Can you defend yourself?

[JochemHippie]

I'm taller than the average guy, stronger then the average guy and heavier then the average guy, also did kickboxing for 6 years.

Two to three... I'll have a good chance.

Four or five is probably not gonna work out too well though.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well I'm rather tall and beefy, also have been in more then a few physical quarrels.
And quite honestly in that situation run... run like hell, if need be tackle the one blocking your escape route and then leg it.

Physical encounters should always be your last possible resort, because it is incredibly dangerous as we get primal and stupid, if people get frustrated you may very well see stones/bats/knives/guns come into it which could very well mean the end of your or someone elses life.
For those who think guns are the solution... not even close, you just bump the stupid to it's extreme from the start, then you changed it from a possible life threating situation to an absolute, and no this is not a silly game where you kill by the billions for amusement, if a real persons life ends from your actions it will eat away at you for as long as you live.

 

[kgpspyguy]

I'm always armed so...I can definitely take any drunk idiot or moron looking for a fight, plus I know how to wrestle.

 

[M-E-D The Poet]

The magic of big groups is quite simple :
They cannot all attack you at once, if they try they will leave vital openings.
If I may presume you're trained in any martial art that deals with counters you can turn your opponents against each other.

The things I would suggest would be to never leave your back thoroughly exposed and to taunt your opponents to make them lose focus.

5 on 1 is usually a better situation than 3 on 1 if you can hold your own

The reason for this is simply the confusion.

If they are unarmed and you are unarmed you can still win that fight.

 

[JPArbiter]

I think we can all agree that Bruce Lee is the most accomplished martial artist and professional fighter known to man. arguably one of the most fit human beings ever to have lived as well.

he once famously said he would never willingly engage in a fight with a 300 pound drunken sailor, because as fit and skilled as he was, he was still 5'4" tall and 135 pounds. witht hat much mass behind him said sailor would only need to hit Master Lee once.

 

[Amaury_games]

The magic of big groups is quite simple :
They cannot all attack you at once, if they try they will leave vital openings.
If I may presume you're trained in any martial art that deals with counters you can turn your opponents against each other.

The things I would suggest would be to never leave your back thoroughly exposed and to taunt your opponents to make them lose focus.

5 on 1 is usually a better situation than 3 on 1 if you can hold your own

The reason for this is simply the confusion.

If they are unarmed and you are unarmed you can still win that fight.

About the whole "leave themselves open"... I get that there will be confusion when 5 guys all try to beat up just one, but if all 5 come at you and even if you take advantage of the confusion, wouldn't you just strike 2 or 3 before the others manage to hit you (since you're probably focused on hitting the others)?

 

[hoboman29]

I'm not the strongest guy but I know human weak points and if I needed to fight someone I wouldn't be afraid to hit them in the throat so they can't get enough air to fight. Also I have a way with words so I would try to diffuse the situation (not necessarily make peace) at any cost before fighting.

 

[TheOrb]

I think the best you can do is one on one, leave the groups to Jackie Chan.
I think I could handle myself against 1 drunk, by giving him another vodka to finish him.

 

[razor343]

Err...Probably not. I practiced Aikido for a while when I was 7-8 but have done nothing since then.

 

[Scow2]

Yes. The answer to this (and most questions in life) is Guns.

I wish I had a gun so I could shoot people instead of not shooting people.
But seriously, using a firearm as personal protection just doesn't sit well with me.

Well if you're about to get jumped by 5 guys I think a gun would be justified don't you think? Or should I get beaten to a bloody pulp?

This is of course assuming I can't run away

And what happens if they pull out a gun in response last i checked 5 guns beat 1 and you all end up dead in hail of bullets and hellfire on a random street corner.

I'm going to say that if I'm attacked by five guys with guns, I'm not walking away alive. There are only two ways to handle that situation - Either talk them out of it without (without showing or using my gun - but likely to get me killed if they don't accept), or hope my gun can dissuade them individually from wanting to take a shot at me - even if I don't injure or kill all of them, there's still a chance of me taking one, and nobody wants to take the risk of being that unlucky SoB

 

[GTwander]

I'm "smashtastic".
The Hulk don't even want none.

I laugh at dudes with knives, but say "yes, sir" to their guns.
Big dudes don't even scare me, they have yet to see my spider monkey skills.
(only half of which involve poop-throwing)

 

[Pharsalus]

I'm a black belt in tae kwon do, mid-rank in judo, and certified in army combatives, I'm not very strong but I can hold my own. If I was outmatched I'd just fight dirty, got for eyes, throat, testies, any soft spot.

I do agree with the popular sentiment of running though, 5 guys will just dogpile and break your skull if it's serious, no bueno.

 

[beyondbrainmatter]

1. I'm Chinese and lift weights. If I act all kung fu like and look real mean I'm pretty good to go in most of these kinds of situations.
2. I actually know how to fight (just normal western style boxing).

 

[lacktheknack]

I'm pretty good at diplomacy.

In a forced fight with five angry dudes? A. How'd I get there? I'm never in a situation where this is feasible. B. FLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. I can block fairly well, but five guys? Nope.

One on one, I'd still flee. Because why stick around when my only useful fighting move is blocking?

 

[Dawns Gate]

I've been in quite a few scuffles and I won (from a survival aspect anyway) most of the time. I've only ever bee outnumbered 3:1 but I had to slash one up before I could b-line it out of there. Once the odds get bad there's nothing much you can do other than try to make a break for it unless your antagonists are super wasted or you're a ninja.

 

[Ryotknife]

if im surrounded by 5 people? all bets are off. Ill be looking to use a sharp object on their jugular. Dont care if its 5 war orphans with no legs.

the best way out of the situation if you cant talk or run away is to escalate the conflict to the point where the 5 people dont want to attack you.

 

[McMullen]

I think the only way I could stand a chance of winning a fight would be against a single attacker, by knifing him before he realized I had a weapon. Of course, I'd be unable to defend such an action in the trial afterwards, so either way the answer is no. My only realistic means of defense is staying out of a fight entirely.

 

[Sandjube]

I like how almost every single person here has said they can win a 1v1. You know that if everyone says that it doesn't really work, right?

OT: I've only just started a martial art class about 2 months ago (private lessons, mind), but in that time I think I've learned enough to stand a chance against someone, but only if they're bad at fighting, around my size, and drunk. And even then I can say I'd probably just get them to the ground then run. They most likely wouldn't see it as worth it to chase me.

 

[White Lightning]

Yes. The answer to this (and most questions in life) is Guns.

I carry a Glock 30 with 31 rounds on my person. If surrounded, that would insufficient I think should they press their attack from close range. Should they press the attack from a single direction without pausing to consider the relatively large chunks of lead thrown their way, I could reasonably expect to halt perhaps two of them before being overwhelmed.

So, given the odds of five to 1, if I could not employ my weapon to achieve a quick exit to the scenario, I don't think there is a possibility of exit.

Well you see the problem in this scenario is that you don't have enough Guns. You should consider getting more just incase you are ever in this situation.