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A knife is far deadlier than a gun. It does not run out of ammunition, can kill silently and be concealed just about anywhere. It is obtainable in any country and can be manufactured out of glass or metal in seconds.

Knife defence should be apart of your regular training. It is not some cool subject that gets trained once a year. I remember training at a Kung Fu school years ago and if you were lucky once a year they would show you some tactics more likely to get you killed.

Too successfully train against the blade; you need to make it apart of your regular training as the principles differ from your unarmed combat training. Plus, there is a certain psychology that you must adapt. The first thing to remember is to expect to get cut. Knife defence is all about wound minimization, meaning you may obtain a less than lethal wound in the fight. It is a mental process that you must get used to if you are to survive a real knife fight. Many a person has died from minimal wounds due to shock. There is no 100% fool proof, risk free self defence method in anything. Always expect to get cut or hit but never expect to lose the battle.

To defend correctly against the knife you must train for all different angles of slashes and stabs and learn to counter all of these angles; standing, ground, compromised positions and knee high positions. There are more than 40 different knife attacks that can be launched at you, although most people get taught just 4 angles.

If you are as serious as I am about unarmed vs the knife training, you must also be familiar with your weapon threats and how a knife may be used against you. Always learn to study the highest echelon of attack; the knife fighter, that way the average person with a knife is less of a problem.

Here are the first steps in my unarmed v the knife program.

Communicate. If they want your wallet give it to them, if that will make them go away do it. You can replace your wallet but not your life. There is no such thing as a dead hero.

Improvised weapons. Use an impact or improvised Weapon to defend yourself with. Don't go in unarmed unless you have too. Use any object or means to help create distance and space between you and them.

Presentation. Train for the presentation of the weapon first. Learn to preemptive strike. Know the common carry sites and cut off the source before it is being drawn. It's a lot easier to stop a weapon being drawn rather than a weapon that has been drawn.

So you have exhausted all available options and are left unarmed to defend against the knife. First turn your guard inwards so your palms are facing towards your head, this way you are not risking your arteries getting slashed and bleeding out. Remember wound minimization.

Your first primary response is to seize the weapon bearing limb. Take the arm out of flight ASAP and then diminish the person, attacking life support systems and balance. Take them all the way to the ground and keep attacking until they are stopped from harming you. Never let go of the arm until the attacker has been subdued.

I can hear what you are saying. What about blocking? Blocking is a secondary action because it does not secure the limb and an attacker can do a very quick second slash on you. You can see in my unarmed vs the knife series a demonstration of this.

We then have our tertiary action passing. This is making contact with the limb and guiding the limb past you. It is used only if the primary and secondary actions are not available. It is risky because the blade is passing past you. It looks cool but is not the best primary defence module like the seizing the weapon bearing limb is.

Remember the objective in unarmed vs the knife training is to learn to be evasive, to counter all angles of possibility, to be able to engage and drive right through someone and finish the fight immediately. You are in a life threatening situation do what it takes to live!