Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Ten Points on Using a Fighting Knife from Suarez International

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.