot, only for a skilled boxer to have moved to another spot by the time you’ve landed your punch. Whilst this may have taken place, they may have landed a notable punch on yourself in the meantime.

In fact, there are several videos of skilled boxers defeating multiple attackers online. This is literal evidence of boxing proving its effectiveness. In brief, speed is great both offensively and defensively and can often be the difference between winning and losing. As boxing focuses massively on footwork, it’s understandable that it works in self defense scenarios.

Throwing kicks may not work as well

Of course, the likes of kickboxing and karate are also good against multiple attackers and are better than trying to grapple. However, there are some negatives that you may not have thought of. The issue with throwing kicks is that that they can get grabbed, even if it’s only momentarily. In a fair fight, you may be able to recover and get your leg back. However, if you get your leg grabbed for even a second, it could be enough time for others to swarm on you.

At the same time, if you have a deadly roundhouse kick then you could take people out quickly but even still, throwing kicks is relatively risky against many opponents as it can lead to a grappling exchange. When you’re outnumbered, this is something that you’ll want to avoid.

Running away is the best form of self defense

Seriously, if you have the option to, run away. This may not be possible if you’re surrounded, trapped, or if you’d have to leave someone behind. However, if you can – then run and don’t look back. The only people that would call this cowardice are those who don’t understand fighting. What’s more cowardly than running is attacking people in a group.

As the fight isn’t fair in the first place, then there’s no reason not to run away. Remember, you’re more likely to get seriously injured against more attackers too as there’s a higher chance of more strikes being thrown.

This means that if you can, get away and run. Arguably, this advice can be applied to any self defense scenario, but is particularly relevant if you’re seriously outnumbered. Your ego may not like it, but your safety will thank you for it later on.