Knife Fighting

Heres a site that I think is great, you have no doubt heard of it already but I just couldn't resist emailing you the link.

http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/knifelies.html

Good website. I’ve read it before and agree with almost everything he says.
I disagree partially with Lie #1 You're going to have time to draw your own weapon
If you are we aware of your surroundings you sometimes have time to draw your weapon. I’d go as far as saying you “often” have time to draw your weapon IF ( most important “if” in self defense) you have good situational awareness and detect the probable threat in time.

Cant emphasize awareness enough guys:
You may not be the guy that has 10 years worth of knife fighting training.
You may not be the guy that won the national action shooting competition 5 years in a row.
But being the guy that detects the thread just a couple seconds before the two other guys mentioned above do, is by far the best trait you can have.

He’s right though about not being much you can do if someone walks by and stabs you in the neck as you walk past him, but that’s not common on the streets where most often the first thing attempted is to intimidate you to steal your belongings , force you inside your home or vehicle. On prisons, yes, it happens just like that all the time, the objective of course being very different: just kill the man.
On the streets its usually different. None the less you should practice to have an immediate reaction of bringing your sacrifice hand forward to create or maintain the distance you need.
Same happens with firearms and if often the reason why most self defense shooting is done single handedly.

Knives are often underestimated in the gun powder era but you should always keep in mind that knives are deadlier than guns. Statistically speaking, you clearly have a better chance of survival if you get shot than if you get stabbed.

Also this one: Lie #19 You can use a knife on another human being without legal repercussions

I’d say its probably true in USA, but in other parts of the world I’d go for: “ it depends”. Basically of to variables a) who you cut b) In which neighborhood it happened.
You can cut a punk up in Villa Tranquila, do and origami swan with his guts and unless you sit there holding a sign that say “Yes, I just killed him!” you won’t get caught and probably no one will care either.


Some basics for when training with knives:
1)Practice any martial art you want, but know that only fighting a non cooperative partner is the training that matters. If you feel the training knife stabbing, you just got cut.

2)Don’t count on the Hollywood lethal strike where after a single stab the person stays motionless and pretty much falls asleep. Lots of movement event after getting cut, the fight goes on, the person can still shoot you/stab you.

3)Fighting with training knives is a great way of separating the BS from what really works for you. A strong grip with the fingers fully wrapped around the handle is the only way to go.
The first thing you notice is how easily training knives fly around: People don’t grip their weapon strong enough or use fancy grips holds and stances. And they end up losing the knife. This is particularly important for us gun guys, where the recoil can’t even compare to the strength you need to apply to keep a grip on your knife when slashing and stabbing an attacker.
That karambit knife hold where you just have a single finger around a ring at the bottom of the gip? Oh my God! Who actually does that in a fight? You’re much more likely to get your own finger broken than actually landing a significant cut.
Also an inverted grip reduces both your range and slashing options. Good for stabbing down on an opponent hard but keep those other two disadvantages in mind as well.

4)Just like with your handgun, carry your knife at all times. For most of us, that means a folder.

5)Do not underestimate the power of martial art BS. While some disciplines are good, and some instructors teach well, there’s people out there that pretty much just waste their time and if ever faced with a lethal threat, they’ll get themselves killed.
I’ll never forget the guy that was just taught how to disarm an attacker with a firearm… with a kick to the gun.
Oh, and you had to stand just where he told you for it to work.
… and he had to try it like 5 times to actually kick the gun out of your hand… after getting “shot” that is. No, he wasn’t 5 years old, he was mid 20’s, was in great physical shape and had a black belt in something. An athlete for sure, but he didn’t understand the first thing about self defense.


FerFAL