I often see references of knife encounters as some sort of deul in which two opposing forces face off in some sort of sanctioned death match...
It happens still sometimes. Yes. However, there's an old saying, "Show-ers don't cut and Cutters don't show." So, yes, attack from ambush is a long standing, well known, highly effective technique. But it's not 100% of the time. Claiming otherwise is
ALSO a modern myth. It
DOES happen that sometimes (yes, only sometimes) you know that he's got a knife and can enter on an equal (or superior) footing. It's happened to friends of mine.
This is far from actuality and possibly stems from unharnessed fear or misunderstanding or lack of knowledge of a knife attack itself and how a person that wishes to utilize a knife must act in order to be successful....
Nope. It does still happen that way from time to time. But if your point is that failing to accept and train for the possibility of attack from ambush is stupid and a huge gap in your training, then sure, I agree 100%.
I belive it also stems from various media and mediums that have subliminally domesticated violence in its entirety to where we actually behave like we see in the movies or video or what have you... It seems many have been inadvertently trained to accept a knife attack exactly how it does NOT happen....
Basing your martial training around what you see in the movies or on TV is foolish. TV is entertainment not reality, duh. If I wanted reality, I'd turn on the evening news. When I want to have a hero and watch him win, I go to a movie. Good guys dying in ambush is reality and I can read that in the paper. But it makes
SUCKY movies. Once we all understand that Billy Jack was nothing more than an entertaining story we can all move on past this self-evident point.
I also see references of knife attacks in which the would be victim attempts to adorn themselves with some sort of deterrent like a briefcase or a jacket or belt etc. in an attempt to prolong the innevitable or somehow prevent it...
I very much disagree. Puncture and slash resistant vests and clothing are par for the course for correctional officers and historically knife fighters used these measures all the dang time. Navaja fighters in Spain would wrap their lead arms with cloth as would some rapier fighters. A very old prison technique was to stuff magazines or periodicals into the waistband. Shields, both light and heavy are the norm for riot police and improvised shields, even as small as those such as books, have proven effective. Recently here in Ohio a Minister was shot to death. He deflected the first of the bullets with his Bible.
Another major reference I have come across is "disarming techniques" in which the would be victim attempts to perform specified techniques in order to strip away the blade and or avoid being stabbed or cut by utilizing various techniques...including but not limited to all out grappling matches with the tool or device...
Well, gee willikers friend. Of
COURSE disarming techiques are dangerous and comparatively "low percentage." But for crying out loud, it's better than crying like a little girl and crapping in your panties!
A knife for example is most often employed or deployed as a menas of assassination by ambush...
I'm not disagreeing with you, but I wonder if you have any statistics on this. FBI report or the like? The reports I've seem generally indicate that most of the time a knife attack is with a kitchen knife, from the front, against an unarmed victim (frequently a spouse or S.O.). I'm truly interested in your source.
hence the term "felt not seen"... rarely if ever will an end user brandish the blade and wave it around like some trinket in some hypnotic ritualistic fashion... they will pull and crash into you wile stabbing perfusely in any spot they can get it into...
Sure. Show-ers don't cut and Cutters don't show. Brandishing the blade is silly. It has a lot of intimidation factor, no doubt, but as a general rule of S.D., if you're gonna pull it, then get to work because you can't count on the other person trying to "merely intimidate" you.
The surprise is overwhelming...even in prison footage this fact remains the same...
That's the
POINT of an ambush. And it hardly applies exclusively to the knife. People who are "sucker punched" are always surprised. People who are tackled from out of the blue are always surprised. Ambush with a weapon is no different in this regard. The weapon simply makes the ambush more deadly.
Rarely does a knifer step to toe toe with the blade if full view in order to secure thier needs... they will exploit ever opportunity of surprise to their advantage.... they also understand the fear associated with being stabbed and use that as a tool to further thier agenda...
Well, that kinda depends on the nature of the attack. If they're just out to assassinate you then you'll "see" (hahaha) some sort of modified Folsom "hidden knife" type technique. If it's a "Crime of Passion" (as many are) a raging lunatic will frequently be beating the piss out of the victim or yelling and gesticulating wildly and then just grab the handy butcher knife from the knife block on the kitchen counter. It's still surprising but it ain't exactly an assassination from icepick grip stab to the kidneys as you're waking by a random stranger.
This sort of behavior is also typified by attacks with "knife-like objects" held in reverse grip as well. I was reading a few months back about a Perp who attacked
his own lawyer in court with a sharpened pencil he grabbed from the table. He held in in reverse grip, capping the eraser, and making a single direct-line stab to the chest.
Its important to understand that there are only 2 "safe" places when faced with the blade... 1.far far away from it 2.the attacker rendered nonfunctional.... option one may or may not involve being cut or stabbed while option 2 will involve being cut or stabbed... you may not have to sacrifice any blood or tissue to escape but you will if you agress to protect yourself or others.... there will be blood... regardless
Maybe yes, maybe no. There
are times when the defender simply will not get cut, through either good luck or skill. However, from a psychological perspective, it is very important for the defender to accept that "he will get cut." That way if it does happen he won't be paralyzed by the psychological impact of the injury. If it doesn't happen, well, then it just doesn't happen. Good for him.
Once again... understanding that there will be blood and cuts is paramount... but killers dont quit and neither should you.
Sure they do. You just can't count on it that's all. Some do, some don't and you can't guess which will and which will not. Guessing wrong will be much more likely to get you dead. Further, from both a moral and legal perspective, if you use Deadly Force in Self Defense, and make no mistakes, deploying a knife
IS Deadly Force, then you'd better be darn well justified in using Deadly Force. In such a circumstance, there is no reason to hold back until the attack on you is stopped. You simply cannot cut once and admire your handiwork. Keep cutting and stabbing until the attack on you stops. When it stops it will be because either the attacker has quit or he is no longer physically able to continue the attack.
Understanding the use of the knife tool and how to access targets and vitals with it is also paramount... if you become the end user you want to ensure success and it needs to be immediate... understanding what eefects slashes get as opposed to thrusting the blade into a vital... what makes more blood...what makes less... and so on...
I've been told there is a great book out now. Something like "Human Anatomy for the Martial Artist" or the like.
Most often people in training do not realize that if you attack correctly by utilizing the proper principles the knife itself becomes inert... most "disarms" come not by technique but after injuries are affectuated and the knife is dislodged from impact or trauma or inability to use it from nonfunctioning parts....
They don't? I find that amazing considering that attacking the weapon bearing limb is one of the primary targets for pretty much every melee weapon system I've ever seen.
Most often people in trainin do not realize that attacking the tool itself wont stop the job from getting done...
I really can't agree. I've never seen a S.D. technique shown against a knife attack, even really,
really,
REALLY bad ones that do not in some way include a follow up attack to the attacker or an immobilization or incapacitation of the weapon-bearing limb or the attacker as a whole. People may be dumb but, as a general rule, they ain't THAT dumb.
stop the living breathing thinking being behind the device and the threat ceases to exist... there is no deuling or fancy techniques that get this done... just sheer agressive or egressive precision and decisive execution on the real targets and thats the operationg system of the machine(s) you are up against...not thier extensions
Again, I must disagree, at least in part. Aggressive and decisive action are a must, I completely agree. However, simply going "Cave Man" won't necessarily get the job done. And you absolutely
MUST deal with the weapon in order to deal with the weapon's operator. In historic fencing, this is (sometimes) called "Passing the Point." You must somehow render the weapon ineffective against you before you can render its operator hors de combat. Perhaps that means getting off line of the weapon and then attacking the operator. Perhaps that means preemptively attacking the attacker before the weapon can be brought into effective play. Perhaps it means "defanging the snake" to take the weapon out of action. Perhaps it means entering in closer than the effective range of the weapon and grappling the weapon limb to render the weapon inoperable against you. Heck, perhaps it means having a gosh darn longer range weapon. But in any and every case YOU MUST DEAL WITH THE WEAPON IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH THE ATTACKER. Ignoring the weapon in order to attack the "operating system of the machine" is a sure recipe for catastrophe.
Peace favor your sword,
Kirk
