Saw this video, and want to share it because I find it useful. The drills themselves more and the reactions by the participants, more so than the commentary. My thoughts are below it.
I normally don't post videos like this, but I've done most of these drills (all but the flashlight one), and the results have been pretty much the same as in the video. In general, regardless of what the other person's training is, they don't do the right movements/tactics with weapons. What they do is definitely high skill, but it needs to be adapted, and that's a skill that they've never learned/practiced.
There's two big ones.
The first is the grappling at the beginning. I won't go into strategy, because @Tony Dismukes does a much better job of that then I ever would (here), but the results I've seen are very similar, and important for people to be aware. Trained at a BJJ place that offered kali as well, and have done these drills with bjjers and wrestlers outside, and the results are pretty consistent. Up until purple belt, if we grapple with me having a knife (I am white belt level BJJ, not close to blue), I'm 'winning'. Brown belt, I'll 'win' the first time if they haven't done something like that before, and I'm a bit lucky, after that I won't. Even if they have the weapon, blue belt and below, sometimes purple belts, I'll be able to take the knife from them because they're not defending/don't realize how to defend against that.
I will say that if they start training kali, and do the grappling portion for a couple weeks, that's all it takes for them to surpass me. The skills are there, but the mindset, and specific tactical changes, need to be made. Which is a problem if you end up in a self-defense situation, before you make them. Even for that brown belt that only 'loses' once, if they haven't done any weapon grappling, that first time is the only one that really matters. So ultimately, I guess I'm saying if you're concerned about self defense, and you grapple, train a bit grappling with knives.
The second part that I want to bring attention to is the knife vs. stick. My experience is actually a bit different, in that most people with a knife (vs. stick) won't rush in and be aggressive like they are in that video-that might be because we use actual sticks rather than foam, and know how to hit hard with them. That said, it still shouldn't work. Typically, a knife should not be beating a stick. The only reason it does is if you're not expecting that level of aggression and pushing in - which is exactly what you don't get in MMA. In MMA you circle, jab, teep until you find the right opening. If you have a knife in your hand, most people are not doing that, they're jumping in at the first opening they can, as explosive as they can. If someone does that in an unarmed fight, my experience is that they'll get hit hard on their approach, the other person will just outbox them, or they'll get in and you kinda just grapple them to the floor. If you've got a stick and they're doing it with a knife, it's a bit different. The go to is to be surprised, and/or try to hit their hand, or frame standing up. That type of framing doesn't go well against a bumrush with a weapon, and if you don't have training (or even if you do), hitting someone's hand before they reach ot hard enough to knock out their weapon can be very tough. When really just whacking their arm or their head as hard as you can while constantly retreating is the best option. Essentially go for the outbox strategy but never stop retreating/circling, and do so fast.
Curious on anyone else's thoughts/experiences with these types of drills are.
There's two big ones.
The first is the grappling at the beginning. I won't go into strategy, because @Tony Dismukes does a much better job of that then I ever would (here), but the results I've seen are very similar, and important for people to be aware. Trained at a BJJ place that offered kali as well, and have done these drills with bjjers and wrestlers outside, and the results are pretty consistent. Up until purple belt, if we grapple with me having a knife (I am white belt level BJJ, not close to blue), I'm 'winning'. Brown belt, I'll 'win' the first time if they haven't done something like that before, and I'm a bit lucky, after that I won't. Even if they have the weapon, blue belt and below, sometimes purple belts, I'll be able to take the knife from them because they're not defending/don't realize how to defend against that.
I will say that if they start training kali, and do the grappling portion for a couple weeks, that's all it takes for them to surpass me. The skills are there, but the mindset, and specific tactical changes, need to be made. Which is a problem if you end up in a self-defense situation, before you make them. Even for that brown belt that only 'loses' once, if they haven't done any weapon grappling, that first time is the only one that really matters. So ultimately, I guess I'm saying if you're concerned about self defense, and you grapple, train a bit grappling with knives.
The second part that I want to bring attention to is the knife vs. stick. My experience is actually a bit different, in that most people with a knife (vs. stick) won't rush in and be aggressive like they are in that video-that might be because we use actual sticks rather than foam, and know how to hit hard with them. That said, it still shouldn't work. Typically, a knife should not be beating a stick. The only reason it does is if you're not expecting that level of aggression and pushing in - which is exactly what you don't get in MMA. In MMA you circle, jab, teep until you find the right opening. If you have a knife in your hand, most people are not doing that, they're jumping in at the first opening they can, as explosive as they can. If someone does that in an unarmed fight, my experience is that they'll get hit hard on their approach, the other person will just outbox them, or they'll get in and you kinda just grapple them to the floor. If you've got a stick and they're doing it with a knife, it's a bit different. The go to is to be surprised, and/or try to hit their hand, or frame standing up. That type of framing doesn't go well against a bumrush with a weapon, and if you don't have training (or even if you do), hitting someone's hand before they reach ot hard enough to knock out their weapon can be very tough. When really just whacking their arm or their head as hard as you can while constantly retreating is the best option. Essentially go for the outbox strategy but never stop retreating/circling, and do so fast.
Curious on anyone else's thoughts/experiences with these types of drills are.
