Defending against a Knife Attack, 2 (The Other Side of the Coin)

Continued from "Defending against a Knife Attack"

In my first post on this subject, I disagreed with Stephen that concealed firearm carry may be the best answer to a knife attack. Now, I will post as to why I am in [qualified] agreement with him.

IF you train as conscientiously as the family in the video below, I think you may have a good chance of defending yourself from a knife attack with a firearm:

The ability to draw & place two shots on target comes neither automatically nor easily. I must say this family's dedication puts me to shame. If, however, you expect to protect yourself and/or others with your firearm, you should plan to TRAIN, TRAIN TRAIN.

Continued here.

Defending against a Knife Attack

In a comment on Keith Pascal's "Knife Defense Tips" article, Stephen writes:

Very interesting, and it confirms my earlier ideas. For some time I have been of the opinion that knives are rarely practical for self defense. If I were in a self defense situation, I would much rather have a cane or some object longer than a knife to battle an assailant with.

Of course, a CCW would be the best choice in a knife fight.

I agree wholeheartedly with the first part of the comment, but I have reservations about the second part, so I'll address that first. I want to speak to the assumption that a firearm is the best choice in a knife fight.

The Tueller Drill demonstrates that, in an edged-weapon attack, a trained officer needs 21 feet of distance to draw his/her weapon and fire two shots before the assailant reaches him with the knife. Here is a discussion of the 21-foot rule from the Force Science Institute.

One brief quote from the article:

For many officers and situations, a 21-foot reactionary gap is not sufficient.

The average police officer has an open-carry holster which is somewhat more accessible than  a concealed-carry weapon. Clearing your clothing out of the way can eat up precious tenths of a second.

I do agree that a firearm is best in a knife fight ONLY IF your weapon is in your hand before the attack begins. Other than that, you would need either empty-hand skills against a knife wielder, or an improvised weapon already in your hand.

Continued here.

"Call Me Madam"

After a trip to the chiropractor, I am able -- with difficulty -- to ascend the mist-shrouded mountain that the master of ancient combat skills calls his home. As usual, I find him sitting on a large rock -- doesn't he have a house or shelter or something around here?

I see he is clad in his warrior people's traditional, flowing garb  -- a great kilt. As his eyes meet mine, I realize that he knew I was coming long before I came into sight.

His voice reminds me of Sean Connery as he speaks. "Your stalking skills are improving. Today you sounded like only two or three elephants crashing through the brush."

"Thank you, Master. I have come to seek wisdom about love and marriage in a warrior's life."

"Good topic. A warrior must choose a wife wisely, for if he should lay down his life in her protection, he must not waste his sacrifice. What brought this to mind, Clodhopper?"

"Master, we watched Call Me Madam last night, and it brought back memories of decades past."

"Can you tell me about it without putting me to sleep?"

"Yes sir, I believe I can."

To be continued

Knife Defense Tips from Keith Pascal

Since Valiant for Truth asked for advice about a carry knife for defense, I've been mulling over the issue of defending against a knife. I want to answer Valiant's question, but there are some other knife-defense issues that have also been on my mind.

I noticed a discussion of some principles that I thought might apply to knife defese in Keith Pascal's last issue of Martial Arts Mastery (#479). So, I wrote him the following email:

Keith,

You brought up fighting with a knife in your last e-letter, which prompts me to ask a question I've been mulling over:

How would you defend empty-handed against a knife?

On the street, if someone really wants to stab/slash you, he won't produce the knife until the last second, which means you won't have time to draw yours. Even someone who is trying to intimidate you with a knife will have an opportunity to stab you as you reach for your weapon.

This leads me to conclude that, even if I carry a knife for defensive purposes, I will more likely need to defend against a knife with my bare hands.

My inclination is to carry the hit-first-rather-than-block policy into the realm of defense against the knife. It seems a couple of fingers to the eyes or a half-fist to the throat would seriously impede his ability to continue the attack (with a simultaneous check to the knife-wielding arm, just to be safe). What do you think?

Also, I'd like to know if you think the suggestion of turning your block into a strike would be a viable defense against a knife.

Thanks for reading this, and -- as always -- I appreciate the expertise you make available to your newsletter readers. Thanks.

Keith graciously and promptly answered my email, and I asked him if I could publish his response here, on WARSKYL. He, in turn, offered to write a short article. I jumped at the chance to post an article written specially for us by someone who is not only a master in the practice of self defense, but also a great teacher.


Here it is:

Knife Attack Surprise

by Keith Pascal


For years, I have given demonstrations showing how it's almost
impossible to get a weapon out and into play, after you are attacked.
For example, if someone were to surprise you with a knife, you would
NOT be able to pull your blade out of your pocket, get it open, and
use it for defense, before you were stabbed. (Let's call it
"unlikely," and "unlucky.")

So, what do you do?

I have several quick suggestions:


  * Get your knife out early, if you are in an area where you don't
feel safe and secure.

  * If your knife "Is" out in anticipation of potential problems,
keep the knife hidden. Learn to "palm" your knife (10 Days to Better Knife Fighting)

  * Have a first response that doesn't require a weapon. In other
words, learn to defend empty handed against a knife attack.

  * Practice beginning with your feet or hands, and getting your
knife out while in the middle of the fight. And find a way to practice
this while you have adrenalin coursing through your body.

   * Don't rely on, but learn to utilize techniques where you take
the knife away from your opponent. Sometimes, it's easier to disarm
your opponent than bring your own knife into play. Sometimes.


I hope these quick tips help,



   Keith

Many thanks to Keith for taking the time to give us those tips. (He may use the contents of this in another venue, but remember you saw it here first)

Can you put his advice together with some of the ideas in my letter to come up with your own drills for knife defense? I hope to have more on the subject, soon. (Be patient, Valiant)

Stay Tuned . . .

Today I wrote an e-mail to a self-defense & martial arts master (I do not use the term lightly). He offered to write a short article on the topic of our correspondence for WARSKYL.

He said he'd need a day to write it, so I'm looking forward to being able to post it for you tomorrow. Stay tuned . . . .

Entertained by Violence?, 2

James Jordan has commented on this aspect of manhood in one of his Biblical Horizons newsletters:

Biblical manhood is not connected with hunting or with sports. The great men of the Bible were not hunters but accountants; contrast Jacob and Esau. There is nothing wrong with hunting, but it has nothing to do with manhood one way or another. There is nothing wrong with many sports either, but we should note that while sports were an important part of Greek education, they play no part in Biblical training at all.

Biblical manhood is connected, however, with martial skills. At the age of 20, every man was enlisted in the militia (Numbers 1). When the trumpet was blown, every man was expected to show up to fight.

What does this mean for us today? Well, it has to be admitted that modern super-weapons are not the kinds of things ordinary citizens can be expected to possess or know how to use. But there are two kinds of martial arts that can and should be part of Christian education for men, and also for women to a lesser degree. The one is self-defense tactics, and here we can use the Jubal-techniques developed in oriental lands to good advantage: karate, tae-kwan-do, jui-jutsu, etc. The other is weapons training, which should include bow & arrow, spear, pistol, and rifle.

If these ideas shock you, you’ve spent too much time as a couch potato watching sports on television. Wouldn’t you like for your children to know these things? Don’t you wish you did????

(Also, see my blog series, "Designed for Work, Destined for War")

Given that Christian young men have inner questions & conflicts based on one God-ordained facet of manhood, war movies, martial arts movies, and other "action" movies serve a very real purpose. Every staged violent confrontation addresses his personal concerns -- What would I do in that situation? Could I do that? Would I have the courage to . . . ? (etc.)

I would recommend that Christian parents use such movies to evoke discussion aimed at evaluating the movie from a Biblical perspective. Ask the right questions: Did the main character act out of revenge, or was he protecting himself (or someone else)? Did the main character use wrongs committed against him as an excuse or an occasion for sin? Were the movie's situations true-to-life or too contrived to be of practical use? Are there Biblical characters who faced analogous situations? (etc.)

This sends the right message to the young Christian -- that the Bible speaks to every situation of life, including the use of force in defense of self or others.

On my blog, I recently reviewed a couple of war films. I would recommend to you the comments by two or three young men who responded in the comments section. It shows how Christian youths can approach such movies with a discernment that issues from Biblical ethics:

Valkyrie

Defiance

Finally, I want to make it clear that I recognize that the young Christian does not always act from pure motives. His legitimate interests may be mixed with an addiction to adrenaline or an unhealthy interest in some of the seamier aspects of modern "action" movies. Here, I believe the discerning parent must direct his child's attention to those movies which best serve the legitimate purposes I've discussed above.

Entertained by Violence?

In a recent exchange of emails with some Christian parents, they posed the following question:

Just a side thought-One question that has arisen in our house several times is whether it is OK to be entertained by violence, such as is in R rated movies.

My answer follows:

First, I think it would be wise to discern what you mean when you say "entertained by violence."

If by that, you mean watching blood-and-splatter movies (e.g., Texas Chain Saw Massacre & movies of that ilk) and deriving pleasure from  bloody death & dismemberment, then I would have to say that such entertainment goes against the teaching of Scripture. There is no warrant for taking delight in the violent suffering and death of other people.

On the other hand, I believe a lot of Christian young men (and some older ones) watch "action" movies that include a lot of fighting and death for reasons other than to glory in bloody suffering.

God has implanted men with an instinct to protect home & family. Sadly, however, many churches and homes do not know what to do with these drives.

Often, the only message a Christian boy receives is: "Fighting is always bad; don't do it." This causes a radical disconnect between the young man's religious perception and his God-created manhood.

Within him, certain questions nag. If I had to, could I defend myself? Could I protect my family? Could I take a human life, if necessary?

These questions are not limited to Christian young men, but it is they who, in particular, need Biblical answers -- answers that are not always forthcoming. I'm afraid that in many of our young men, the questions just take the form of impressions and feelings that they cannot even articulate.


(To be continued)