How to Defend Against Common Knife Attacks
How to Defend Against Common Knife AttacksBy Ernest Emerson |
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(This article was originally titled "Anatomy of a Knife Fight: Learn How to Handle the Three Most-Common Assaults" and appeared in the May 2005 issue of Black Belt magazine.) Can you really defend yourself against a knife attack? Can you even survive one? If you’re honest, your answers will probably be, “Maybe.” It would be great if there were three magical techniques that would work every time. Unfortunately, there aren’t, and anyone who tells you otherwise isn’t being truthful. Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do to increase your chances of surviving a knife attack and decrease the likelihood that you’ll be severely injured. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a beginner or an expert; you’ll still benefit from learning about three basic ways things can unfold. As you’ll see, they’re quite different from what most martial artists practice. Three Attacks The first scenario is the surprise attack. The most vicious and deadly, it’s exactly what its name implies: an ambush. The assailant’s goal is your death; in fact, he’s already decided to kill you. He may be standing in front of you when it begins, or he may attack you from behind. The surprise attack is the hardest one to prepare for and defend against because the aggressor can usually get in three or four strikes before you even know what’s happening—and he’ll probably aim for your neck and chest. This type of assault often results in the victim exhibiting defensive wounds to his hands and arms because of his efforts to block the strikes.
The second scenario is the escalation attack. You’re confronted by one or more people who are giving you a hard time, perhaps while under the influence of alcohol. A fight erupts, and you trade punches with one of the thugs. He grabs you, and before you know it, you’re rolling on the floor and getting punched in the ribs. Suddenly, your left side goes weak, and you can’t catch your breath. You let go, and he jumps up and runs away. When the paramedics get there, you learn you’ve got nine puncture wounds in the left side of your torso. The third scenario is the opportunity attack. It starts when you’re alone, perhaps in a parking lot, and someone approaches you. He brandishes a knife and demands your wallet. You hesitate, and he lunges. It wasn’t premeditated or planned; the knife was intended to threaten, not necessarily to injure. However, the dynamics of the altercation turn it into an attack, probably one delivered with the intent to wound, not kill. Nevertheless, your life is in danger. How do you prepare to deal with these three scenarios? Not by squaring off and sparring knife against knife. Note that in each of the attacks described above, the good guy never had a knife in his hand. Practicing knife sparring is fine because it can develop timing, range and footwork, but it’s not realistic. I’ve trained thousands of military and law-enforcement personnel and hundreds of civilians, and not once has a student reported that he’d been in a knife-against-knife confrontation. Plenty had been in confrontations in which a knife was used, but only three were the party with the weapon. The first lesson to be learned is this: If you train for reality, you need to practice defending against a knife attack while you’re unarmed. In reality, “knife fights” don’t exist. The second is, there’s still a lot you can do to stack the odds in your favor. The following principles, concepts and techniques have been culled from the Black Course I teach to the military. The actual course will never be taught to civilians, but the techniques and drills listed here are still lifesavers. Counter to the Surprise Attack Unfortunately, there’s no simple solution to this problem. People like to say, “If you’re in a knife fight, prepare to get cut.” Well, in this case, you should prepare to get hammered. You’ll probably be hit three to five times before you even realize what’s happening. It doesn’t matter how good your reflexes are or how extensive your training is because it takes you time to process information and respond, and during that interval, even an untrained person can usually fire off several shots unopposed. You’ll probably never see the knife. The key is to respond instead of react. Respond means you receive a stimulus, analyze it and choose to answer with an action. When you react, your body executes a nonthinking action that’s caused by a stimulus. Touch a hot stove, and your hand jerks back. The signal for pain doesn’t even reach your brain; it just hits your lower spine and back. A surprise attack will trigger the startle-response. Your legs will flex slightly, your abdominal muscles will contract, your shoulders will hunch and your elbows will draw in. Furthermore, your arms will raise, and your fingers will splay at approximately eye level. This reaction marks the beginning of the fight-or-flight mechanism: You protect the vital areas of your body as you prepare to move quickly. (Using the right drills, you can develop the startle-response to make it more effective and actually transform it into a viable fighting stance.) The following is a defensive scenario I use in my classes. The opponent initiates the attack, and you react by raising your hands as quickly as possible to protect your vitals. At that point, your best course of action is to go to the ground. You can fall, jump or roll—it doesn’t matter. If you stand there, trying to formulate some type of defense, you’ll die. Going to the ground also introduces the element of the unexpected. The bad guy now has to react to you, not you to him. He has to decide what to do. You’ll have bought yourself time and created distance. Furthermore, you can mount a fairly solid defense from that position. His first choice won’t be to leap on you. Bolster your defenses by using your feet and any natural obstacles that are nearby. Throw things at him if you can. Drill No. 1 — Practice jumping into the startle-response position from a relaxed stance, then throw two to three hard strikes as quickly as possible. Repeat 15 to 25 times a day. The next time someone tries to scare you or when you’re genuinely startled, you’ll be surprised at how you react. Drill No. 2 — Have your opponent don protective gear, then stand in the middle of the training area and close your eyes. Instruct him to move around you quietly and scream as he initiates his attack. He should begin from just outside of arm’s reach, about three feet to four feet away. If he’s wearing boxing gloves, he can punch you. If he’s not, he can grab you or stab you with a rubber knife. Don’t think; just react. Get your hands up and throw a couple of strikes, then hit the deck and defend yourself from the floor. As you advance in this drill, draw your own training knife once you’re on the ground and attack if he tries to reach for you. Counter to the Escalation Attack This knife scenario is also tough to prepare for because it’s not evident at the outset that a knife will be involved. It’s best to just assume that every attack, every fight, every physical confrontation is a deadly threat. Because you never know what your assailant intends to do, you have to respond, counterattack or pre-emptively strike with such force that you neutralize his ability to harm you. By doing so, you’ll prevent him from gaining access to his knife and deploying it against you. Your goal is to take away the distance and destroy his balance, then injure him with a choke, armbar, shoulder lock or similar technique that will cause him to react defensively. By employing overwhelming firepower with no letup, you increase the chance that you’ll disable him. Don’t forget to eye-gouge and bite if need be. Drill No. 3 — To help you understand just how difficult—or easy—accessing a knife can be, you should obtain a training blade, preferably a folder, and put it where you usually carry your real one. Have your partner stand in front of you and attack. Try to ward off his technique, then counterattack or take him down while trying to open your knife. Have him really put the pressure on while wearing boxing gloves or holding a padded stick. The drill will teach you the importance of defending against the attack before trying to access your knife. If you go for it too soon, you’ll get pounded. Drill No. 4 — This exercise will introduce you to knife grappling. Have your partner put a training knife in his pocket and lie on his stomach, then mount him at a 90-degree angle. Once a third person gives the command, your opponent tries to access and deploy his knife, and you try to prevent it. Use any technique—a choke, lock or strike—to stop him. Vary the starting position, sometimes with him on his back and sometimes with you on the bottom. Switch roles so you can feel what it’s like to go for your knife.
Drill No. 5 — This knife-grappling drill starts with you on your knees on the mat, facing your partner. When the command is issued, begin normal grappling. When a second command is given, you try to get to your training knife while preventing him from getting to his, and he does the same. The first few times you try it, you’ll both stop grappling, and it’ll be a race to see who can get his weapon out first. Strive to transcend this stage and maintain your grappling composure. Learn how to access your blade without presenting your foe with an opening. Counter to the Opportunity Attack This is the knife attack you have the best chance of defending against. With that said, remember that no knife assault is easy to negate and no scenario involving a knife should ever be taken lightly. Because you know you’re in danger and can see his knife, your first thought should be to escape. If you can’t—perhaps your wife and 4-year-old daughter are standing next to you—you’ll have to fight. Even though it might escalate the situation, you should immediately begin preparing. While maintaining eye contact, raise your hands in a “calm down” position, which doesn’t appear to pose a threat but is very similar to the ready position. Speak calmly to keep his attention focused. You might say: “Hey man, you want my wallet? You can have it. Honey, give me your purse and take Jennifer around the car.” Precise word choice is the key to strategically maintaining control. You assure the bad guy that he’ll get what he wants, and you give direction to your wife—not by directly telling her to move away, but by using your child’s name to disguise your plan. Thus, it doesn’t appear that he’s losing control. The moment the strike comes, you’ll be as ready as you can be. Your plan should mirror the military’s: parry, stun, take down and finish. Remember that the overall strategy of this defense, as well as those listed above, is not to fight your attacker but to finish him.
About the author: Ernest Emerson is the president of Emerson Knives and a renowned edged-weapons instructor who’s trained members of the U.S. Navy SEALs, Delta Force, Special Forces, Rangers, Marine Recon and British SAS. For more information, visit www.emersonknives.com.
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