Opinions on Knife Defense Effectiveness

[sensei8]

Michael Janich . . .

Going right to 3:00 and watching what follows is eye-opening.

I agree...very eye opening!

[Mistassailant5]

It is very weird how he does it and his super slapping could be a good DISTRACTION method, but that wouldnt cause any real damage.

[JiuJitsuNation]

You are gonna get cut. My opinion. simple. Time to be a track star!!!

[StrangeBacon]

I agree with alot of the responses in that if the attacker knows how to use the knife you better know how to run, and if worst came to worst take your belt off

In response to the video, the strikes are sloppy and there isnt any control of the attackers knife hand, at one point he even leans into the attackers knife....

[isshinryu5toforever]

Just looking at the clip, it doesn't look like anything effective was shown. A number of things are wrong with the video, mostly there is zero commitment by the attacker, and the defender looks like he's basically chain punching with a knife in his hand. I have my own issues with chain punching, but that's a different thread. Meanwhile, he should probably be getting stabbed in the neck while he's moving inside, because he doesn't care about controlling the knife hand, and he moves himself from outside the attack to inside. As someone said before, he seems to assume that by slicing the guy's arm first, he is disarming him. I think most knife defense taught is horrible, but it's because it's done for demonstrations and it looks cool. Very little of it looks like it's intended to work in a real situation.

All in all, I'd listen to someone that does Kali in the Philippines before I'd listen to just about anyone else.

[JiuJitsuNation]

I will say this, the old boy is fast. And if he has that type of commitment he will either come out with some minor wounds or end up in the ER or dead with the other guy.

As far as being deadly, my uncle lived in Mexican town in Detroit and was stabbed 9 times on 7 occasions in his own yard before moving away. As many people are stabbed and shot to death, there are countless others who survive both. The statistics would be interesting to see.

[Kensei723]

Knife - knife combat is not at all unrealistic, especially in an urban area. Brandishing a knife is the single most common mistake people make. A true knife fighter has no knife as far as the enemy is concerned.

[dwarf2]

When i was teaching we went and got yellow magic markers and white shirts at the good will store on a saturday because that is when a long white sleeved shirt would be about 35 cents and we put on eye protection and went at it . I got cut every time and my students got cut . I had people come in and tell me they could take away the knife and i would have someone who had not been doing it very long do it and marks on the shirts dont lie . This also helped my students and i get better with a knife. It wasn't if we got cut, it was whether we survived being cut or stabbed, and there is a difference , plus the location of the cut or stab will surely make a difference.

[Liver Punch]

When i was teaching we went and got yellow magic markers and white shirts at the good will store on a saturday because that is when a long white sleeved shirt would be about 35 cents and we put on eye protection and went at it . I got cut every time and my students got cut . I had people come in and tell me they could take away the knife and i would have someone who had not been doing it very long do it and marks on the shirts dont lie . This also helped my students and i get better with a knife. It wasn't if we got cut, it was whether we survived being cut or stabbed, and there is a difference , plus the location of the cut or stab will surely make a difference.

We still do the same thing, and it's a super valuable training tool. The type of attack and attacker stand to vary a great deal in regards to knife fighting. If at all possible, I think you should have a knife or a firearm ready to deploy at any moment, with just a seconds notice. The Phillipino arts are a phenomenal resource for blades, but seem to focus on things with a fair amount of length. The offense and defense used in prisons during these types of attacks have a lot of merit to them. I'd gamble on an intelligent commitment versus fancy dancing any day.

I'd like to add that assuming I can sidestep an attack as easily as this guy does, slapping and slashing are not going to be my mode of operations. I'd cut his weapon hand and repeatedly stab the ribcage until the threat was no longer present.

[MasterPain]

As to knife v. knife I think that a review of incidents would hold up that most knife altercations don't go that route. However, you could seriously alter those percentages in your case if you trained in carrying a blade regularly for deployment.

Size of blade and type shouldn't matter in a well devised system. What's more important is the durabilbuty of the blade, sharpness, and skill of the user. Two inches of well honed, solid folder or small fixed blade will open lots of wound channel.

I carry a folder in my pocket, and usually walk with one hand in said pocket on the knife. Takes about a second to have it out. So knife vs knife could happen.

My Smith and Wesson folder will go through a heavy coat, tee shirt and five layers of duct tape with a quick slash. A dull kitchen knife I tried barely went through a tee shirt. So keep them sharp and oiled.