What about more than one person?

Be honest about this one. Anybody who shows you a slick answer for three people at once is doing choreography.

Two or more is not a fight you win. It is a situation you leave, and the only skills worth anything are the ones that get you out of it.

• Do not go to the ground. Ever. Every second you spend grappling one person is a free second for the others. This is the single biggest reason I drill standing up rather than staying down.
• Never let anybody get behind you. Move so they stack up in one line instead of spreading around you. Use a car, a wall, a doorway. Make it awkward for them to reach you at the same time.
• Keep moving. Standing still is how you get surrounded. Backing straight up is how you get walked into something.
• Go loud and go toward people. Noise, lights, a lit storefront, traffic. Groups do most of their work in the dark and in private.
• Do not stop to finish anything. There is nothing to finish. The exit is the win.

The real answer is upstream, though. Groups almost always give you time. They gather, they posture, they test you with a question first. That is your window, and noticing it is worth more than anything you can do once it closes. See avoiding trouble.

Groups and weapons overlap more than people like to think about, and the answer is the same in both: distance and an exit, not technique. Whether I teach weapon defense is an honest answer rather than a sales pitch.

If somebody does get hands on you, the range that decides it is the clinch. Grabbed, both still standing, neither able to throw a real punch. Breaking that grip and circling out is the skill that gets you moving again. See what the clinch is.

One more thing worth saying out loud, because it is the part nobody wants to hear. If you are with somebody, your job is to get both of you moving, not to stand your ground and prove something while they watch. Grab an arm and go. Most people freeze and look for permission. Do not wait for it.

Not legal advice. Using force has legal consequences and a lawyer is the right person for that part.