The guys at UF PRO have some great videos. Previous I looked at their gun disarm video and gun vs knife videos. A student sent me this and asked me to break it down.
Many of the techniques or concepts in this video are similar or close to what I teach regularly albeit with some differences.
One of the most important things they are doing in this video which I and many others 100% agree on is that once a bladed weapon is drawn if you cannot run (the best option) you must first get control of the weapon arm and then go after the person as a combative. Without control of the army and quick or rapid movement can be catastrophic to your self or others. Other than this I will break down my thoughts on each sequence.
0:22 – Upward stab (prison shank style)
There style with the grabs is the only thing I am not a fan of. Yes, it’s a natural reaction but if you have already identified enough any grabbing as an initial movement can be very risky especially under duress. We generally prefer gross motor movent over fine motor movement, especially for an initial movement. Inevitably as we are designed to grab you might have to but only in secondary or tertiary movements. Other than that the strategy of getting the knife arm and controlling it is great. What you do after that really depends on your style I suppose. In this sequence all attempts were succesful. Keep in mind he knew the knife was there and what attack was coming which could change the outcome if you were not expecting it.
1:11 – Slashing (We call “blender mode”)
In the first version, he inevitably takes cuts to the arms on multiple sides. This is to be expected in such a case especially if you stay in slashing range. I also am not a fan of putting palms and the soft tissue of the front of the arm towards the attack. While it is unlikely to be fatal it may limit your ability to deal with the attacker after. I would much rather take slashes to the sides or backs of the arms. In this case, as their strategy is to gram the arm then it does make some sense. Still getting get in the arms no matter where is far better than taking it to the face or neck.
At 1:41 the second version of this attack is launched. When they slow it down you can see why it is so hard to grab as an initial attack. Another reason why grabbing can be problematic. It also looks like he took a slash/stab to near the brachial artery which if severed can be a big problem.
If you take to long your attack can wise up and escalate there attack. If you are going to go in go in aggressively, with your hands up of course protecting your neck and face. Otherwise, you may be relying too much on the attacker making a mistake. Personally, I would much rather be out of range in the first place before I make a move. Yes, I know timing will still be a big factor.
At 2:05 they start the third attempt of this technique. Again you can see trying to grab trap or pass at speed is very difficult. There is a reason we call these attack blender type because if you try to follow the knife it can be very hard and if you look closely if the attacker or defender even tripped or misstepped the defender leaves their body quite open to a stab.
Don’t get me wrong, in the event you need to use this defense and it works with minimum damage then its great. It requires a great bit of skill, confidence and the right level of thinking at the moment to succeed. For beginners who encounter this kind of attack after you have identified it defend appropriately but create space and run. Use weapons of opportunity if you can. If not, attempt to attack disrupt, off balance or cause pain. A tool we use is the low line sidekick to get a pause in the attack so that we can gain control of the weapon arm. Again, waiting for the attacker to mess up may be too late, try to cause your own opening. The kick also requires skill but keeps your vitals well out of the way. I understand this option may not be preferred by many but personally, I wouldn’t stick my hand in a blender. Would you?
2:30 – Slashing & Stabbing (We call the “Decepticon blender mode” or the “Game over man”)
In Israel real knife defense is to shoot them… just saying.
Let’s just say this is a worst case scenario, they start slashing rapidly realize they haven’t killed you yet and rapidly change to the stabbing. This would be like if your blender unsatisfied you did not stick your hand in it, gave up its ruse changed into its true form a mother f**king Decepticon and started shooting lasers at you.
In the first attack series when the switch happens there is a slowdown or hesitation, which allows the defender to get the arm. This would be the best case scenario but is not always what will happen. This might have been a subconscious reaction or an on purpose to let them get control. Who knows. Also, the position of the knife right at the groin, once he does get control, makes me nervous. Some of my more vicious students would most likely remind you as they stab you while laughing hysterically in the groin multiple times…
3:08 round two. This time he gets stabbed which as I mentioned above is likely if they dont slow down. YAY DECEPTICON BLENDERS!
3:34 Round three. hmm, notice a pattern. This is the most likely scenario with this attack pattern if you are unsuccessful in getting the weapon arm immediately. Another reason why it is preferable to create a lot of space because your margin for error is slim to none otherwise. Also why we prefer that low line kick. A smart and aggressive attacker will vary their attacks to counter your defenses, your decision-making time to act is a very, very small window.
4:05 – Attacking from a drawn knife
My first comment is, always assume they have a weapon. If they are fidgeting or moving near their belt line this is a good indicator. If this is accompanied by aggressive behavior it’s better to act before they can draw a weapon. Don’t wait. Strike first and justify after. In these videos, you can clearly see a knife in which case if you are a civilian you should have run already and if you are LE or military if you did not already verbalize to get down on the ground then you may be engaging first. Of course, if they aren’t trying to stab you yet lethal force is not recommended. As soon as they go for that knife then it would be.
The first attack is easily defended, although thats because he knew the knife was coming at some point. Again outside of the demo, I would have engaged in takedown and control options prior to them being able to draw. The hesitation after the draw made the defense easier. In this case, the kind of hesitation is certainly a possibility.
Rounds 2-4 are all the same. Each scenario the aggression escalates but there is a relatively clear draw. Allowing the defender to get the weapon arm.
6:05 round five. The attacker is charging ineffectively off balancing and overwhelming the defender, who then misreads the situations and goes for the wrong arm allowing the attacker to succeed. This is a likely scenario with an aggressive attacker. It can be hard to get the weapon hand especially if you were not expecting a knife at all. You can deal with the opponent on the nonweapon hand but requires getting behind them which is very hard against aggressive attackers.
This is why the advice will always control them before they can draw. Attackers will usually but not always indicate via body language that they have a weapon if the situation starts from a static scenario. If it is not static is can be very difficult so you must be sharp with your movements and your decision making.
Bottom line is regardless of what scenario its really best not to go empty hand against enough.
I hope you enjoyed this breakdown.
PS. If you are local I will be doing a seminar on April 20th in Surrey where I will be looking at a few of these scenarios as well as some basic gun disarms.
Hesitation can often lead to embarrassment or post scenario guilt or worse. It could lead to much more serious consequences such as permanent disability or death.
Every time I hear this statement from a new student or someone eager to learn to defend themselves I want to smash my face against the desk so hard it causes a meteor to be knocked out of orbit and smash me and the surrounding area into nothingness because I’ve died a little more inside and lost even more faith in the human race.
