Hey, David. It's nice to have someone of your stature on the forum.
You wrote:
You're right, that is common sense. Unfortunately, common sense isn't all that common. However, you should NEVER go to the ground of your own volition (unless you are getting the crap beaten out of you in punching range) because it is often not easy to tell who your bg's "buddies" are. Also, "innocent" bystanders often become deadly opponents when your head is by their feet. For that reason alone, going to the ground is foolish (note: one still needs to know groundfighting because of the possibility of the fight going there, but your priority should be to get your ass off the ground immediately if not sooner). Weapons add an even nastier face to a groundfighting situation.
Well, your comment about an MMA venue is a very common pitfall. Plain and simple, one does not use MMA to survive an extremely violent attack in the real life. Your question about a system, well, here's a start: the system should specialize in punching and CQC range, the system should rely heavily on pre-contact psychology to set up one or more potential attackers for a debilitating first strike, the system should rely on "foul" tactics in a multiple attacker situaion, and the system should NOT be sport or competition based. I could name a few more, but I'm sure that you see where I'm headed with this. Like you said, no system allows a student to survive multiple attackers--that is up to the mentality of the practitioner. However, some systems prepare you MUCH better than others. If you don't believe me, I would be glad to direct you to some people/sites where you could gain some more insight. In fact, one lives/teaches in your neck of the woods.
Happy Holidays,
Ryan
You wrote:
BJJ maybe, I don't know. As for GJJ, Rorion Gracie has said that he wouldn't try and go to the ground or get to tied up with a guy with a bunch of buddies backing him up. That's just common sense.
Regardless of what some people might say, I don't think any system of self-defense can really prepare a person to deal with multiple attackers. However, if there is a system like that out there then it should be displayed at an MMA venue for the world to see.
Happy Holidays,
Ryan
Comment