Knife Defense = Knife Survival
There is a whole world of "Knife Experts" from every martial art, many of whom have elaborate disarms and cool takeaways.
I have seen numerous YouTube videos and articles in respected magazines that are frankly sad and often laughable.
Today I want to look at the knife in brief detail and tell you what works.
How do I know you might ask? The answer is simple: I am a certified Edged Weapons Instructor in the Military Edged Weapons program that was handcrafted at the request of the US Military and has been retooled for every theater of war since the Mid 1980s.
The current program was specifically designed for the reality of Close Quarter Battle in the Middle Eastern Theater, so that one soldier could handle up to six enemy combatants in a close quarter battle.
I have 16 years of experience with Tactical Knife.
What makes me different from most all other supposed "knife experts" is that I train with a live blade EVERYDAY!!! So many of the people perpetuating the standard knife tactics are people who spend little to no time in full contact, high pressure live blade training.
The secret to a knife is this real life stress inoculation.
Without high pressure, live blade training (with a properly certified and trained instructor in control of the blade) you will never know what works.
Almost any "knife defense" can work when the "attacker" is given one angle and a fake knife.
Even if they are given a real knife, as long as the "attack" is predetermined and done in a "safe" training environment, anything can be made to look good.
Just the other day I was talking with a sometime student of mine who also takes at other schools when he told me a Krav Maga Expert showed him some really cool disarms for a knife.
My first and only question was: Did he allow you to use a real knife and come at any angle.
His answer was no.
In my certification and subsequent training, every trip I must go against a real knife and real intent.
The instructor would never kill me, but I and many people over the years have bled on the mats to discover our knife defense was knife stupidity.
Now that I have said all that, the questions remain what works and how do we train it effectively.
As for what works, I would like to say first and foremost that disarms as a general rule do not.
I repeat THEY DO NOT!!!!!!! Sure you Magoo into one once in a blue moon, but trying for one on the street against an attacker who intends you harm and most likely death is a sure fire way to make sure they achieve their goal.
Why then do we have disarms? Self-Perfection.
Training disarms is meant only to build familiarity with the blade and its lines of entry and exit.
It builds sensitivity and precision.
The same sensitivity and precision that will enable you to escape the encounter ALIVE.
Note here I said alive, not unscathed.
In a real world encounter you most likely will get cut.
This is why the live blade training is important.
It will minimize your fear of the weapon and, over time, even minimize your body's reaction of shock when cut in a "survivable" area.
I put that in quotes because if you have not been cut, there is no survivable area.
Your body will go into shock and shut down, thus granting your attacker free range.
So now that I have established that disarms are dangerous and only a training tool for attributes, let us look at what does work in a real life encounter.
First off, make sure you always -- and I mean always -- have a knife on your person and you are proficient at getting that knife deployed.
Make sure your knife is a good tactical knife and not a standard low-grade knife that many people carry.
There are many fine choices out there, and the type of knife you use will determine your fighting tactics, as every different type of knife demands that different attributes be emphasized in the fight.
With the realization that I cannot give you a customized detailed fight plan without seeing you and the type of knife that you will deploy, I will give four main pointers to surviving an encounter using a knife against almost any weapon.
Kodger's Knife Kreed: Rule #1 Keep the blade in close: This is done so that you do not over extend yourself and expose vital targets.
Rely on footwork and proper body mechanics to move in and out of cutting or stabbing range.
You should be fluid like a river or a snake, moving back and forth in and out until you get your cut.
I tell my students to imagine there is a nail from their elbow to their body.
You should only move on the lines and length that nail would allow.
Rule 2: Always be moving: You should be up on your toes like a boxer.
Imagine you are barefoot on hot concrete.
Move on the 45 to outside of every strike.
Don't be a stationary target and NEVER go in the middle line of your opponent (if he holds both arms out, you would be in between the two arms).
Remember that this is where the human body is designed to work at maximum efficiency.
Move to the outside, trying to work your way around the attacker.
The back is where they are most vulnerable.
This strategy works in a multiple attacker scenario as well; if you keep moving on the 45, it easier to keep everyone in sight and with luck get them close to lined up.
Rule 3: Defang the snake: Never concern yourself with the weapon in their hand.
This does not mean do not be aware of it.
Let me give you an illustration I use with my students.
I will take a knife, stick, tire iron, etc.
and ask what the students view as the most dangerous thing about me right now.
With the exception of one student -- and remember I have taught for 16 years -- they say the weapon.
I then toss the weapon on the ground, stare at the weapon, point to the student and say "GO GET 'EM"; "SICK 'EM!" Oddly enough, not once has said weapon jumped up and attacked my student.
On the contrary, it lays there until I pick it up.
The point I am making here is the weapon in and of itself is not dangerous.
It is the delivery system that makes the weapon dangerous.
If you cannot hold a weapon, it cannot harm me.
This is where defanging the snake comes in.
We concentrate on the attacker's weapon hand.
We want to cut the hand, wrist or arm holding the weapon, the closer to the wrist the better.
There are many angles of attack we can use for this and all work well, but the best of the best is what we refer to as an Angle 2 (two).
The Angle 2 is delivered from ear to hip in a downward diagonal strike.
This does not mean you must go from head to hip or you have failed.
It is simply an illustration for you to understand the delivery of the attack, or stroking pattern as we call them.
This is done by turning your power side toward the attacker (with weapon in hand) and delivering the Angle 2.
This turning of the body will automatically increase the range of your strike, while simultaneously making your body harder to hit by decreasing easy access to vital targets.
Depending on how the attacker comes at you, you may have to move back, forward or to either side (on the 45 preferably) to be able to deliver this strike while minimizing the chances and targets your opponent the attacker has to cut.
The downward diagonal motion delivered with your power side forward generates the maximum amount of force when combined with timing and proper body mechanics.
Rule 4: RUN!!!! as soon as your attacker drops the knife, and he will drop the knife once you cut his hand, wrist, or arm.
If for some reason your first cut was not ideally placed and he has hold of his weapon, cut again.
I have never seen anyone hold a weapon after one or two well placed cuts.
Odds are you will make a deeper cut than you are picturing right now.
Once he does drop the knife, assuming this was a one on one...
RUN!!!!! Better yet RUN!!!! Before the fight gets going.
Even if you have a knife too, as soon as he brandishes his knife or other edged weapon, let's be real here, any weapon at all...
RUN!!!! If possible.
The above steps are only for those instances where immediate flight is not an option.
So to Recap: Train everyday with a qualified instructor and make sure you work toward Live Blade Training, Keep the blade close, move, Angle 2, RUN!!!! One last time for the record.
Disarms DON'T work!!!! If you get one you are lucky.
Don't die hoping for luck.
I have seen numerous YouTube videos and articles in respected magazines that are frankly sad and often laughable.
Today I want to look at the knife in brief detail and tell you what works.
How do I know you might ask? The answer is simple: I am a certified Edged Weapons Instructor in the Military Edged Weapons program that was handcrafted at the request of the US Military and has been retooled for every theater of war since the Mid 1980s.
The current program was specifically designed for the reality of Close Quarter Battle in the Middle Eastern Theater, so that one soldier could handle up to six enemy combatants in a close quarter battle.
I have 16 years of experience with Tactical Knife.
What makes me different from most all other supposed "knife experts" is that I train with a live blade EVERYDAY!!! So many of the people perpetuating the standard knife tactics are people who spend little to no time in full contact, high pressure live blade training.
The secret to a knife is this real life stress inoculation.
Without high pressure, live blade training (with a properly certified and trained instructor in control of the blade) you will never know what works.
Almost any "knife defense" can work when the "attacker" is given one angle and a fake knife.
Even if they are given a real knife, as long as the "attack" is predetermined and done in a "safe" training environment, anything can be made to look good.
Just the other day I was talking with a sometime student of mine who also takes at other schools when he told me a Krav Maga Expert showed him some really cool disarms for a knife.
My first and only question was: Did he allow you to use a real knife and come at any angle.
His answer was no.
In my certification and subsequent training, every trip I must go against a real knife and real intent.
The instructor would never kill me, but I and many people over the years have bled on the mats to discover our knife defense was knife stupidity.
Now that I have said all that, the questions remain what works and how do we train it effectively.
As for what works, I would like to say first and foremost that disarms as a general rule do not.
I repeat THEY DO NOT!!!!!!! Sure you Magoo into one once in a blue moon, but trying for one on the street against an attacker who intends you harm and most likely death is a sure fire way to make sure they achieve their goal.
Why then do we have disarms? Self-Perfection.
Training disarms is meant only to build familiarity with the blade and its lines of entry and exit.
It builds sensitivity and precision.
The same sensitivity and precision that will enable you to escape the encounter ALIVE.
Note here I said alive, not unscathed.
In a real world encounter you most likely will get cut.
This is why the live blade training is important.
It will minimize your fear of the weapon and, over time, even minimize your body's reaction of shock when cut in a "survivable" area.
I put that in quotes because if you have not been cut, there is no survivable area.
Your body will go into shock and shut down, thus granting your attacker free range.
So now that I have established that disarms are dangerous and only a training tool for attributes, let us look at what does work in a real life encounter.
First off, make sure you always -- and I mean always -- have a knife on your person and you are proficient at getting that knife deployed.
Make sure your knife is a good tactical knife and not a standard low-grade knife that many people carry.
There are many fine choices out there, and the type of knife you use will determine your fighting tactics, as every different type of knife demands that different attributes be emphasized in the fight.
With the realization that I cannot give you a customized detailed fight plan without seeing you and the type of knife that you will deploy, I will give four main pointers to surviving an encounter using a knife against almost any weapon.
Kodger's Knife Kreed: Rule #1 Keep the blade in close: This is done so that you do not over extend yourself and expose vital targets.
Rely on footwork and proper body mechanics to move in and out of cutting or stabbing range.
You should be fluid like a river or a snake, moving back and forth in and out until you get your cut.
I tell my students to imagine there is a nail from their elbow to their body.
You should only move on the lines and length that nail would allow.
Rule 2: Always be moving: You should be up on your toes like a boxer.
Imagine you are barefoot on hot concrete.
Move on the 45 to outside of every strike.
Don't be a stationary target and NEVER go in the middle line of your opponent (if he holds both arms out, you would be in between the two arms).
Remember that this is where the human body is designed to work at maximum efficiency.
Move to the outside, trying to work your way around the attacker.
The back is where they are most vulnerable.
This strategy works in a multiple attacker scenario as well; if you keep moving on the 45, it easier to keep everyone in sight and with luck get them close to lined up.
Rule 3: Defang the snake: Never concern yourself with the weapon in their hand.
This does not mean do not be aware of it.
Let me give you an illustration I use with my students.
I will take a knife, stick, tire iron, etc.
and ask what the students view as the most dangerous thing about me right now.
With the exception of one student -- and remember I have taught for 16 years -- they say the weapon.
I then toss the weapon on the ground, stare at the weapon, point to the student and say "GO GET 'EM"; "SICK 'EM!" Oddly enough, not once has said weapon jumped up and attacked my student.
On the contrary, it lays there until I pick it up.
The point I am making here is the weapon in and of itself is not dangerous.
It is the delivery system that makes the weapon dangerous.
If you cannot hold a weapon, it cannot harm me.
This is where defanging the snake comes in.
We concentrate on the attacker's weapon hand.
We want to cut the hand, wrist or arm holding the weapon, the closer to the wrist the better.
There are many angles of attack we can use for this and all work well, but the best of the best is what we refer to as an Angle 2 (two).
The Angle 2 is delivered from ear to hip in a downward diagonal strike.
This does not mean you must go from head to hip or you have failed.
It is simply an illustration for you to understand the delivery of the attack, or stroking pattern as we call them.
This is done by turning your power side toward the attacker (with weapon in hand) and delivering the Angle 2.
This turning of the body will automatically increase the range of your strike, while simultaneously making your body harder to hit by decreasing easy access to vital targets.
Depending on how the attacker comes at you, you may have to move back, forward or to either side (on the 45 preferably) to be able to deliver this strike while minimizing the chances and targets your opponent the attacker has to cut.
The downward diagonal motion delivered with your power side forward generates the maximum amount of force when combined with timing and proper body mechanics.
Rule 4: RUN!!!! as soon as your attacker drops the knife, and he will drop the knife once you cut his hand, wrist, or arm.
If for some reason your first cut was not ideally placed and he has hold of his weapon, cut again.
I have never seen anyone hold a weapon after one or two well placed cuts.
Odds are you will make a deeper cut than you are picturing right now.
Once he does drop the knife, assuming this was a one on one...
RUN!!!!! Better yet RUN!!!! Before the fight gets going.
Even if you have a knife too, as soon as he brandishes his knife or other edged weapon, let's be real here, any weapon at all...
RUN!!!! If possible.
The above steps are only for those instances where immediate flight is not an option.
So to Recap: Train everyday with a qualified instructor and make sure you work toward Live Blade Training, Keep the blade close, move, Angle 2, RUN!!!! One last time for the record.
Disarms DON'T work!!!! If you get one you are lucky.
Don't die hoping for luck.
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