Krav Maga Yashir Boston - Multiple Attackers
Krav Maga Solutions to Multiple Assailants
Whilst it is scary enough to contemplate having to face one aggressor/attacker, the reality is that you may have to face more. The one thing that criminologists agree on is that crime, and especially violent crime, is a young person’s game i.e., people generally age out of crime – violent offenses are largely committed by teenagers and people in their early twenties. People in this demographic often hang out and spend their time in social groups, meaning that when certain individuals commit crimes they do so with others; these others may not be as willing and as motivated as each other but they are present and do participate to some degree/capacity. This means that if you are targeted for violence you may have to deal with more than one individual e.g., statistically street robberies are committed by groups rather than individuals; there is strength in numbers – and where young people are involved, who may lack the confidence that age and experience brings, being part of a group brings assurance. One of the danger of groups is not that people lose their identity but rather that they gain a “social identity”, which can make people who normally wouldn’t act aggressively turn violent, if they perceive that this is part of the identity and will of the group e.g., if one or two people in a group start to act violently, others who would normally be reluctant to act in this way may find themselves enjoying a “new” social identity. This can give a group a synergistic collective energy that no single person can direct and control; this something greater than individuals just getting “carried away”.
One of the other issues/problems with group violence, is that individuals may lack clearly defined roles and not actually know how to act and perform in them. For example, a verbal dispute may erupt between a member of a group and another individual etc. In this dispute it is likely that the primary aggressors are those two individuals actively involved in the confrontation/argument, however secondary aggressors from the group may join in verbally to support their associate. It may then be that the primary aggressor from the group gets physical, and punches the other individual, till they are semi-conscious on the floor. At this point they then walk away, as they have eliminated the threat: their goal. However, the secondary aggressors of the group may now feel/believe that they have a role to play in this confrontation, believing that their “social identity” was questioned, threatened and challenged by the individual – no longer an actual threat -who is lying semi-conscious on the ground. With their role not having a clearly defined goal, they start to kick and stomp on the person lying on the ground, not knowing when to stop. The primary aggressor from the group is no longer involved in the fight, as they have performed and fulfilled their goal i.e., eliminate the threat/danger.
The Israeli military psychologist Ben Shallit, found that an over-use of force, was usually committed by support troops who followed in those involved in the first wave of an attack. Those involved in the first wave had very clear objectives e.g., force out a terrorist group based in a town or village, after achieving such an objective, a second wave of support groups would move in to secure the area; a much less clear objective, that could be interpreted in different ways e.g., does a show of force and “rule” of law need to be demonstrated as part of “securing” an area? And if so, what does this look like? The second-wave of troops coming in share a social identity with the first wave – they too are members of the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) – but may be unsure how to fulfill their role and what their objectives and goals actually are. Like the secondary aggressors in the social incident described above, they may find themselves acting with excessive force for what the situation actually demands.
At Krav Maga Yashir Boston, we teach solutions to multiple attackers recognizing both the need to understand effective tactics for physically dealing with group violence, as well as understanding the psychological aspects of having to deal with more than one person. Understanding the psychological aspects is extremely important when trying to de-escalate a verbal altercation involving more than one person, during the pre-conflict phase of a violent or potentially violent event. If you are interested in learning more about the effectiveness of Israeli Krav Maga you can attend one of our beginner classes at our school located North of Boston just off of I-93/I-95 (we have free on-site parking). Use the button below to register.
Book Class