Knife Defence

Introduction to Knife Crime

Anyone holding a knife has a tremendous advantage over you, assuming you are not armed. But there are conceptual survival knife attack defence processes that can help your chances of surviving a knife attack, and i mean Help, not complete as the variables are so vast. There is a lot of misinformation on the subject surrounding knife defence training due to the lack of real experience. Solid knife defence skills first require a basic understanding of how you get wounded by a knife attack the severity and what is and isn't acceptable. Then we look at how the person uses or holds the knife and the type used, because if they repeatedly stab as apposed to slash, a puncture wound can penetrate the flesh and severe and damage internal organs and thus be fatal. We should also consider how they actually attack on the street and statistical analysis such as below:

* 65% of people who carry knives have their weapons used against them.
* 10% of 11-12 year olds and 24% of 15 and 16 year olds said they had carried a weapon in the past year.
* 29% of young people in London schools admitted that they had carried a knife. This figure rises to 62% among excluded students.
* One in five 16 year-old boys admitted attacking someone intending to hurt them seriously with a knife.
* In 2004 more than 20 teenagers died as a result of knife attacks in the UK - that's almost one teenager every two weeks.

With these statistics you need to learn how to defend yourself against the most common of edged weapons attacks, that is someone that is not trained in the art of knife fighting. So the problem is that there are many misconceptions with regards to attackers using knives or edged weapons, and that is their ability to use the weapon professionally, now most martial artists that learn weapons will have a moral, ethical and social respect for human life and to be honest if they were professionals you will most probably not see the knife at all. Another misconception is that attackers don't walk the streets with the knives out in the open and in their hands; they normally have them concealed, until they are ready to use them. The two previously mentioned attacks with edged weapons are as follows:

Threats The knife or edged weapon normally is used in a fashion to show power and as such is shown to the victim and used around the headline (in a lot of cases). It is also accompanied by dialogue in that they will demand what they are after from you. • Normally concealed at first. • Used as a tool of force. • Normally touching the body. • Once they have what they want they may walk away.

Attacks When there has been a trigger to aggression and the attacker is using the weapon to slash, cut or stab you in order to inflict pain, damage or maim. The attack is normally ferocious and fast, which negates a lot of systems that train for the single stab.• Normally concealed at first. • Used as a tool to inflict pain. • Used at a distance. • Not touching the body unless cutting you. • Very fast erratic movements. • Multi-directional.

What we can do

Threats Solution - guiding principles Before the person threatens you, the knife or edged weapon will be concealed and the attack may start with some form of deception, such as a question like "excuse me, do you have the time?" to take your focus away from them getting the knife out. Once the knife has been drawn then it will be placed on you so that you are fully aware that it is a knife. Then the demand will be requested such as "give me your F£$%ing wallet or ill cut you". At this stage the attacker has the Means, Opportunity and Intent to cause harm and as such you have the legal right to defend yourself.

Attack Solution - guiding principles For what ever reason an attacker uses an edged weapon or knife to attack you, the speed and ferocity of the attack is dependant on many factors such as environment, time of day or the anger and rage of the attacker. The main thing to note is that, you at this stage have no control over this. No matter what stab or slash the attacker throws, you must ensure you minimise the exposure of vulnerable parts of your body. Just by adopting the reactive stance will limit your vital areas up to 15% as opposed to the natural stance. Now some people say try to grab the knife hand to immobilise the attack, yes this is possible, however as soon as you have been cut which we agree will happen, you lose the ability to grab the arm as you will slide straight off due to blood. You should however treat the weapon arm as your target and attack the attack as it is presented to you. By doing this it is possible to feel the speed of the attack safely and immobilise their attacking arm to a point in which you are able to attack the vulnerable parts of the attacker's body.

Training v Real

Most Martial Arts and Self Defence systems use wooden or rubber knives to train with, which takes the realism out of the drills as you know you will not get cut. They also develop a wrong memory or blue print as you are able to endure and try fancy stuff, again as it is not real. H2H Defence trains the concepts then practices them through scenario replication with the Shock Knifes that provide the realism you look for. The Shock Knives are a training tool and as such require a sense of safety as they give a 7500 Volts charge, which is the same as feeling a real cut.