Ok, this is going to sound VERY graphic, but it’s best that you face these facts now.
As you already know, besides my firearms, my favorite back-up weapon is by far a machete, right?
Machetes are silent… don’t break down or malfunction… don’t run out of ammo… and are deadly in the right hands.
But here’s a disturbing fact you must realize…
When you watch the news during times of civil unrest (like the Ferguson riots and others), typically you’ll see that the most violent offenders are in “gangs” and travel in packs, right?
That’s because these scumbag predators know that they’re safer in numbers and can attack anyone they want without anyone stopping them, which is exactly why you MUST know…
Survival Weapons Showdown:
How To Defeat Multiple Attackers When The Only Weapon You Have Is Your Survival Machete
For over 2 years, I and my “Combat Machete” co-creator merged our prior years of “long blade” training to develop a civilian-friendly fighting system that could keep you armed and safe even during an all-out collapse of our infrastructure…
… and even against multiple attackers!
We’ve proven these techniques and tactics in real force-on-force training with multiple groups (and the attendees to our annual “Combat Machete Camps”) and here are 3 strategies that have been critical to surviving such an extreme attack scenario when you’re facing 2, 3, 4, or even more armed attackers…
1. One-Strike Per Attacker
Normally when I’m teaching hand-to-hand close-quarters combat against multiple attackers, I tell people to fight just one attacker until he’s out of the fight – and then move on to the next person.
I teach the opposite when it comes to firearms defense vs. multiple attackers – put one round into each attacker as quickly as possible and then take on who’s still fighting.
That’s the same approach with a machete.
You want to make just one single strike against an attacker and then move on to another.
Chances are – if you attack the targets we talk about in the DVD – that one strike will be all it will take.
In fact, it may even be enough to scare the hell out of everyone else to leave you alone.
But if you get stuck trying to fight one person with multiple strikes, you could easily find yourself ganged up on and overwhelmed.
2. Use Circular “Slashes”
The sword-fighting system I studied in comes from the warrior Sikh caste and it’s called “Gatka“.
(My training partner, Da’Mon, brought his influences from African machete fighting.)
I borrowed Gatka’s circular slashing method because it’s both deceptive (it’s REALLY hard for an attacker to know where you’re going to strike) and it also allows you to keep your machete moving in perfect flow to take on multiple attackers.
By using circular slashes, you also avoid sinking a machete into bone and getting stuck – thereby making you an easy target as you’re temporarily “unarmed”.
3. MOVE!
You never want to stay in one spot for more than a second or so because that makes you an easier target.
The only exception is to use an advanced Gatka move I teach called Bhavani (after the 8-armed goddess) which uses 2 machetes to create a 360 degree “circle of blades” around your body that no one can penetrate without losing a body part.
But with the right footwork, you’re able to move around your attackers as you fight – often using their bodies against the other attacker to keep them confused, off-balance, and unable to zero in on you to strike you.
This is really pretty simple to master once you do a few “flow drills”.
But the key here is to make sure you’re fighting and moving at the same time to give you more options – and your attackers less.
Look, The Machete Is NOT Some “Fantasy Survival Weapon”…
It’s used in all 3rd world countries as a weapon in place of a firearm and the good news is that you can always find one – even when traveling overseas.
But like any other weapon, it’s only as effective as the Warrior who wields it.
The easiest way to become a “machete master” is to simply begin with the training you’ll find in our free “Combat Machete” Level 1 course.
You’ll then get the opportunity to get advanced training that shows you how to expertly wield 2 machetes at the same time… and multiple attacker techniques that are simple to train with and will truly make you a badass with any sword or machete.
It’s not for everybody.
But for those of you who are truly serious about weapons, it’s the ultimate Warrior-Ready training.
A lot of people like to ‘poo-poo’ groups like a Society for Creative Anachronisms because it’s not ‘realistic,’ but the SCA has been doing melee combat for decades. Most rapier-fighting in the SCA is strictly thrust-based, but it generally allows 360° engagement against multiple opponents. I’ve also had the opportunity to engage in what the SCA refers to as a ‘cut-and-thrust’ melee which would be more pertinent to this. I don’t know that those are all that common, and there are still a lot of rules designed to keep people safe, but I think there are a lot of lessons to be learned in that environment.
It might be of interest that some of the insights offered in the World War II American bayonet manual are pretty good and have been ‘pressure tested’ with SCA melees. As David W recommended don’t be in the middle of the circle. One thing I picked up from some of the gun training I’ve had is the more you can line people up and take the far side of the line so you’re facing one person at a time, the better off you are. This is something which I can vouch for from personal experience with the SCA. The ‘one helping per person’ is something I’ve seen in a lot of gun-fighting training. Everyone gets one cut and then you go back for seconds.
Avoid being at the center of a circle of attackers, continue to move towards the outermost edge (i.e person) of the attacking group, using objects (and/or attacker’s themselves) as barriers to help shield you while you move to your pre-planned exit/escape point from the area. It’s not about winning a fight, it’s about getting out of the situation alive.
I am interested it the training
Hi Earnest!
You can check out the training for free using one of the links in the blog post above.
I think you’ll find the training a blast (and incredibly practical!)