Defense against a knife

[BigAl]

My philosophy is taking on a knife-wielding attacker is much like a kumite session. You don't enter a kumite session fully expecting not to get hit. You don't want to get hit, but you need to accept the fact that it can happen. A guy who has an inkling of what he is doing with a knife can do some serious damage to a person. I got stabbed once by a sharpened tool, not even a knife, and if you're not expecting it it can shock the heck out of you. It felt icy cold then began to hurt like a son of a gun.

This too though can also be a mindset that I mentioned before. When Funakoshi said "Think of your opponent's hands and feet as swords", if you use this ideal you can defend against a weapon. I'm a big fan of Kelly McCann/Jim Grover and his self-defense approaches.

However, overconfidence can be your downfall. The cop in the following three pictures was a pretty athletic and well-trained guy and got slashed badly all over his body.

(These pictures are graphic, so NSFW or young guys):

http://blogidaho.biz/knifewounds1.jpg
http://blogidaho.biz/knifewounds2.jpg
http://blogidaho.biz/knifewounds3.jpg

It ain't pretty, but it's reality.

You also have to keep in mind: the sucker punch is one of the best weapons an aggressor has. Put a knife in that punch and you have something especially deadly.

This soldier got lucky: Soldier stabbed in head with 9 inch blade survives - Techography

[sandman]

Yikes - good post Big Al. That's some eye-opening stuff there...

[jcc]

Osu!

Those photos should be shown to any kid who thinks that knives are just toys! Or part of anti-knife campaign. Glad to hear that the guy survived.

Osu!