Survival Options
Surviving the Worst

Survival Options for the worst of the Worst-Case Scenarios.

Gang Attack
At a lakeside park, a gang of thugs attacked two teenagers – my buddy and me. My buddy was chased round and round a picnic table by a knife-wielding thug while the rest attacked me. I knocked out one thug’s teeth with my lone punch but was quickly downed with pummeling from all sides, and became the kicking target of a half-dozen thugs. To escape, (like rolling a log) I rolled sideways over and over past their circle then scrambled to my feet. Fortunately for our survival, at that point a dozen of our friends on the horizon began running to our rescue. The gang fled.

Obviously, facing multiple attackers multiplies your risk. You might choose to surrender and hope for mercy or pretend to surrender then explode in a preemptive attack then escape. If so, use the Clinch-Attack in Fighting Strategies on the nearest one while using him to shield you from the others. Perhaps do the same to a second thug. Try to keep your back to a wall or a tree. Attack like a mad dog. Do serious damage to at least one of them, then run off like a scalded dog hoping they decide you’re too much to pursue. If you fall, use the Fighting Strategies, (Defensive-Ground-Kicks - 4th paragraph down) then try to roll a ways away, get up and run.

A gang rape (also known as a "party rape" because they frequently occur at drunken parties) is an escalation of a mob mentality. Often, stopping the first one with a furious survival defense stops them all.

Though similar to a gang rape, a mob or “wolf pack” attack is more frenzied. One summer day in 2000, for instance, scores of young men rampaged through Manhattan’s Central Park terrorizing many dozens of women. One woman told how some attackers screamed "Go! Go! Go!" as others wrestled her to the ground, groping her and trying to rip off her clothing. She said, "I’ve never felt so terrified in my life. I couldn't see anything but the faces around me... I couldn't even see the skyline above me." She clawed, bit, and kicked her way free. ... The “wilding” mob also attacked two honeymooning newlyweds from France. They restrained the husband while groping and stripping his wife naked. Breaking free, he lay protectively on his wife until the mob moved on.

Such a rabid wolf pack would have been very difficult to stop had they been just a bit more crazed. Fortunately, this mob wasn’t particularly intent on rape or murder and thus was more easily dissuaded.

Survival of a mob attack requires emulating the above survivor: claw, bite, and kick your way free. See Fighting Strategies and Pepper Spray & Devices.

Fighting for Survival

Abraham Shorey slashed the screen of the victim's apartment and got a knife from her kitchen. She awoke to find a man with a knife on top of her and about to rape her and who threatened to kill her if she didn't stop screaming. The woman bit the defendant's little finger when he put his hand over her mouth, and fought for her life for 10 minutes, kicked the knife out of her attacker's hand and ran outdoors to safety. "She saved her own life, basically," her father said.
Excerpted from The San Diego Union-Tribune – 08 November 2006

Never Give Up Hope

The 15-year-old girl escaped from the campsite after she shot Phillip Clopton in the face while he slept. Clopton, who had kept the girl handcuffed to a tree for weeks, failed to re-handcuff her, allowing her to kill him, then escape. The girl led police back to the campsite where they found a diary and a map. In the diary, Clopton allegedly wrote about killing and dismembering two 14-year-old Louisville girls. The diary said the body parts had been scattered across three counties.
Excerpted from The Kentucky Standard – 02 April 2004

A strange man, armed with a knife and a meat cleaver, broke into her apartment. She woke up to find him in her bedroom, where, he told her, he intended to rape and murder her. For two hours, he repeatedly raped, stabbed, and slashed her, cutting her throat, stabbing her in the head seven times, and severing two of her fingers. Yet, she mustered all her wits, strength and guts to outsmart him and save her life. She kept him engaged in conversation then tried playing dead. Finally, she escaped the apartment.
Excerpted from The Edmonton Journal – 12 January 2008

Playing Dead

Sayeh Rivazfra was 8 years old when a man raped her, cut her throat and – while she played dead – murdered her 6-year-old sister, Sara. ... "He told me to say my prayers," she recalled. “He cut my throat three times. I touched my neck. I looked at my hand and I saw blood." She dropped to the ground, playing dead. She kept her eyes closed and didn't move as she heard her sister screaming. "After a few minutes my sister stopped screaming," she said. ... She felt the man jump over her and heard his car speed away. She walked to the road and a truck with a couple in it stopped to help and got her to a hospital.
Excerpted from The Advocate.com – 26 April 2002

See all worst-case scenarios:
• Survival Options - Overview of the do-or-die realities of worst-case crises.
• Shooting Rampage: seven options for surviving.
• Hostage Taking: the slightest edge makes all the difference in survival.
• Hostage Escape: optimizing hostage survival and escape.
• Kidnapping avoidance and prevention.
• Kidnap Escape: optimizing kidnap survival and escape.
• SOS Distress Signals for summoning help in all situations.
• Surviving the Worst (YOU’RE NOW ON THIS PAGE): options for the worst of the worst-case scenarios.
• Recap of Survival Options.
• Pepper Spray & Devices.

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