Knife Defense Session 9: Defensive Knife Tactics

In the next block of instruction, we're gonna look a little bit more in depth on how to use our knife as a defensive tool. Right? So we're gonna look at trajectories. We're gonna look at angles, you know, how to, we can get through the defenses on the bad guy most efficiently. So basically I have my knife, you know, and again, my fighting stance, which is the natural stance that the body gets into when in danger and here we're gonna look at 90 degrees horizontal.

And again, how to develop torque and power. See how everything starts from the feet and gets transported, you know, and transition through the hips core and shoulder. capital point is right. We're gonna try to keep our elbow in as tight as possible because for one thing, it protects me. And for the other thing, you know with the elbow in contact with my ribs I can actually trans remote power through my strikes.

There's gonna be certain angles that by necessity we're not gonna be able to do so but when we can, we should. Another important factor. We're gonna look at the same trajectory. So 90 degrees, 90 vertical. Right?

For lashes, we got 45, 45. And again, these are indicative. Right? Nobody has a goniometer in real life. is just to give you an idea of how to, how you can access the target.

You're gonna recognize on the bad guy couple of pointers again, I'm not really worried about my body movement cause it's gonna move natural. I'm not gonna worry about my foot board because you know it's gonna react to push and pulls. And what have you in a natural automated way. My feet are gonna move in a natural way. it's gonna be an automatic way.

Y'all, don't even have to think about it. Right? What I can focus on is how to develop and transmit kinetic energy, how to develop interest meet power through the torque. So using our hips. Right?

And also I want you to be really conscious of the fact that we need to use our weekend. We need to keep it in the game. Right? When people start training a lot of time we see that these end is doing hold than it needs to do. And these other hand just stays here is locked.

Right? We need to engage it because you realize we're gonna use it. We're gonna use it to strike, grab, punch, gouge whatever. Right? So the best way that I found to develop is actually to have the weekend going the opposite way of our strong.

And so if I'm going this way, you know it's gonna just follow in the opposite direction. These actually kind of helps me to develop that and you know, grabbing onto the bad guy that owes you the punch in the striking ,right? now did is, is very important. You know, because there are some system out there they actually teach you to keep your weekend right here to protect your throat. Right?

Which makes sense if we're talking about a knife on knife situation. Right? But what happens when you are doing that? And the bad guy has something like this, how effective this defense is gonna be when somebody is swinging at you. Right?

So let's not do things because they work well in a very specific context, let's do things because they work well across a wider variety of contexts. Now we're gonna look at how to apply these tactics on a actually living and breathing training partner. So again, you know, we want to look at the distance. Right? We don't want to be too close.

We don't wanna be too far away but basically again, it just training. So we need to develop a little bit of familiarity with these techniques. So as we saw before, we're gonna start first with your the horizontal plane, 90 degree horizontal with lashes. So from here, right? I'm gonna come in and I'm gonna try to use my my body to develop torque, go through.

As soon as I'm done I can turn back and continue on that plane. And again, it just for you to get familiar with it. familiar with how far you can go, how much force you need to use you can do it a few times, right? So you're here and you're there you're here and you're there. Right?

Get a feel for it. Then we can look at the vertical plane. Right? So again, I can start from the top and go down. Then I'm gonna turn it in and push it up.

Right? So down and up and again, I'm developing towards with my hips and we're changing level. Right? So they can develop and transmit as much power as possible to my target. If you're looking at the kind of 45 degrees diagonal, right.

I can start I, and come back down, turning and go back up and you see how my whole legs, my whole hips my whole body kind of moves following that knife. The other side, I can start as low or low. I can start low, come out by turn around. And again, here, I'm kind of moving around a little bit obviously for this drill is not gonna really move much. Cause I'm just practicing trajectories.

Right? So there's not really any target recognition yet but at the same token we can use a training partner for the steps. Right? So if you stabbed on the horizontal plane I come in on this side, I want to circle back and come in on the other side of the hip. Right.

If we do it vertical, I mean here and then I'm gonna turn in and come back there. Right? So this kind of circular motion are very important for a couple of reason. And we'll explain them a little bit more depth in a second on the other side. Right?

So here I can come here and come down and go in, Right? So now I'm actually marrying the stabs with this lash so they can be more efficient. Right? If I'm just stabbing or just lashing there's what we call simple attacks. You know, just one attack.

We have primary initiation attacks that are usually repeated attack and he may be like the, you know stitching motion or somebody just trying to slash away. Right? And those again, devour a certain validity. What we are looking for is actually time stabs, to slashes so that we can keep putting the pressure on the bad guy with the least amount of, of pause in between. So let's say I'm coming in with a stab.

I can turn it into as lash from here. I can go in here for another stab and that is lash. I can come back here. I can go down. I can find ways to get as much damage as possible but I want to keep the blade on the guy on the bad guy, as much as possible.

Incidentally, all these works, even if I'm preferred to use the reverse grip. Right? It's the same kind of thing. Here, there Up down. Stab to slash The stab to slash.

Right? So that all the techniques that we're gonna look at you can implement them with a regular grip or with a reverse grip. And that's really up to you. What your favorite grip is. No, we're gonna add the stabs, you know, an angled and protective for stabbing after we just sew the slashes.

Right? So basically the angles are the same. And again, you know I want to make assumingly clear that these angles, you know we define them as, you know, 45 degrees 90 degrees in training, just to get us an idea, you know and you realize, I don't care if you access the the target that you recognize at a perfect 45 degrees or as a 38 ,is a 52. Right? But obviously we need to start somewhere to learn to develop these skills.

Right? So again, if you look at the horizontal plane right now, eh, you know I want to steal all the movements, start from the ground up. Right? Feet, knees, hips, core shoulders. Right?

So if this is my target and I'm gonna come in here and see how it's not just stabbing there I'm not stabbing straight. Right? I'm gonna come in ,then for the sake of training we're gonna circle it back in and then go to the other side. As I do these, I transitioned since this is palm down. When I transitioned, I come here is gonna be Palm up.

Right? And again, notice that the live hand is alive, Right? I'm always trying to do same thing with the support hand so that it doesn't, you know it doesn't get stuck in space, not helping me. Right? These may grab punch, poke, you know whatever.

Right? So on the horizontal plane is here, here and there. And this is not a natural movement. Right? But we want to work on it.

Right? Then we can look at the 45 degree angles. Right? So I'm gonna come in here and then come back down here. So over here, bomb this out, coming here, Bomb this out still.

Right? And if you notice, you know I use those short circle motion to develop more torque and to get, you know through the bad guys, defenses, natural defenses as well. So we got the horizontal right now. We got 45 degrees, 45 degrees. Right?

I can go the opposite way. Right? I can start here and there, here and there. Right? And I'm moving, he's always using Toque.

If we want to go vertical, Right? These are a bit more awkward. But again, some of these tactics that we are learning we're not learning to apply in this exact sequence. Right? We're just learning to tackle.

We isolate in there. Right? And then we're gonna learn how to apply them with more fluidity. Right. So basically here, you know if this is the target that I see, I'm gonna get here come back circle and come back here.

Right? I can start here and then go back there. See the advantage of using short circuit emotion for the stabbing, is because it helps me to get over its natural defenses. You know, now when I'm attacking him and he's gonna use his natural defense so flinching trying to intercept and, and and control my arm limb, you know, and we'll see how with the circle emotion I is gonna help. Right?

So I'm coming in here now I'm here. Right? I can then slash here. When he is trying to come up. There goes away, come here.

And then again, if we attack, you know if we have the protective gear we can attack all the head and neck, Right? So what I want you to practice, is trying to access the target and you recognize, you know we show our circle motion, who's in the steps, Right? At first you're turning part is gonna stand still. Then it's gonna start to integrate those defensive motions. So once again, remember that we are learning new skills.

You need to go slow. You need to be deliberate. You need to think about what next step you need to do. Right? Make sure you use that training discipline.

So you get results a lot quicker. You may remember that during the Defense Of Knife Doctors Chapter, we talked about, you know when to introduce the idea of why it is better in my opinion, to use short circuit, a motion for a stabbing rather than, you know, big linear one, right. It has to do with how the eye, the human eye tracks movement. We track movement in what is called the Voyeuristic gaze. which means that once the brain has figure out, you know the angle and the speed sun now we are going ahead of the object that we are tracking.

Right And this kind of explains why it's easier for the human eye and brain to track linear motion. Right? So if I'm attacking, you know if I'm defending myself from the bad guy. Right. And I start to, you know, to, to, to stab him, Right.

If I go with linear motion, you know even a bad guy that is not training someone is gonna have that, you know, naturally seem to reaction. They want to stop that threat coming. Right? So if I'm coming here, right, this is is gonna try to look at the direction of trying to intercept. Right?

If I'm coming here, you know, there is not really that much, that changes, you know, in my trajectory. Right? So remember we talked about the right angle, Right? I'll just give you a quick review. So if I'm coming in here, you know, I can stab here.

I can stab here. I can stab there, here. You know, so all around the person, right. So what happens if I keep my stabs Short and, circular the circle motion has a better chance to defeat the person natural reactions. Right?

So if I'm going in and here know that may you know, these handmade come in. Right. If I go again here there's gonna be set up to defend myself. So if I come up and here, Right? when the hand comes, Right?

All these short circle motions. Right. Will allow me to go through, the bad guy defense is more easily. Another advantage is by using short circle emotion he kind of force me to engage my core and gauge my hips. Right?

And so develop more power from torque instead of just using my arm, you know to try to access the bad guy. Right? So if you're going at it a little bit more fluid. Right? So we are starting these action.

And again, in this case my training partner is a tactically [Indistinct] correct training diamond. Right? If You're alive. I can not use the light blade on a person who is an harm unless there is a big disparity of force and so on and so forth. So here we go.

I'm coming in. right? When, when he started to par this now I can try to find ways to find my next target. Right. With defeating his natural reactions to that danger that is, you know, encountering right.

And, and again, you know it takes a little bit of practice to go through it. It does take a little practice for your training partner you know, to give you those natural reactions, you know it just normal. That's why it's very important to practice frequently and to practice in a realistic manner. Another important drill to help us develop accurate skills is The Free Boxes Drill. Basically, we're gonna try to apply all the tactics that we've seen so far in different size boxes.

What I mean by that, Jeremy, if you can step in and let's say the first box is gonna be Torso, why? Right? So now I'm gonna go back to practicing just, you know, on general been a it's not defending themselves but just giving me a frame of reference for where my target are going be. So from here again I'm gonna be doing what we've seen so far. So all those trajectories, I can put some stabs in.

I can move it. I can slash right, but on a big box. And again, I want to make sure that all my strikes and sawn starts from my hips and develop quite a bit of, of, of power. Right? Now this is the first box and it's kind of where we started with this.

Now we want to make it a little bit more accurate. And so we go for a medium sized box, if you will. And we represent that with the groin area, Right? So here again I'm gonna do all those things that I've done on the bigger box, Right. But on a smaller target.

So I need to still use all those trajectory so they can get used to take the targeted I see in the middle efficient way possible. Now the third box this mode box would represent The Face and Neck area. And that's why we have Jeremy wearing protective gear. Right? Okay.

The same thing here, once they attack. Right? I go, I see what my next target is. I may go up in here, Right? I may come back, come back.

I may go up here, come down, come back up. But it basically helps me to develop that exterity that target recognition. So make sure that you train with them partner if you don't have a partner. And the next best thing is actually doing this kind of training in front of a mirror so that you're reflected image, represent the big box for the torsol, medium for the grind and small for the head. And you can still try to work on developing all those angles of attack.

Even if you're looking at your reflective image. Now that you have seen a few drills and you know you're getting ready maybe to practice with a partner. I want you to bring your attention to the importance of being disciplined in training. What do I mean by that? We need to understand how we learn new skills learning new skills learning new physical skill is a cognitive process.

You need to formulate the fo into your brain to give the command to your body, to perform it. So you cannot move faster than your brain can process and integrate the information that you're trying to learn. So what happens, it's really easy to get caught up to start to play around a little bit, you know to like make any fun. And there's no reason why it shouldn't be fun, but we cannot let that take away from the validity of the training. Remember, in order to develop a skill, we need to repeat the skills so that we are strengthening the note neurological pathways so that we can then apply the skills in a more efficient, intuitive manner.

So if during a train evolution, during a drill I started to go too fast. I start to really go fatter than my brain can process information. Now I'm improvising. I'm flailing. Ah, [Indistinct] That's a waste of time, really, but I'm also taken away from all the good reps that I've done up until then remember that there is the saying that you probably heard you know, the practice makes perfect.

That's a fallacy practice makes habit. Perfect practice makes perfect. So try to apply yourself, try to go slow enough to be able to process information and perform the action. And you want to perform not just trying to improvise something and see how it goes because you know what, it's still fun. Right?

This is a very serious topic. fun definitely, if you have a good training partner but don't let that take away from building their skillset. And now they're saying that is oftenly repeated in the training community Is the slow is moves ,move is fast. Do you really know what that means? It goes back to this concept.

If I perform a skill set, slow enough to be able to perform it smoothly. It means that I'm really strengthening that neurological pathway. Now, you know, we, we made the reference to the riding the road. Now they're riding the road. If you travel too fast, you're starting to jump up all over the place.

So not only you're wasting time, but again you're destroying their ride. You know, dirt is filling in. So you're really doing yourself a disservice. If you practice at a pace that you can perform things as you want to, then when the time comes there's gonna be, stress is gonna be adrenaline. The speed is gonna come.

The strength is gonna come speed and strength that the lasting we need to focus on as we develop a skillset. Now for the more information on this you can refer to the person defense network, DVD the human weapon system by Dr. Robert Smith. A lot of good information in that DVD. Let's look at another tactic that we can use when the circumstances call for it.

The Jab now with the Jab of obviously, you know, we can reach out and touch the bad guy a little farther out than we are inside in a really up close and personal. So the context for which The Jab works to our advantage is pretty limited. But in those contexts, it's a very effective tool that we can use. Let's see how that looks. We did training partner.

Now let's say that I'm in my Stealth Draw. So my knife is out by my side. You know, it, you know the bad guy is not privy to it. Right? So I'm, I'm, I'm engaging.

I'm still trying to engage. So now here, if I recognize his intent to action so I recognize the moment we should decide to take his attack. Right? Which in this case is exactly the shoulder kind of goes down cause he's loading up on his strike. Right?

So come back from the beginning. So here we are talking. And as soon as I recognize that I can move to the side and actually stub the face. Right? It's also important to consider the ones that recognizes, intend to action.

I still gonna have a little microphone. I still gonna like have a little bit of an overreaction before I turned that into my attack. So be cognizant of that and train for it as well. So here we are talking in song, you know as soon as I recognize that it's going, you know I can actually move off and, you know, go for the strike. If I get to strike here he's attack is not gonna be dangerous anymore because he's gonna recoil from that.

Right. And I can still come in and press it. Another opportunity that we can use the jab is when we are in fighting know. So when I don't tell you opportunity to get to my knife before I come in contact with the bad guy so the attack cans, I can not go for my knife. I try to stop it.

I'm moving, you know, I'm doing something. And then I managed to push the bad guy away I can get for my knife. And now I can definitely get to him, you know without having to wait for him to close the distance. And for me to employ all the other thing next that we've seen. Right?

So in both of these contexts. The Jab really is gonna help us out in getting to safety as fast as possible. Now we're gonna look at a drill is gonna help us to develop proper timing and to recognize the proper distance at which we can deploy the Jab successfully. Obviously we all have different [indistinct] and so on and so forth. So we need to adapt it to our selves.

In this case, we, the training partner is gonna start from a little bit farther away than normal. I'm gonna start from my stealth drop position. Right? And again, it's, it's a timing and distance drill. The bad guy is gonna start to come towards me.

Right. And here, I'm gonna decide where I think that I can stab my jab and actually reach him instead of "step back for a second." Instead of like start too soon. And now here, you know, I don't have anything on him. And as I closed the distance he can use his weapon as well. Right?

By the same token, "come for me." If I wait too long now, you know I'm not really utilizing all the reach that, you know may give me a really good advantage. So let's try a couple of time Just to give you an idea. Right? It takes me the wise to develop the timing and the distance recognition. So your friend comes.

Right? And that was like pretty good. Cause I hit him at the very hand or my arm, my jab. "come back again." So we're here. Oh.

And at the same time once I developed that time, it was developed that distance. I can also send to integrate lateral movement on the Jab as well because if he is coming for me. Right? "Pardon me Start from [Indistinct] if it's coming for me. And when he feels easy to reach it's gonna start with his attack.

Right? I don't want to jab him and still get hit or maybe, you know I'm missing him and then I'm gonna get hit. So I want to integrate lateral movement as well. So he's came in and when I decide to strike I move laterally and I go for The Jab so that I get as matching and advantages possible. Well, we, we are talking about tactics.

Let's look at the four main factors that we need to take into consideration during a knife fight. Right? It's gonna be distance angle, accuracy and speed. Now let's break it down. Distance, now we have Jeremy.

He's the bad guy. Right. I'm here. Right. And you know, we were talking, I mean I'm well known by an imposture.

Right? And it starts to attack me. I have two choices here. Right? I can either.

We did that chemist step in and try to stop his attack, you know, wrap up and then maybe do something with empty hand until I can get to my weapon. Or if I'm a little bit behind the curve if I'm don't recognize the Preston indicator quickly enough I make, I can only just create more distance. Right? The problem is now I'm resetting him and I need to be ready to step back keen, close the decent close that gap so that I can bring my attack. Right?

So stuff in distance to take in, you know, ground most of the time is, is, is more beneficial, you know but sometime we can not do that. We are just thinking by surprise we'd like push away the bad guy. We jump out of the way but we need to consider that that doesn't stop his attack. That just reset it. So as soon as possible, need to transition and trying to regain that distance or that can actually affect his ability to hurt me.

Now a different option is changing the angle. Right? And that's also why when we practice our comma, Joe we move perpendicular to the threat, right? So the attack comes. Now, if I can just change the angle, I avoided this but I'm still in reach to strike back.

Right? Even more So if I'm starting from my stealth position with a knife in my hand yet, can I change angle? I can go there, right? I can keep pressing the issue, try to get for control and finish shot what I need to do. So that is not a threat to me any longer.

So we saw distance, we saw angle and by the way angle works also on the inside. So the attack came right. I can go to the other side and strike at the same time. Right? And then obviously from here I would continue to strike until he decides that he's at enough.

Angle, distance, accuracy. Accuracy, you know it comes the,the principle is from [Indistinct] is accurate. So any strike, any hit that you can put on the bad guy that is gonna significantly affect his ability to hurt you. And he may be a strike with, you know, as lash with my point with the Palm on but I have these and free. I got my elbows, I got my knees, I got my teeth.

Right. So any kind of strike that is gonna affect his ability to present a little threat to me is a valid strike. And we defined that as being common accurate. Now the speed component is basically being able to strike as fast as possible with all my tools while remaining combat accurate meaning while being effective. If I'm going so fast, that I'm just flailing, that I'm not actually trying to hit the target that I recognize.

I'm gonna be a lot less efficient in stopping the bad guy. So distance angle, accuracy and speed are the four factors that we need to keep in consideration when we deal with this topic.