Monday, May 26, 2008

Guns 'n' Knives

Weapons training (guns 'n' knives) can sometimes foster a false mindset. Witness this conversation to which any number of martial artists has been subjected:

Inquirer: I heard you study jujitsu (karate, tae kwan do, hap ki do, kung fu, whatever).

Martial Artist: Yes, are you interested in training?

Inq: Nah. You can't chop a .45 (.38, .357, 9mm) slug out of the air.

MA: So, you're saying your handgun is more effective than any martial arts skills?

Inq: ***** right!

MA: Then, you must own a .45 (.38, .357, 9mm)?

Inq: Yes, I do.

MA: Cool! May I see it?

Inq: It's at home (in the truck, car, etc).

The Christian Martialist trains with guns 'n' knives because someday he may have to use them to defend himself or others. Don't let that training, however, lull you into the assumption that orcs will only attack with weapons when you're equally armed. This ain't romanticized medieval Christendom, and that orc definitely ain't Sir Galahad.

Some gun gurus say that your weapon should never be more than an arm's length away (including in the shower, on the beach, etc.). And a very few dedicated pistoleros have managed it. If you're not among them, however, you need to think about how -- open handed -- you'd deal with an armed assailant.

I've previously posted a "Pistol Disarm" article which many of you have read. More needs to be said about facing someone with a firearm. The same goes for the knife.

In the upcoming WARSKYL conference, if there's time, I plan to address the issue of open handedly facing an orc who has a knife. And, time permitting, there will be practical drills for a very common type of blade attack (not the overhand, ice-pick attack you see in the movies).

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3 comments:

Stephen said...

Hello again!
Would you recommend a good course for knife fighting?

Also, I have heard a lot recently about "double taps". Some folks say that you should pull the trigger as fast as you can, and others say that you sould train yourself to re-obtain your sight picture, before pulling the trigger the second time. Perhaps this would be a good blog post for you to do:)

The Warrior said...

Okay, that was seriously amazing! I'm going to have to cross-post this one on my own blog.

Do you read Black Belt magazine? Because in the current issue there is an article on disarming a gunman about 9 ft away from you, using what they call the crescent attack method. It's good stuff. I just subscribed, and to Combat Handguns as well.

Spencer

The Black Knight said...

Stephen - I am not nearly as skilled or experienced as Gravelbelly in martial arts or training courses. Therefore any recommendation he gives should be considered with more weight than mine. However, I at least wanted to mention my personal favorite "Cold Steel's" "Warrior's Edge". The course focuses on long range tactics, and tries to debunk the myth that if you get in a knife fight you WILL get cut. And tries to show that with proper technique and practice, you can not only win a knife fight, but do so safely.

http://www.ltspecpro.com/vdwep.html

you can find this course for considerably less money on ebay.