Disarming an attacker holding a knife is very complex, and it has nothing to do with what you see in the movies. The chances of getting cut are almost 100% and it can get more or less serious. It is therefore worth remembering that disarmament with a knife should only be attempted in cases of absolute necessity!
Now let’s look at the fundamentals for a successful disarmament.
Table of Contents
Quick reminder of the context
There are 3 main types of knife attacks:
- The aggressor wants to extort money from you and brings a knife to intimidate you
- The aggressor wants to kill you in particular and is going to stab you at very close range and very quickly (multiple times),
- The aggressor is mad and wants to stab everything that moves which is why he holds his knife making sure it is visible (as a terrorist, for instance).
In the first case, it is of course advisable to cooperate. There is little more to be said here, as it would be completely inconsiderate to try to subdue someone who gives you a chance to survive. This is what happens in the great majority of knife attacks.
Remember: the first thing you want to do is to run away in order to survive.
In the second scenario, little that can be done since most victims testify that they did not even see the attack coming.
Even if you are reasonably vigilant, it is unlikely that you will be able to counter such an attack.
Regarding the last scenario, the knife is visible so you can try something in case of extreme necessity. This is the case when a terrorist has just stabbed someone and comes at you.
If you have no choice but to fight back, you’ll have to punch hard!
The technique
There are several disarming techniques, in self defense as in martial arts. Indeed, despite what some may think, you can defend yourself. Knives, in many ways, can be considered a greater threat in the street than a firearm since they are readily available to anyone, yet they are very dangerous and easy to hide.
You will very rarely be able to anticipate a stab.
The typical attack pattern that appears during an attack is the following one:
- The attacker attacks with the knife towards the stomach, from the bottom up,
- You manage to block the armed wing,
- You wrestle.
As soon as the fight starts, it is only a matter of time before the attacker manages to break free, change his grip or hit you with his free fist/foot. You must therefore react quickly before the situation gets out of hand. It is indeed very risky to maintain a hold on an armed wing for more than a few seconds!
Among the more or less operational options, a disarming technique that is often used in self defense consists of making a vigorous back and forth movement with the knife against the opponent’s thigh, in order to leverage the wrist and eject the weapon, while inflicting damage in the meantime.
For this to work, the blade must be perpendicular to the thigh. If the angle is more open, the risk is that the leverage against the wrist is no longer strong enough to let go on the one hand, and on the other hand the blade simply does not hit the target.
At a 90° angle, you maximize the chances of hitting the target with the full length of the blade.
Demystify disarmament
We rarely disarm an assailant because we want to, but rather because we have the opportunity to do so.
In traditional martial arts, we often use joint locks. In real life, however, it is extremely difficult to make one! Not only will you be under stress, which will greatly reduce your ability to properly execute complex techniques, but the attacker will fight back!
Joint locks are not to be discarded, but let’s insist again on this: it is the opportunity that triggers the action! In other words, if all the stars are aligned, then you can consider executing a lock, but not before, and certainly not because you decide to do so.
Another point that is important to underline: semi-rigid plastic knives will flex during training! Hence, yes, the technique works, but with a REAL, rigid, cutting knife!
No need to be surprised, therefore, if during training some partners do not systematically drop the knife! This does not diminish the effectiveness of the technique in a real situation.
It is still necessary to have common sense to understand this!
