Knife Fight!
Facing an Edged Weapon
by Tim Larkin
The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon have reminded us that there are times when regular people are going to face inescapable, violent confrontations. The weapons of choice this time were box cutters and knives with blades under four inches (Leatherman tools according to reports). No special plastic guns, no exotic explosive devices, just simple tools you can purchase at any hardware store.
Yet these simple devices were enough to hold off 60 to 80 people in three of the four doomed airliners. Passengers on United Flight 93 took action and seemingly thwarted the efforts of the terrorists. Although unable to save themselves, these heroes most certainly saved lives by denying the terrorists yet another high profile target by forcing the plane to crash in rural Pennsylvania.
I place all the blame for these actions on those zealots who committed the atrocious attacks. Their paymasters and so-called leaders will soon pay the piper. But I do think it’s critical that we all take a close look at edged weapons and learn the "do’s and don’ts" when facing an attacker who wields them.
The Real Threat of an Edged Weapon
You need to understand that knives, razors and other edged weapons enjoy a tremendous psychological intimidation factor. Most people assume they’re doomed if they try to attack a knife wielding thug. That’s not always the case if you possess just a little knowledge of the true dangers of edged weapons.
The real threat posed by any edged weapon is penetration of the blade. Any blade piercing more than two inches into your body can rapidly produce lethal results. Vital organs, major arteries and veins all are in danger when the blade penetrates the body.
The Roman Legions conquered the world realizing this fact. The famous military tactician and historian, Vegetius, writes of how the Romans would make fun of their much larger opponents who would slash and hack with the edge of their weapons rather than stab and thrust. The smaller Romans found these much larger, more physically powerful foes easy prey to the straight thrusts of their short swords. Why? Because they knew slashes and hacks rarely killed, regardless of how powerful the blow. The Romans would trade a twelve inch long slash for a two-inch stab any day.
So what does this history lesson have to do with the gang banger with a Ginsu who’s trapped you in an alley? Well, it seems like times haven’t changed. According to the Department of Justice statistics on edged weapon assaults, the first three to five strikes in a knife attack are slashes and more importantly, these first strikes are not lethal in nature!
Many studies have been done not only on the criminal use of edged weapons but on the military use of edged weapons in combat. The conclusions are the same: there’s a strong, innate revulsion by the majority of the human population to stabbing edged weapons into another human. There are many psychological reasons given for this aversion to penetration, but what you need to know is that this little known fact can save your life in a lethal confrontation.
A "Knife Fighter" vs. "Fighting With A Knife"
You need to know the difference between a "knife fighter" and "fighting with a knife." But first, let’s be really clear about something: if you ever face an attacker who pulls a knife and you can escape to safety, then run! Leave the Hollywood hero crap to the actors in the action films (or, more accurately, their stuntmen). If you can get away, then do it. For the purposes of this article, we’re assuming you can’t avoid a confrontation.
Most knife wielders would be put into the category of a knife fighter. A "knife fighter" is an attacker who focuses solely on the weapon he grips in his hand. It’s his ultimate tool of intimidation and if he didn’t possess the knife he’d feel weaponless. On the other hand, a person trained to "fight with a knife" realizes the knife is just a tool and that he has a myriad of effective body weapons available to him whether he possesses the knife or not.
Very few people are trained to fight with a knife, so in 99% of the cases you’ll likely face a knife fighter. Since you understand that your danger comes not from the knife itself, but from the brain of the attacker holding the knife, then you have an advantage.
Weapons Systems of The Human Body
Think of the body as a set of weapons systems. Your primary weapon system is your brain and your secondary weapon system is your body. Every other weapon you can think of — knife, club, or firearm — is ancillary or useless without the first two systems in place.
Without the brain, you can’t command the finger to pull the trigger or thrust the knife or swing the club. So it only makes sense that your mission in a life and death situation is to shut down your attacker’s brain or central nervous system (CNS). That is your guarantee to defeating your attacker as this diagram clearly shows:
No CNS = No Body = No Knife = No Threat
Facing an edged weapon threat, you now know you have a high likelihood of facing a non-lethal slashing attack first. Also, when you face an attacker who’s focused on the knife giving him his power, he’ll focus on using the knife to fend off your attack rather than protect his central nervous system. So your focus needs to be on attacking his primary weapon system while he focuses on using his ancillary weapon (his knife) against you. This leads us to the next step.
How To Take Out Your Knife-Brandishing Attacker
Quick review on the principles covered so far:
• Stabs are lethal. Slashes or cuts are rarely lethal.
• Most knife attacks are initially slashing attacks.
• You need to focus on destroying the knife fighter’s CNS.
So how do you get to the attacker’s central nervous system? I’m about to present a simple set of strikes that are combat proven, extremely effect, and deceptively simple to execute. Speed and strength aren’t required to execute any of them, just your sheer determination.
As there are numerous methods of attacks, I’m in no way implying this is the only way to handle this type of attack. But I’ve trained hundreds of clients successfully with these methods and received numerous testimonials as to the effectiveness of this approach.
One Proven Approach
First you need to close distance; no good if you stand off and dance in and out with an attacker. That allows him to slice and dice you at will. You need to be close. Your focus isn’t on the knife but on his neck; your target is his CNS.
The body weapons of choice are your forearms. That three inches of bone above the break of your wrist is your body’s own personal piece of lead pipe. The hand has approximately 72 bones in it and can easily break or fracture if not properly set. The forearm needs no special position and is an extremely powerful striking weapon.
As you quickly close distance, merely attack with full downward circle strikes. Imagine your arms rotating in front of your body like two propellers — your left rotates clockwise, your right counter clockwise. The striking surface of your wrists rotate six to eight inches in front of your torso. This attack not only provides protection of your torso area but generates incredible striking power for this assault as you rush in.
This is a violent assault designed to strike the assailant in multiple targets of his body. Your first strikes will hit his arms and rapidly advance up his body. With your focus on his neck, you’ll soon find yourself well above his knife and in his center core. There, you can use your forearms strikes to:
1) Crush his windpipe; the windpipe has the consistency of copper tubing and crushes easily.
2) Strike the Vagus nerve (follow the neck from the earlobes down, this nerve runs up and down that line on either side). You’ll know when you hit the nerve because it’s an instant knockout. Your attacker’s eyes roll straight up, his knees buckle, and he collapses straight down in a lump.
3) You can also use your thumbs to gouge out his eyes. Simply open-hand slap him on the ears and place your thumbs in the sockets and gouge.
Any one of these three strikes will take out his central nervous system and immediately allow you to control or kill him as the circumstances dictate.
You’ll notice I didn’t discuss what happened with the knife. During that confrontation you probably received a couple of cuts or slashes and you may need stitches… but you’re alive and he’s either dead or out of commission. Most likely you never felt the cuts or slashes because you were focused on your mission to take him out. Your wounds can be healed and you can go home and kiss your kids goodnight.
Final Notes
This is just one of a myriad of possible ways I teach normal guys — as well as the most highly trained commandos — how to take out an attacker wielding an edged weapon. The main focus is to maintain the offensive state of mind in a high threat environment. Focus on what you’ll do to your attacker rather than trying to defend against what he’s trying to do to you.
Make no mistake, edged weapons are very dangerous, but you can increase your chances of victory in an unavoidable life or death scenario using the above principles. Don’t get caught up with the martial arts knife fighter scenarios. It’s highly unlikely you’ll ever meet a highly trained martial artist or well-trained operator who fights with a knife. It’s far more likely you’ll be dealing with a criminal who’s used to everyone cowering when he pulls his knife.
Imagine his surprise when you decide not to play his game.
