Talking about multiple opponents, it depends on what you learn.
Let me tell you 2 somewhat similar stories.
3 years ago, in highschool, I had a health teacher who happened to be a karate-do 5th degree blabk belt and won multiple tournaments, I think even a national one back in the early 90s. One day he got in a fight with 2 marines(he didn't know it though) at the bar. He broke first guys leg and turned to the second guy, but as he was taking him out, the first one, who was laying on the ground, threw a knife at him which went through the kidney and he had to have it removed, although he survived.
I told this story to my russian friend, who is an ex-spetsnaz operative and now resides in houst, tx (i am getting into a little detail so you wouldn't think i am another 8 year old making up bs)
I told him this story; he smirked and said he got in fight with 14 teenagers who were trying to rob or rape some girl. He got stabbed through the liver with a screw-driver and had to walk to the police station because as the girl ran away she apparently didn't even bother calling 911. Whenever police came to the scene, 5 of the attackers were still there, 3 of them were dead, another four crippled - all together 9 out of 14 were completely disabled, the rest ran away.
When I asked him whether he was THAT good, he said that in a one-on-one fight on the ring with a referee an average black - belt would probably beat the crap out of him; however, he said that even a guy like my health teacher would not stand a chance against him in a street-fight. Why? Because martial arts focus on competitions and self-defence rather than on fighting for your life. He said that in the russian hand-to-hand combat. "systema", there are actually 4 sub-styles: Classical, which deals with tournaments, Self-Defence which deals with real-life situations, such as fights in the bar,on the stair-case, etc. Weapons, where the usage of regualar objects such as news-papers and pencils is studied as well as defence and attack styles with various types of melee weapons, and the last one is the Combat style. It is taught only to the special units and the secret police. It is separated form all other styles because the main purpose of it is not taking someone down or stopping the offender; the ultimate goal is to incapacitate the enemy, i.e. get to the point where your opponent(s) is either paralyzed, dead or in a pain shock.
Now if you are fighting 4 opponents you can run or use 2 them as a shield in your advantage....or you can punch the first one directly in the heart...now you got 3 opponents....2nd one gets a straight kick in the throat wich smashes the bone through the spinal cord...two opponents left...then grab the 3rd one's neck and squeeze for 2-3 seconds while letting the 4th guy do whatever he wants to you...
You have a one-one one, fair fight now; unfotunately, you will be facing an assault, a lethal weapon and three manslaughter charges in the near future.
Let me tell you 2 somewhat similar stories.
3 years ago, in highschool, I had a health teacher who happened to be a karate-do 5th degree blabk belt and won multiple tournaments, I think even a national one back in the early 90s. One day he got in a fight with 2 marines(he didn't know it though) at the bar. He broke first guys leg and turned to the second guy, but as he was taking him out, the first one, who was laying on the ground, threw a knife at him which went through the kidney and he had to have it removed, although he survived.
I told this story to my russian friend, who is an ex-spetsnaz operative and now resides in houst, tx (i am getting into a little detail so you wouldn't think i am another 8 year old making up bs)
I told him this story; he smirked and said he got in fight with 14 teenagers who were trying to rob or rape some girl. He got stabbed through the liver with a screw-driver and had to walk to the police station because as the girl ran away she apparently didn't even bother calling 911. Whenever police came to the scene, 5 of the attackers were still there, 3 of them were dead, another four crippled - all together 9 out of 14 were completely disabled, the rest ran away.
When I asked him whether he was THAT good, he said that in a one-on-one fight on the ring with a referee an average black - belt would probably beat the crap out of him; however, he said that even a guy like my health teacher would not stand a chance against him in a street-fight. Why? Because martial arts focus on competitions and self-defence rather than on fighting for your life. He said that in the russian hand-to-hand combat. "systema", there are actually 4 sub-styles: Classical, which deals with tournaments, Self-Defence which deals with real-life situations, such as fights in the bar,on the stair-case, etc. Weapons, where the usage of regualar objects such as news-papers and pencils is studied as well as defence and attack styles with various types of melee weapons, and the last one is the Combat style. It is taught only to the special units and the secret police. It is separated form all other styles because the main purpose of it is not taking someone down or stopping the offender; the ultimate goal is to incapacitate the enemy, i.e. get to the point where your opponent(s) is either paralyzed, dead or in a pain shock.
Now if you are fighting 4 opponents you can run or use 2 them as a shield in your advantage....or you can punch the first one directly in the heart...now you got 3 opponents....2nd one gets a straight kick in the throat wich smashes the bone through the spinal cord...two opponents left...then grab the 3rd one's neck and squeeze for 2-3 seconds while letting the 4th guy do whatever he wants to you...
You have a one-one one, fair fight now; unfotunately, you will be facing an assault, a lethal weapon and three manslaughter charges in the near future.