Fundamentals are key. I see a lot of articles on knife defense by some amazingly capable martial artists, demonstrating some effective moves. They show how to hit hard and fast, take a person down, and sometimes kill a would-be attacker. A lot of these high-speed moves are great when taught in person. Some of it can seem like rocket science and hard to follow in a seminar setting, let alone in a short video clip or in a 500-word article.
Knife Defense Fundamentals
In today’s installment, I am simply going to touch on the basic five angles of a knife attack, blocking, and how to avoid a knife swing. If you can block, move, and get the hell out of the way, that is the first step to SURVIVING The Threat and Knife Defense Fundamental. Today’s video is only about five minutes long. If it interests you, take it in, practice with a partner, and the next video will follow up with demonstrations on how to capture the arm and counter with arm control, drags, and throws. Let’s get started.
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ALWAYS TRAIN SAFELY
Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT train with a sharp live blade. Training blades are inexpensive; you can even grab something from Spirit Halloween. Worst-case scenario, train with a butterknife.
If you do not have a training partner, there are many BOB-type training dummies that are great for solo training. The dummy we used at Frank’s gym was. A Century BOB Versus dummy with training knives duct taped to his hands.
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MOVEMENT IS LIFE, TRAIN WITH A PARTNER WHEN POSSIBLE
As I mentioned earlier, the key goal of this article is learning how to move and block, essentially getting off the line. Try to stay beyond an arm’s reach from your aggressor/partner, keeping maximum reach if possible. This article covers five basic attacks; yes, there are more advanced attacks, and we will cover those in following articles.
Angle to the outside as much as possible and keep your hands up. Stay out of a clinching range with these drills, and BLOCK the arm, NOT THE KNIFE.
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Try to use both hands to block the attacker’s forearm, stop the energy, and push your attacker away from the outside to maintain distance. Increase your distance with every block until you can find a path to get away, or your attacker gives up. Practicing these knife defense fundamentals can help you safely address the immediate threat of a knife attack.
