Being in the middle of a hostile or panicking crowd is one of the most frightening experiences you can have. The potential for serious harm - whether accidental or deliberate - is very high. There is also a very different psychology at play in the crowd than in the individual. Inhibitions are lost, people can act anonymously, people can be directed or manipulated and sometimes it can even seem that the crowd has its own "intelligence" - almost like a large fire that can change direction and consume anything in its path.

Physical and psychological preparation for working in a crowd is therefore an important aspect of any self defence or protection work. This training can differ slightly form the more "conventional" self defence training for precisely the reasons above - we are working with a whole new set of rules.

BACKGROUND

I grew up in East London from the mid -1970's to1980's. At that time there were a number of "interesting" things going on.

Football violence was at its height, with the main teams all having their own "firms" of dedicated hooligans. Youth subcultures were prominent, with several gangs of skinheads, mods, punks, casuals and the rest. There was also a lot of racial and political tension around at the time. The National Front were active, political marches and demos were common.

Add to that all the usual stuff that goes on in pubs and clubs and you can see how it was a "lively" time.

One thing that came out of my experiences was this - I can only ever think of one fight I've seen or been involved in that was a one on one. Every other situation involved anything from a small group up to hundreds of people. So while learning to work one onone had some valuable lessons, it didn't particularly match my experiences of what goes on in a full scale punch up.

So how do we address the unique challenges of a crowd situation? The first step is to recognize the type of crowd. They can be broadly split into three categories:

FRIENDLY CROWD
This is your average crowd at a concert, sporting event, party and so on.

PANICKED CROWD
This might be the same crowd as above but with events added in - fire, the threat of trouble, over-crowding etc

VIOLENT CROWD
The same crowd again, but now turned ugly. May also include a crowd at a demonstration, rally, etc

INTERNAL AND EXTERNALFACTORS

Awareness is always the best defence. This means recognizing the type of crowd, but also recognizing those factors which can turn one type into another, including:

- alcohol / drugs (probably the biggest single cause of violence)
- the presence of an "opposing" group (which may also include police or security)
- leaders (people exhorting the crowd into a course of action)
- agitators (usually working on the fringe of a crowd and never in the front line)
- loud music
- something going wrong with the event (a gig starting late, your team losing,etc)
- flood, fire or similar

If you have a good awareness of these factors you are already in a strong position to gauge the mood of the crowd. That mood can be a tangible thing - think of the build up of tension before the band comes on stage or at the start of a big sporting event. Learn to pick up on the mood and act on it - particularly if things are getting violent. There can be such a thing as the eye at the centre of the storm but you are much better of getting out of the way completely.

Your awareness should also extend to the environment. Do you know where the exits are? Can you avoid using stairs or confined spaces? Are there places that will offer protection - behind a pillar, chairs and tables, etc.

DRILLS

So now we need to translate our awareness into action. On a recent workshop we ran through a progression of drills along the lines of the list below:

- basic movement, walking and running in different directions without bashing into other people. Keep movement smooth and maintain good posture

- moving "quietly" through a crowd of people. Have the group stand close together, then people take it in turns to move through the group without pushing or barging. Verbal instruction ("excuse me please") and light touches should be enough to get you through

- moving another person. Ditto above but now your have to take another person with you. If it is a child and he / she is small enough you may carry them. Otherwise explore the best ways to maintain contact (holding hands, clothing,etc)

- one crowd passing through another. Similar to above but now two groups have to get to the other side of the room by passing through each other in a restricted area

- a few people lay on the floor with the crowd moving around them

For the next stage the crowd now gets "stroppy" - but no aggro just yet! So you can run the same or similar drills but have the crowd pushing around a bit more - or have some of them try and grab or shove the people moving through

From here you can work things such as:

- stop the crowd. Pick a designated spot on the wall. Keep the group in a restricted space. The aim is for them all to touch the spot with their hands. A few other members have the job of trying to stop them. This drills is mainly so you can start to feel what it is like to have a large group come steaming at you!

- two crowds push through each other. they try to stop each other coming through but without stopping themselves

- every one for them self. Everyone in the crowd pushes or tries to grab each other

As I've already mentioned, movement is your best defence once in the situation (apart from situations where you can hide or get behind some sort of protection perhaps). The important thingis not to get sidetracked or drawn in. If you start to fight one on one you will just get hit from the back. Gauntlet drills are great to help develop this attitude - for a simple one just walk through a line of people who are hitting you. Learn how your movement (and breathing) can help deflect as much force as possible. Similar work can be done on the ground or while rolling too.

Now we step up to the next level. The crowd is actively hostile. The general Systema "mass attack" drill is a great start and can be built on in many ways. One thing we did at the workshop was have one person blindfold in the middle of the group. At first they just get pushed around, which helps you to learn to relax in the crowd. At a signal the crowd starts to punch. At the next signal the person in the middle starts to fight back. The blindfold gives a nice added touch of extra pressure - and also simulates the fact that in a crowd your vision will be severely limited anyway.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

There are a few other factors you can add in to the training. Learning to use people as a shield, the use of improvised weapons, close range hitting, taking out the leader of a group. Being able to run is not a bad skill either! Also be aware of your clothing - can it get caught or snagged, if so you may have to leave it behind!

One other thing to consider is - don't make yourself a target! Going into the foetal position, in my experience, just invites kicks. Challenging the crowd verbally or posturally may work in some situations. In others it just draws attention to the "guy who thinks he's tough".

Do you blend into the crowd or do you stand out? Try to be elusive and slip away. Of course if your job or circumstances dictate that you have to stay that's another story. Crowd control is a professional business and beyond the scope of this basic overview, but procedures do of course exist, with perhaps the biggest emphasis on teamwork.

Nothing can ever simulate the full reality of being in the middle of a violent crowd but if you have never been shoved around in a large group at least you can get used to the feeling in a safe environment first.

These are just some suggestions for basic drills - you can see some of them in action on the clip at the bottom of the page. You can add in weapons, change the environment (work outside, in the dark, in a restricted space), in fact the only limit is your imagination and the safety of the participants. I'd also advise getting into the habit of routinely "scanning" when you are out and about - with a little practice it's easy to pick up on exits and potential troublemakers. That way you will hopefully never get into that bad situation at all.....