Ah, that explains things more. As for me and my friends in college... it was very dark and there wasn't any warning, lol. No one told us "Hey, we're going to beat you up", hahhaha. I guess they'd call it... uh... sucker punches? All from behind, basically, or... you know--just sudden & without warning. And we got our ARZZEZZ handed to us. Big time.
It happens to the best of us... It honestly doesn't matter how highly trained you are, if you get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time you can get taken down by anyone. I still don't know to this day how that first punch I took to the back of the skull didn't knock me out or kill me. It was right at the base of the skull where the skull meets the spine, it's a dangerous place to get punched full force, so here's a tip from an idiot who learned the hard way... If you're walking away from a fight.... back away.
Actually your story really points out the fact that in this situation (no weapons) you can keep yourself from getting killed, but you are unlikely to score a victory of any kind (Aside from a broken nose here or a split lip there). Having done Multiple opponent sparring against 3rd through 6th degree black belts in TKD I know how to avoid getting decimated, that is victory enough most times.
Your story (plus any of mine) also indicate that if weapons were involved, the outcome would be totally different.
Remember though this was my first fight ever, I know now that if this were to happen again... I won't play around, I have a wife, and soon to have a kid to go home to. If someone tries to hurt me I am going to hurt them back... badly. I know so much more now than I did then, I am confident that if the same situation that happened to me then happened now... I would "decimate" them. Of course this is speculation, and I'm generally opposed to violence, so I'm not planning to find out anytime soon.
Any fight you walk away from is a victory in today's society it might be considered more of a victory because you're less likely to end up in jail. As Master Artorius pointed out weapons are a combat multiplier, had weapons been involved I have no doubt the fight would have ended differently.
A fistfight you have to place your punches in the right spot to cause a knock out, or debilitate your opponent by manipulating their joints causing hypertension or fracture. Generally a knockout in a fistfight takes more than one punch and fistfights usually end up on the ground.
Now throw a baseball bat to each opponent, generally as long as you make solid contact with your opponent, you have a debilitating blow.
Translate that to swords and as long as armor isn't a factor whoever lands a hit will win because their blade will cause significantly more damage than a punch.
With multiple opponents, you are at a disadvantage, unless you can take one of the people out of the fight. Let's take a look at the Maul Vs. Kenobi/Ginn battle. Maul isn't an idiot, he rarely engages both opponents at the same time, he is constantly putting obstacles between himself and Obi Wan so he can press the attack against Ginn. He's far better at multitasking than I am, because on a few occasions he actually kicks Obi Wan away without looking at him... Go Force users, my point is, even Maul understands that he can't be in two places at once, he doesn't decisively engage both opponents at the same time, he keeps one at bay while battling the other.
Same with Dooku vs. Anakin and Obi Wan, Dooku on a few occasions locks both blades up because Anakin and Obi Wan are forced into close quarters with him. There's no offset, they're literally right next to each other, very uncomfortable for them, and enough so Dooku can defend them both at the same time, but even he is only fighting so he can get to a position where he can take Kenobi out of the fight.
The battles in the movies look really flashy and they are, but the principles of combat are still there is my main point, and if you watch my vid closely I do the same thing with the two gentlemen fighting with me. I'm constantly keeping one of them off their rhythm so that I'm essentially fighting one person at a time. My point is, I'm still fighting two people with two very different styles, they both want to hit me, but I'm taking away their advantage by doing a few things
1. moving, I move quickly and decisively to make sure that they don't outflank me... takes a lot of stamina, but it's absolutely essential
2. I pick one person at a time to engage, I switch many times, but if I'm decisively engaging one opponent, I'm not decisively engaging the other if I can help it. I will make it so they can't get to me somehow.
3. I strike quickly, and just as fast I move back to a defensive position. I can't defend if I'm overextended, I keep my guard in close, and strike like a snake, then coil back up to strike again.
4. I always try to have both opponents in view. I break the rules here. I don't watch chest or eyes for telegraphing, I pick a spot in between opponents and use my peripheral vision to catch any movement from either attacker.
5. I always try to strike first when dueling multiple opponents. Best defense here is a good offense, if they can't get their bearings because I'm wailing on them... FANTASTIC!
It's cheating in a manner because I'm taking away the simultaneous attacks which would overwhelm me, but that's how you beat two or more opponents in a duel.
The disclaimer here is this... it takes YEARS of training to this standard before you're able to handle multiple opponents effectively. Even then you get hit a lot practicing it, heck even now if you watch I get hit when I don't set things up the way I said. It's very easy to make a mistake, to run out of gas or to just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you mess up there's twice the chance that someone will capitalize on it.
