A group of eight knife-wielding thugs was forced to flee when they unknowingly attempted to rob a martial arts instructor.

Louis Nicholson, 22, was alone walking down a street in Grays, England, at 4 p.m. on Oct. 16 when a gang of thugs approached him demanding his phone.

But Nicholson, who is trained in mixed martial arts and coaches sessions, refused to hand anything over.

Nicholson claims the gang started to attack him but as he managed to fight them off they pulled out knives and stabbed him multiple times.

Nicholson was stabbed under the armpit and received a large gash to his arm, which he has received stitches for.

“I’m minding my business when eight people decide they wanted to liberate my hard-earned possessions from me,” Nicholson said.

“Long story short I said I was ready to fight them because I was not going to give them my things — it was probably a stupid move, I realize that now. So anyway, we start fighting — it was one person against eight, bearing in mind.

“I was doing my best to keep them at bay, I even managed to punch two of them in the face, so they dropped to the floor. Only after they had already attacked me though of course. Anyway, at this point, the absolute cowards decide eight versus one isn’t a big enough advantage for them.

“So they pull out their blades and start stabbing and slashing at me while I’m trying to fight off the others.”

Nicholson claims the fight lasted for two minutes as he tried to move the fight closer to a site where more members of the public were.

“I had to fight them all the way down the road about [300 feet] to get to the Metalworks,” he said.

But the unsuccessful robbers eventually ended up fleeing from the scene as Nicholson managed to clear space around him and run into a construction site nearby.

“I got away with all of my stuff,” Nicholson said. “I was fighting them and they had me circled then one of them broke the circle like a coward when I went to swing for him so I ran out of that gap he created.

“I ran in a construction site that was open at the time and shouted for the guys to call the police. And the funny thing, this all happened at four o’clock in the afternoon in broad daylight.

“I have to say though, with zero shadow of a doubt, martial arts saved my life. I would not be here if not for being able to create space and get out of there. So honestly, get your kids trained in martial arts, I cannot stress it enough, it is literally a matter of life and death — stay safe, everyone.”

Essex Police are appealing for information about the attack.

An Essex police spokesman confirmed Nicholson was taken to the hospital for injuries described as serious, but not life-threatening.

Nicholson teaches MMA fighting at Thurrock TSG MMA fight school in Corringham, Essex.