While Hollywood likes to have fictional characters such as Jack Reacher taking on and defeating stumblebums by the half-dozen, facing multiple adversaries can be your worst nightmare. Here in the S&W and other forums, virtually every aspect of lawful self-defense is discussed, dissected, enumerated, analyzed, critiqued, pontificated upon and sometimes belabored to the point where the reader may want to use his own computer screen for target practice, or, at least, put his fist or foot through it. Yet, surprisingly little discussion occurs regarding simultaneously facing more than one adversary. So, I thought I’d open the can of man-eating worms for you to dine upon.
Multiple adversaries usually don’t conveniently assemble themselves like ducks in a row for you to mow down with your chosen gun-of-the-week. Life isn’t that simple. Generally, the closest adversary represents the more immediate threat but what if he’s armed with a broken bottle while his partner, ten feet farther away, holds a gun? The person you pass on the street just might be part of a two-man robbery team and the instant you realize that something is amiss, you have bogies at twelve and six O’clock . Mindset and situational awareness (Condition Yellow) can help you avoid walking into a trap. Almost all bad situations result from failures of mindset and tactics.
Tactical scenarios or variations upon a theme can run into the tens of thousands. Rather than try to enumerate each one, it’s better that you start thinking of managing multiple adversaries rather than losing sleep over whether or not you’re carrying the latest, meanest and deadliest ammo known to mankind.
For example, take the classic street menace that Hollywood likes to use: two men confront you, equidistant from each other so that the three of you form the three points of a triangle. Turning to flee isn’t an option. Passing through the middle is suicidal. If you have the option, dodge to either side of the two men and you are all momentarily in a row, where the bad guy in the middle gets in the way of his partner and could even catch a bullet intended for you.
What you’re trying to do here is to force their respective kill zones to merge and overlap rather than be separate. One kill zone is easier to manage than two. Okay, you can now understand that taking on more than one bad guy requires some tactical street smarts. In the event of a store robbery that envelops you, take no action if there is anyone behind you that you cannot identify or control. He or she could be an accomplice of the robber you’re aware of. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself in two kill zones. You don’t have eyes in the back of your head.
In a home invasion, the doorway, vestibule or foyer serves as a natural funnel, forcing your opponents to fleetingly fall in line to gain entry and they are in the way of each other. It represents your best opportunity to defeat them but who among us is so hyper-alert that we can nip a home invasion right at the transom? But, a security system, strong, locked doors, re-enforced door jambs with screws long enough to reach the framing delays entry long enough for you to snap into Condition Red and force them to fight where they are all in your one kill zone, if indeed you must fight. Two things. If you take out the first in line, my bet is the others will flee. Second, never shoot through a closed door, no matter what you think is happening on the other side.
Mechanics are also involved. We read and write left to right and 88% of the population is right-handed. A handgun seems to have a mind of its own and it knows exactly where your grip is weakest: the part opposite your palm, where your fingers come together. During recoil, your gun “attempts to escape” through the weakest part of your grip. Thus, when shooting, the gun wants to go left but you’re forcing it to go to the right because that’s how you were trained from infancy. If you must engage multiple adversaries, starting on the right and working left allows you and the gun to work in unison rather than against each other. This is especially true with the harder-kicking calibers. Mastering this little-known concept allows you to shoot a bit more accurately and quickly, assuming you have that option.
I made reference to the fact that there could be an infinite number of variations in multiple adversary situations, from numbers, to varying weapons, natural obstacles, distance and whatnot. If I’ve gotten you to think about winning against more than one adversary and to design tactics for the purpose, then I have accomplished my purpose.
Multiple Adversaries. Are You Ready?
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