Defending yourself against knife attacks is a particularly delicate matter in self defense. On the one hand, the aim of self defense is to learn how to defend oneself as well as possible against a maximum of aggressive situations; and on the other hand, one must not be misled and remember that it is virtually impossible to come out of a knife attack unscathed, without the least wound. Escape as soon as you can is necessary when confronted with an aggression, but it is all the more true when your life is threatened by a weapon.
In order to fully understand the difficulty of teaching defenses to knife attacks, trainees need to be familiar with the different dimensions of these particular attacks, namely:
- Changes in the striking angles
- Change of grip
- Movements
- Strikes
Table of Contents
Striking angles
In classic training, changing the angle of an attack is seen as a feint. Since attacks and defenses are codified, the one who changes the angle of attack at the last moment is seen as a joker. And it is actually true since he is out of the frame of the learning exercise.
However, we must remain lucid regarding the reality. The street is not a place of “feints”, it is a place of attacks. End of the story. The changes of angle are part of this reality, so we have to take them into account and adapt, which, in fact, is particularly complicated.
Change of grip
Imagine that an assailant attacks you with his weapon in his right hand, and you manage to intercept the blow. Even better, you manage to control the right arm. Perfect!
You’re halfway there.
Until proven otherwise, we all have two upper limbs, and the aggressor has no interest in keeping his weapon in an immobilized hand.
And without even mentioning the possibility of an armlock, the attacker may very well want to lure you and change hands along the way.
Remember, we are in the street, rules do not exist!
Movements
Unfortunately, not only does the aggressor have two arms, but he also has two legs and will not hesitate to use them to move around, as puzzling as this may seem to a practitioner used to friendly exchanges.
From the side, from the front, from the back, with or without dodging, leaping, etc. The attacker is free to move and will not hesitate to do so (generally trying to break the distance as much as possible). Be particularly vigilant in managing the combat distances as well as your environment to avoid being caught off guard!
Strikes
Now that we have understood that an aggressor uses his 4 limbs during an attack, it is easier to understand that he can use them at any time to strike !
If we advise you to focus as much as you can on the knife which represents a deadly danger that must be neutralized at all costs, I also recommend you to keep in mind that any operational limb represents a danger in itself.
Once again, managing the distance is essential in order to make the most of your peripheral vision which will be greatly disturbed, as your attention is focused on the knife.
Once you’ve integrated these 4 principles, you will understand that you cannot defend yourself against such a threat without coming out a little battered and bruised (as in Hollywood).
Unless you have no choice but to react (in a terrorist attack, for example, if the individual is determined to kill you and leaves no room for negotiation), you’d better not play the hero in such a situation…
Unless you’re ready to kick the bucket…
