The 3 Deadly Myths in
Unarmed Versus Knife Fighting
An Important Letter To You by W. Hock Hochheim
Controversy! Anytime martial artists get together to discuss hand-versus-knife fighting, arguments abound and proclamations of "that will get you killed," banter back and forth. It can get hot! Usually, none of the speculations are based on criminal and military histories, but rather on anecdotal observations and shortsighted, non-scientific testing. The commonly dropped "get-you-killed" techniques? The arm grab and the knife disarm are usually the first to go, in amongst other tactics like verbal skills, footwork, strikes, blocks, passing and takedowns. All these come and go in and out of favor.
These debates really hinge on three critical points or myths, from which all false arguments crumble. The first litmus test is
1) The "Myth of the First Event."
2) The second is the fallacy I call "The Myth That All Knife Attackers are Experts,"
3) and the third mistake- "The Myth That All Knife Victims Stop and Drop on First Contact."
The Myth of the First Event. When a martial instructor declares that a counter-knife technique will not work, he has usually tested it against his fully prepared, trained, athletic practitioners. In this test format, the knife stab or slash is the focused, first and main event of a staged experiment. His class "Superboy" attacks and the instructor cannot pull off the intended move. Then he declares," See! You can't do this." These
naysayers next eliminate it from the curriculum.
But, what if your counter-move occurred on the fourth or sixth event of the fight, instead of the first? What if the first event was a chair or lamp across his head? Your subsequent knife counter, once impossible in the isolated dojo test against Superboy, suddenly works with a little Kryptonite. Try catching the weapon-bearing limb of your most athletic student in a class. Hard, huh? Next, hit him in the head with lamp and then try the grab? Not so hard. Stick your fingers in his eye. Easier? Never dismiss a counter-knife tactic solely on the fact you can't do it on the very first event. First event responses against a knife attack should be blinding and stunning strikes as you evade the blade. Eye attack! Eye attack!
The Myth That All Knife Attackers Are Experts.He slashes tight and rapidly. He stabs like a pumping machine. His other hand strikes, pushes, pulls and confuses you. Your worst nightmare is the trained knifer who also has previously set you up in landscape of disadvantages, including the element of surprise. The greatest armies of the world have been defeated by surprise and strategy. But the real, good news is that we usually fight against those deemed in professional training circles as "the zero-to-moderately-trained" opponent. And then, more on the zero end of the spectrum.
This non-expert makes a whole host of mistakes. In fact, he does the opposite of what I just suggested. He doesn't plan. He is over-emotional. He over-extends his arm in power stabs and slashes. He fails to adequately use his free hand for support. Worse for him, better for you, he is out-of-shape, slow, uncoordinated, drugged or drunk. You should train for the worst, but never dismiss tactics based solely upon the Expert Attacker Myth. Things you think are impossible against Bruce Lee, work on Delbert down the street. You must deminish Bruce down to Delbert's level.
The Myth That All Knife Victims Drop At First ContactFencing. The opponent epee touches the other. The arena buzzer sounds. The toucher wins and the touchee is theoretically…dead! The crowd applauds. But the dirty little secret in this fencing match is one split second after the winner touched the opponent with his epee? The loser touched the winner with his! But the match was already over on…first contact. Yet, both really "died" in but a second, didn't they?
Wait! It gets even more complicated because in a street or battlefield fight, did either of them die at all? Lets move that edged weapon clash over to the typical prison fight, where victims are stabbed and slashed 10 to 40 times and are still fighting! Lets look too at a common street fight, or a military close quarters battle. We find again that multiple wounds and prolonged fights are the norm. A modern day knife fight is more like football game contact than a fencing match. Rarely will a first contact stab or slash put an opponent down. Plan on fighting long after a wounding.
Past the MythHow do many of these fights end? Research and experience tells us that one main way is the arm wrap of the weapon-bearing limb. Once slowed or stopped by a block, a successful stab, or a slash, the arm catch becomes more of a possibility. Next, you will find that verbal skills, footwork, strikes, blocks, passing and takedowns account for most of the success stories. all technical terms for a chaotic scrap which is much more ugly like "football-with-a-knife," than any pretty dance move.
The latest trend in police training and in some martial circles is Force-on-Force. FOF is suiting up and fighting full speed, low drag. The idea is that if the tactic doesn't work in this rabid experiment, it won't work at all. Not so, macho grasshopper! The suit protects the opponent from realistic injuries that would truly stun and break him down. The man in the suit must still act wounded, or you will lose the true value of the tactic. Realistic acting on the part of the attacker is a mandatory consideration when evaluating a technique.
As in all fights, knife attacks are situational. We live in a world where an obese, 54 year-old, New York City bus driver grabbed the arm and disarmed a knife from a 20 year, drug-pumped, passenger. How can anyone say that knife disarms and arm grabs are impossible? These events occur all over the world on a weekly basis.
When you are lost in the three myths, you foolishly remove viable tactics from training doctrine and you rob your students from learning life-saving possibilities. A good teacher knows all environmental, hand, stick, knife and gun options. Cheat first. Cheat last. And cheat in the middle. And never give up.
