“What if I am walking down a dark alley with $20 bills hanging out of my pockets and I’m attacked by 27 Ninjas with Uzis? What do I do?”

I just read this and wanted to share:
“What-If-Monkeys” by Marc MacYoung

The article author says a lot and says it well, so I don’t want to add to the general topic. I do, however, have a few things to say regarding what-ifs as they specifically relate to Krav Maga:

One of the main reasons I believe in Krav Maga, as someone who both trains in it and teaches it, is that it applies as few techniques/solutions as possible to as many scenarios as possible. For example, we often make defenses based solely on the angle of an attack rather than the specifics of it (is it a fist, foot, weapon, etc.?). This speeds both the training time and the reaction time to a surprise attack by limiting the available options (see also Hick’s Law). That said, the system doesn’t “force” techniques to work in situations they clearly won’t. While the tools in the Krav Maga toolbox are both few and versatile by design, the system doesn’t claim to have a set of secret super moves that will work against any opponent in any circumstance. Maintaining situational awareness, training your reflexive responses, and training to see within the fight will aid you best in most scenarios.

As trainees in a “reality-based” system, we need to address both general and specific scenarios, and obviously train them as realistically as possible. So, I post this not to discourage anyone from asking any question. (Nor am I insinuating that too many 27-Ninjas-type questions are being asked in class!) We love exploring scenarios with students when appropriate, especially when we see them “get it”. It’s important to understand, though, that:

Violence is extremely mutable. Those mutations occur from situation to situation and second to second depending on circumstances. As such, attempting to micromanage and have exact pre-planned responses to every possible scenario is unrealistic. Such an attitude hinders mental flexibility and inhibits the responder’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances. This inability increases the danger to the would-be responder.
     —Marc MacYoung