It is sad but true that a fair fight is a very rare thing in the world today. If you are ever faced with a situation in which you need to defend yourself or your loved ones from violence, the chances of it ending up being a straight one on one fight between two people are very low. Apart from domestic violence in the home most fights will involve more than just two people. And what they say about schoolyard bullies also holds true for violent criminals - they are generally cowards and much prefer to go around in large groups picking on smaller groups or individuals that they think are easy targets. So it is well worth knowing a little bit about the specific issues around how to protect yourself and how to win a fight against multiple opponents to give yourself the best chance if the worst does ever happen and you are attacked by a group of people.

Obviously there is a limit to how much I can teach you in the space of a single web page, but fortunately there are a few basic principles, rather than specific techniques, which can make a real difference.

 The general rule is to always hit and run, striking your opponent with all your strength perhaps just once or twice, and then immediately backing off and trying to get yourself into space. Keep moving around all the time. If you allow yourself to get caught up wrestling with one person, or if you are just very focused on fighting one of the attackers, then you are effectively defenseless if any of the others go for you.

 The ideal position for a single fighter trying to win against multiple opponents is to get all of your attackers in one line so that you can fight them one at a time. The worst position is to have them all in a circle surrounding you. As you continually keep moving you need to keep this in mind and do all you can to create a situation as close as possible to the ideal, and as far as possible from the worst case scenario.

 Psychologically having your back to the wall can be really scary - like the worst thing that could happen, and getting backed into a corner can seem even worse. But if you actually think about it this can often be the best possible thing that could happen. If you have a wall to your back then it is impossible for anyone to attack you from behind, and if you are in a corner then it is very hard for more than one person to attack you at once - making as good as the best possible situation described in point 1. This is not the case in all fights though. If you are attacked by more than one person then winning the fight should not really be your first priority - surviving the fight should be your first priority. If there are any possible avenues of escape for you to run away and either get help or have a realistic chance of escaping then you should always do everything you can to keep this option open, and should avoid getting trapped in a corner. Any obstacle, from a concrete bollard to a car, can be used in a similar way to stop them all attacking you at once, and to stop anyone from being able to approach you from behind..

 Getting knocked down to the ground is pretty much the worst thing that can happen, as you are completely helpless and reliant on your attackers mercy for survival. Kicking might be a powerful attack, but it carries a high risk of getting knocked down if you don't land it perfectly or if your leg is caught, so it's really not worth it. Keep both legs firmly planted on the ground.

There is no point in just hurting your opponent if you have no chance of either winning or getting away, because you'll only piss them off and encourage them to give you an even worse beating (or stabbing or whatever they plan to do to you). Don't strike for the sake of it, pick your moment and only strike when you think you have a decent chance of it having an effect, whether that's knocking them down or just giving you a split second to get back into space. Also if you reach a point where you are still fighting but you know that you have lost, then stop fighting, drop to the ground, and curl yourself up into a ball.

 These 4 principles won't make you a martial arts master, but they are easy to learn and can make a real difference to your chances both of winning a fight against multiple attackers, and of walking away from it without serious injuries. Hopefully you will never need them, but if you ever do you will be slightly better prepared.