1) A
fighting knife is fueled by rage and ferocity, not by cleverness and
showmanship. I recall
seeing CWS, one of our staff go ape (or was it AMOK) on a knife expert we
brought in one year. The best the very clever and artistic knife expert could
do was match CWS stab for stab. But that was after CWS had stabbed him three or
four times.
2) Learn to stab....HARD
3) Learn to hold the knife in a way that you will not lose it when you
STAB HARD.
4) Since few of us go about with
a 10" bowie, learn your targets. You may not be able to
behead an attacker, but you can in fact rip out his jugular even with a 2"
box cutter.
5) Footwork gets you off the line of the attack, but also gets you close enough to
STAB HIM HARD.
6) The instant you pull steel
your intent should be to stick it in his neck and rip it out a different way, and not to
spar, fend, or ask him to stay back.
7) The grip area of your knife
MUST be rough enough to stay in your hand if your hand is covered with blood (hopefully
not yours). Even if that makes it hard on your hands.
8) The point must be in line with
your stab. A curved
Scimitar style or a Tanto do not have this, but a Sykes-Fairbairn knife
does.
9) To train it, each knife must
have an identical trainer (dulled knife) and a wooden/rubberized trainer. The
identical trainer is used for technical and access drills. The wooden type
trainer is used for attacking the heavy bag or the stabbing post.
10) Contrary to the advice of
others, use your fighting knife for everything. From opening letters to cutting
cheese or tomatoes. Handle your knife daily, keep it sharp,
keep it handy. make accessing it as natural as scratching your butt.
NOTE: simplicity is the key and this list can be
boiled down to one item: learn
how to stab hard and keep stabbing until the threat is immobilized. For more information on practical, no-nonsense training with the knife and/or gun go to the TSD Combat Systems website.
