Multiple opponents

[XS]

What fighting system do you think best handles situations where you have to fight multiple opponents? With what I have seen, my vote would go to Systema. It is far more dynamic, allows for fast strikes and much faster movement.

------------------
"The ground is my ocean, I am the shark and most people don't even know how to swim."

RCJ Machado

[Terry Jones]

XS,

Like some others on here, I am an aikidoka.
In my personal experience (not all in a dojo, either) aikido's concepts of using one
opponent as a shield and tossing him into the
other ones makes sense to me.

[jdoub6]

In general, when entering a forum or message board that is discussing "what style or technique is better" than another at handling a given scenario I try to clarify my own position. I have been studying the Martial Arts for over 25 years, have spent 16 years in the service of my Country as an Infantryman, and spent over 9 years [of the above time-line] in "real life" hand-to-hand combat. I will make the statement that no single Martial Art or Combative System is any better than another at dealing with any threat.

It is like asking the question, who makes a better counter terror unit? And then throw all of your military and civilian agencies up on the wall and pick. It is never an organization or a unit nor is it a Martial Art style or Dojo. In the Martial Arts, it boils down to an individual who commits himself or herself to a style and strives to make it a "complete" fighting art. By complete I mean the total understanding of application [or bunkai] of the kata [or quan] of their given style. This same individual must reach an understanding of just how their system does include ALL fighting ranges [except in cases where it is a highly specialized and/or "sporting" system] and performs their training regimen with every fiber of their being; intensely visualizing their training in a variety of combative simulations.

Sorry for the ranting. A potential hand-to-hand combatant, or Martial Artist, must acknowledge several undeniable facts (aside from the obvious time of day, weapons faced with, spacing, and personal disposition) of facing more than one enemy personnel: each physical engagement should be no longer than .5-1.5 seconds (which is still too long); there is no time for feints only real strikes; efficiency of movement and economy of energy expended are essential to surviving multiple personnel engagements; the more time spent with one opponent the lower the probability of survival.

Just my two cents folks!!


------------------
e-mail: jdjr@heiwa-ryu.org
homepage: www.heiwa-ryu.org (http://www.heiwa-ryu.org)

[This message has been edited by jdoub6 (edited 08-02-2000).]

[jw]

Running