Interesting that a debate has formed over whether a kicking/striking system or a grappling system is best for dealing with a knife attacker.
Full disclosure: I’ve never been attacked with a knife. I’ve never needed to actually defend myself on the street, ever. I’ve always been able to talk my way around a confrontation, or simply scrambled out of a bad situation. My Nike-jitsu is tops. So that’s my level of direct experience.
Seems to me that an attack with a knife is a bad situation to be on the receiving end, no matter who you are and what your skillset is. I cannot agree that either a grappler or a kicker/striker has any distinct advantage in that situation. It’s bad, either way.
That being said, I also can believe that both a striker and a grappler could have viable solutions in their skill sets, and if their skill is sufficient and luck smiles on them, they could come out of the situation alive.
Seriously, the grappler vs. striker debate in this situation seems pretty pointless. Do the training you enjoy, and find solutions within your training.