Recently there were several videos of South Korean Special Forces training with knives. Those are some impressive videos, but after all those “Ya! Woo! Ahh!”, we should discuss the reality of knife fighting and it’s military usage. For those who do not know me, I am a Krav Maga instructor certified under numerous organizations, a non-lethal weapon instructor with TASER International, a member of the Canadian Forces for 12 years and a student under the great Sword Master Braun McAsh (famed choreographer of the Highlander TV series).
Borhan Training with Braun McAsh
receiving my ass whipping in knife combat with Mr. McAsh
Military Use of Knife:
It is unlikely in any situation that a soldier, special ops or not, would draw his knife and do face to face dueling with enemy combatants who also have knives. Here I do not mean bayonet charge, sentry removal, or stabb an enemy when tangled up in close quarters combat.
If you have to draw your knife on your enemy it means you have screwed up big time. All soldiers follow rules of engagement as all law enforcement follow the use of force circle. Generally speaking: a soldier can use non-deadly force (hand to hand) then deadly force (rifle). Like it or not, utilising a knife is deadly force. You cannot subdue an enemy combatant with a knife. It is meant to kill, so why are you using a knife face to face when you could just use your firearm. There are still occasions like sentry removal or a bayonet charge where cold steel weapons serve the modern military effectively, but going forward to have a face to face duel? That barely existed in ancient battles when most deaths are caused by arrows, spears and being trampled to death rather than “manly” individual blade vs blade battle.
most likely usage of knives in modern military setting
Techniques :
The techniques in this footage are reasonable and proficient in dueling situation :
Overall, the techniques used in the video are pretty decent and universal in most dagger and knife fighting systems. All the cuts and stabs are within the “box“ and all the attacks are conducted within range effortlessly. That’s the key to using cold steel weapons: let the blade to do its work. The blade with a bit pressure will simply sink into the enemy’s flesh. I think it is a hard concept for non-blade martial artists to grasp, because we generally rely on impact. Even with a one inch punch the power needs to be generated from the hip, but with knife fighting a simple wrist movement will do the trick.
The disarm at 1:40 is not sufficient– simply push the attacker away then deal with the 2nd guy coming from the right. It is too much for show. The wise way would be strike, control the first attacker and use him as a shield against the 2nd attacker.
The counter attack ( 1:48 ) is done right. In a dueling situation, the enemy is not simply going to let you attack their vital parts at center of mass (main torso). It is wise to attack the limbs to cause loss of blood or cut the tender muscles so the enemy won’t be able to hold his or her weapon due to pain or loss of muscle control. The finish is not sufficient. The attack should continue after the first stab. You never know if you have stabbed or cut the right place and the human body can be really tough sometimes.
In conclusion: I wonder what’s the reason the Korean UDT/ SEAL conducts this type of training maybe it is an element of overall hand to hand combat training like hitting the sandbag in Boxing. This type of training might enhance the awareness of knife usage and attack then indirectly help defense against knives in close quarter ? I would argue this type of training by itself ” alone ” has no practical value in modern military.
An edged weapon training for our advance students is a project that we have been planning to develop for a long time, but due to lack resources and knowledge on the subject, We were never able to start. Lately, with guidance from one of the most influential sword master’s, Braun McAsh, we were able to get some basic ideas on developing our potential edged weapon system. The UTKM edged weapon system has to be relevant to today’s world and practical for current threats requiring self defense. Some might argue that defending yourself with knives, axes or swords is just asking for legal troubles, but in some situations an edged weapon should be used. For example, a single defender versus many attackers; a defender against an attacker with weapons; or simply SHTF situation. In addition, how can one claims to know defense against a knife when one does not know how to use a knife.
Six years ago, I spent about a year with Academie Duello, a well known Vancouver sword school and received rapier and Italian long sword training. At the time, I was already a qualified Krav Maga instructor under International Krav Maga Federation, but aside from dealing with attacks of passion (big, obvious, aggressive attacks) with an edged weapon, I had very little knowledge about the subject. I did not know how to use edged weapons proficiently or more complex attacks. I do not fancy myself a Krav Maga instructor if I do not know how to use an edged weapon properly. At AD I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Braun McAsh and attended most of his seminars. With his guidance and that of other instructors from AD, I came up with three conclusions:
First of all, normal MMA fighters or Krav Maga instructors do not know anything about edged weapons, including knowing how to use them effectively. Edged weapon fighting is a world of its own. Although it is an extension of hand to hand combat, edged weapon fighting is significantly different from hand to hand combat.
If you screw up in edged weapon encounters you are dead.
Both sides most likely will be dead or injured: there is simply no guarantee of survival for even the winner unless the winner outclasses the loser by many levels.
Against people without weapons, people with weapons will most likely win.
Other than a shotgun, an edged weapon is probably the most deadly thing within 21 feet.
Secondly, most edged weapons can be separated into dueling weapons and battle weapons. These edged weapons are made differently and for completely different purposes. Western dueling weapon are more thin and agile and rely heavily on thrust. Whereas, battle weapons are made more robustly and rely on slash and hack rather than thrust.
During my stay with Academie Duello, I find that most of weapons the academy teaches such as rapier, small sword, and long sword belong to an era when people actually carry these weapons on a daily basis and the law of the time permits open carry. This is surely not the case in today’s world. It seems pretty far-fetched for a person today to be walking around with a long sword in a city. Police would show up within minutes.
With these three points in mind, I concluded one of the primary edged weapons we are going to indoctrinate to the UTKM school system should be the Tomahawk. Here are the few reasons I think Tomahawk would benefit students of UTKM.
You can carry a tomahawk alone with a backpack and some campaign gear. It is most likely the police will not be alarmed nor will you cause panic. It is also much easier to pack away a tomahawk in a bag than a German long sword.
Other than combat situations, you can use tomahawks for many purposes such as chopping wood, clearing debris and the like. During my survival course with the Canadian Army, my survival partner and I used a small hatchet and knife to build our survival shelter.
It is a devastating weapon. Mankind has been using axes for war long before the sword. Stone axe is one of the weapons made by our caveman ancestors. Throughout the centuries, due to the limitation of metallurgy and financial reasons, most people cannot afford swords, but an axe is a lot cheaper to forge and therefore more accessible to the majority.
A Tomahawk is easy to carry. Imagine running in the woods or through city streets with a giant long sword for an extensive period of time. It’s just not going to happen.
The fighting style of Tomahawk is close and dirty. It is very similar to Krav Maga and there should be no problem combining the two.
System choice:
There are many systems such as Silat and Escrima that incorporate axes or tomahawk in their fighting. For the mean-time we will plan to follow Mr. Braun McAsh’s guidance as the base line for our Tomahawk fighting program. We will seek other channels in the future and add the things we like and find practical. Next article we will talk about knife fighting.
If I say Urban Tactics Krav Maga is one of the most diversified and dynamic Krav Maga schools in North America, I think there would be very little dispute. Other than having been certified under 4 International Krav Maga Federations, one of our specialties is firearm training and Krav Maga techniques related to firearms, from firearm disarms, tactical shooting to military Krav Maga. We are privileged to have extensive knowledge from our military background as combat arms soldiers and shooting instructors in the Defense Industry.
50 cal, the author’s favorite gun during his service with CDN Army
However, sometimes when we ask our civilian students at our Krav Maga school here in Vancouver if they would like to participate in some of Krav Maga seminars related to firearms or Firearm Possession Course, some of them ask “Why? What’s the point to learn about guns ? I will never use it.“ ” what’s the point of using guns as cold steel weapon? I will just shoot the guy. ” Many Vancouverites do not own firearms nor have an interest in it. I was amazed with these students’ response that they do not want to participate because they think any form of firearm training is not useful in a real life threat.
Let us be clear about something:
Armed robbers or other bad guys do not attack their targets with their bare hands. They always want to achieve superiority by having either a knife or a gun; only honorable people fight in equal amount of forces and let their skill determine who the winner is. Bad guys are not looking for a fair fight; they are looking for an easy pay day. If, unfortunately, you end up at the end of barrel and you faint at the first sight of a gun, the chance of you acting calmly is pretty slim. Knowledge is key to calmness and being collective under pressure. To know what type of firearm and the condition of the firearm is vital to survival in dealing with an armed assailant.
If you disarm someone‘s firearm you need to know how to use it, even if you want to disable the gun to prevent the bad guy from using it again. You need to know how to do so fluidly and accurately under stress. Over and over again I see Krav Maga schools or other Krav Maga instructors teach people how to disarm attackers with a gun, but their immediate actions after the disarm makes my heart skip a beat. Most of them clearly do not know how a real firearm functions, different functionality between a revolver and semi-automatic pistol, nor how to point the gun at the person if they chose to take lethal action. Just because you point a gun at an attacker does not magically make this person stop from taking the gun back or to attack you again. Do you have the will and skill to fire a gun if you chose to and, if you can hit accurately the bad guy, without hurting the bystanders or yourself? If you do not wish to shoot someone, how do you use guns as cold steel weapon and combine with Krav Maga moves ?
Since almost most Israelis have served in the IDF; firearms have always been part of general Krav Maga curriculum from Day One in Israel. After all, almost every 18, 19 old Israeli youth can take apart, put it back a M-16 and be confident with it on the range. Most North American Krav Maga students and instructors cannot rival Israeli Krav Maga student and instructors’ firearm experience. Nonetheless, In order to learn the full system of Krav Maga, you better be good at firearms. You need to learn how to shoot it, disassemble it, then finally disarm it if you have to. Firearm training is a serious issue and takes lots of training time; more so than any other aspects in Krav Maga. People generally need lots of range time with guns to eliminate the fear of the “Boom Stick“, but also be confident that guns are merely tools and be comfortable with them as extension of their limbs.
Are you Ash or Villagers ?
Last but not least, we do Krav Maga for a reason. We do it not for fitness or completion but to protect our lives. My friend, you want to ask yourself: Is there ever enough training when it comes to protecting your lives, especially about the most efficient killing tool created by man?
The knife- is a simple yet deadly weapon that has been around since the dawn of time and comes in many forms. The switch blade, Gravity blades, Fixed blades, Double sided blades, Shivs (home made), Single sided blades and Butterfly knives just to name a few. The reality is a blade could be anything with a sharpened edge and can be made from metal, plastic, glass, rock etc… The ever changing nature of this weapon does not take away from its ability to injure and kill, and it is arguably more deadly than the gun due to how easy to acquire and procure a knife. In fact, the blade is the number one cause for homicide deaths in Canada. ( reference: 1 & 2 )
Throughout your life you may hear many different thoughts on blade techniques and defenses but your greatest weapon when dealing with blades is simply, YOUR COMMON SENSE.
If someone with a blade approaches you the simplest and most logical defenses are:
Do as they say
Run! ( fast ! and don’t fall )
Use objects such as a bag, chair, stool etc.. to block the knife and hopefully disarm the individual
When it comes to blades there is one thing to remember, if you choose to engage the individual wielding the blade, – EXPECT TO GET CUT! Due to the simplicity, fluidity and speed of bladed attacks even the most proficient knife fighter & self defense expert will still get cut.
There are two main categories of Knife attacks:
The Simple/Static attacks
The Complex/Fluid attacks
The Simple/Static attacks
The first category ( Simple/ Static Attacks ) is the one that is most dealt with in Krav Maga. The reason for this is that these are the most common types of attacks. These attacks occur when a person stabs straight down like an ice pick, straight up in a thrust, or straight forward to the head, midsection or groin area. These are all Stabbing motions. In these attacks the attackers arm is usually locked in a particular state. These attacks are usually crimes of passion, such as attacks of rage and are usually the first attack of an untrained individual. Statistically women are more likely to thrust downward and males are more likely to thrust upward.
Here are some examples:
One prisoner is talking to another; one had a blade in his pocket. The conversation goes badly and the one with the knife puts his hand in his pocket pulls it out at waist level and thrusts it upwards into the gut of the other.
You are waiting at a bus stop. A drug addict approaches you and pulls a knife out and asks you for money. You make a sudden movement that spooks him. In his questionable state he panics and thrusts forward into your chest.
A woman walks into the kitchen only to find her husband cheating on her with another woman. In a fit of rage she grabs a knife, charging at the adulterous pair and thrusts downwards.
Because they are direct stabbing motions they can be instantly fatal should they pierce a vital organ or artery. The Roman historianTacitus commented over 2000 years that only require “two inches of steel to kill a man.” Though tough to deal with, due to the untrained nature of these attacks, they can be managed. In Krav Maga system this is why the 360 degree defense was developed. It uses natural reactions and gross motor function as well as sweeping motions to deal with the straight attacks.
Examples of the 360 defense below:
These defenses are designed from natural human flinching reactions to defend against an initial straight attack. However, the defense is only one part. If it is not followed immediately by an attack to stun the knife wielder then they can simply strike again. The point is, if you don’t know how to defend properly, you are going to get cut or stabbed. This brings me back to my first point, If in doubt:
Do as they say
Run! ( fast ! and don’t fall )
Use objects such as a bag, chair, stool etc.. to block the knife and hopefully disarm the individual
The Complex/Fluid attacks
The second type of attack is in some ways less dangerous and in some ways more dangerous. These types of attacks involve much more slashing and means either the person is just waving the blade trying to hit something or the blade is being wielded by a trained individual. While initially a slash is less deadly than a stab, a slash causing a cut anywhere can cause your heart rate to spike initiating your fight or flight reaction or cause your body to enter shock. In an untrained individual this response can cause panic resulting in further cuts or stab wounds from the attacker. The slashing attacks are also much more difficult to stop. They can be quick and short or wide and erratic. Either way the likelihood of being injured from these attacks is great if someone chooses to engage in it. The best way to deal with these attacks is simple:
Run!
Use objects such as a bag, chair, stool etc.. to block the knife and hopefully disarm the individual
Choosing to engage someone who is slashing in a controlled or wild fashion is usually a losing battle for any individual. Simply put, if you do not have the speed and timing to deal with these quick attacks you have then gotten yourself in a lot of trouble.
The Knife Fighter
Movie: The Hunted. One of the best & realistic Knife fighting scene in movie history.
A knife fight is fundamentally different than a random attack and making the mistake of thinking they are the same will result poorly for you. These days, it is all too common for young people or those from other cultures to regularly carry a knife on them at all times. Example: Punjab youth may carry their ceremony dagger (reference:3). The scenario of two individuals pulling out a knife and engaging in combat is all to real in other parts of the world. (reference: 4) For example – Pilipino Kali ( Escrima & Arnis ) sect feud in the 70s. North America might not have its blade culture in modern society but many recent immigrants still keep theirs. A knife fight is knowingly entered and with conscious thought as one can always choose to run away from such a situation. Fighting a trained knife fighter with weapon or empty hand is a very scary and stupid thing and personally I would be more afraid of being attacked by a trained knife expert than someone putting a gun to my head. A systematic knife fighting attacks involved both types of attacks, the more fluid slashing attacks and the more static stabbing attacks. Often a slash is a set up for a stab.
Knife Fighting Ranges:
1. Far – At this range the opposing fighter is too far to directly stab you. Your best bet is to parry their attack by striking/slashing their wrist with your blade causing a cut. Hopefully this one parry will cause them to drop their knife and thus winning you the fight.
2. Close – At this range they are close enough to strike your face or body. At this range, you not only are going to have to strike with your knife but also defend with your free hand. If you do not also use your free hand to defend yourself, then even if you strike them they will also strike you. This causes a lose, lose situation.
3. Clinch – At this range if you do not already have some control of their knife hand you will most likely be stabbed MULTIPLE times. If you have managed to control their knife hand, then even if they have controlled your knife hand as well, you can use attacks such as kicks, elbows and head butts to do damage to your opponent.
Types of knife
As mentioned previously, knives can come in many shapes and designs, and can have different functions depending on their intended use. All designs can be equally deadly.
Closing Notes
I hope this article provides you with some principals of the knife defense. When dealing with knives as I stated many times the best action is to simply not engage the attacker, run ! The moment you decide to close the distance you are now putting yourself at risk of being cut or stabbed ( Noted: There are still moments closing the distance might be the better option ). Remember, when it comes to dealing with knives, ASSUME you will get cut if you engage. With this mentality you will not be surprised if and when you do. Also, you will be aware that if you think you are going to get cut you can attempt to minimize the damage by controlling where you do get cut. For example: blocking so that you get cut on the outside or bladed side of the forearm rather than the soft inner portion that has all the veins and arteries. There are many school of thoughts when comes to knife defense. This articles is base upon my own trainings and actual experience in operation in West Bank.There might be points you disagree; nevertheless, No matter what you hear and who you hear it from, the fact remains the same, Knives are dangerous and very deadly.
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