Dropping into a low crouch, his lips curled back in a snarl. A deep growl resonated from deep within his throat as his tongue flicked back and forth across his teeth like a darting snake. I knew I was in for trouble, he was in a foul temper and his knife was thirsting for blood. I silently slid my blade from its sheath.
This is “reality” as depicted in most knife-fighting media on the market today. If you daydream about taking on and subduing this beast then there are plenty of books and videos to satisfy your needs. These authors/instructors will tell you that they are teaching you reality when in fact they are only feeding your fantasy and filling their bank account. Cold hard statistics reveal that their version of reality occurs in less than five percent of all violent encounters. If you want a good taste of “reality” read James LaFond’s book The Logic of Steel. If you prefer the reality of pulp fiction then read the books we do not recommend that we have listed in the bibliography in The Rhythm of One.
I am convinced that probably less than one percent of all the people who buy knife-fighting books will ever try out the techniques in those books. Most of them, including those of you who purchased this book, are most likely vicarious martial artists or knife-fighters. That is not especially a bad thing. It is certainly preferable to having hundreds of people out in the streets practicing deadly knife techniques on their neighbors. But what happens when you are caught between a rock and a hard place? What will you do if you are confronted by a knife-wielding mugger or rapist? Are you going to drop into that low crouch and salivate in anticipation of cutting out your opponent’s gizzard? As scary as this sounds, it might work better than trying the techniques that were shown on the DVD on in that book you bought.
You might ask, “how do we get ourselves into these situations?” Whether combat is imagined or otherwise, men have an innate need to be valorous, to be heroes. If you do not believe me read the book by Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
This is “reality” as depicted in most knife-fighting media on the market today. If you daydream about taking on and subduing this beast then there are plenty of books and videos to satisfy your needs. These authors/instructors will tell you that they are teaching you reality when in fact they are only feeding your fantasy and filling their bank account. Cold hard statistics reveal that their version of reality occurs in less than five percent of all violent encounters. If you want a good taste of “reality” read James LaFond’s book The Logic of Steel. If you prefer the reality of pulp fiction then read the books we do not recommend that we have listed in the bibliography in The Rhythm of One.
I am convinced that probably less than one percent of all the people who buy knife-fighting books will ever try out the techniques in those books. Most of them, including those of you who purchased this book, are most likely vicarious martial artists or knife-fighters. That is not especially a bad thing. It is certainly preferable to having hundreds of people out in the streets practicing deadly knife techniques on their neighbors. But what happens when you are caught between a rock and a hard place? What will you do if you are confronted by a knife-wielding mugger or rapist? Are you going to drop into that low crouch and salivate in anticipation of cutting out your opponent’s gizzard? As scary as this sounds, it might work better than trying the techniques that were shown on the DVD on in that book you bought.
You might ask, “how do we get ourselves into these situations?” Whether combat is imagined or otherwise, men have an innate need to be valorous, to be heroes. If you do not believe me read the book by Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
"Campbell showed that the story always began with an Everyman just living his hum-drum life. Suddenly and unexpectedly, either by chance or by choice, Everyman is either pulled out of his ordinary life or chooses to leave his ordinary life to launch into a great adventure, whose ending he cannot know at the beginning.
The adventure, according to Campbell, then goes through several specified stages. The hero will journey into a dark world where he meets various forces or entities which he has to deal with. Along the way he encounters a teacher who gives him the instruction in new skills he will need to learn to successfully achieve his goal. No later than this part of the journey the hero becomes consciously aware of what that very specific goal is.
Striving for his goal, the hero is challenged to his limit, reaching a peak culminating experience, what Campbell calls a "supreme ordeal." The result is that the hero "gains his reward" and is forever changed by the experience. He often gains some new powers and sets off with them. Eventually the hero re-emerges to his society with these new abilities bringing a boon to his society which somehow restores that society."[1]
Romance, reality, fantasy, or myth, which one are you engaged in? It is a harmless albeit somewhat fruitless pursuit to train for that five percent possibility while ignoring the other ninety-five percent probability. What I see when I review a book or video is that the five percent solution appeals to the machismo in most men. The perception of becoming the ultimate knife-fighter able to beat all odds and vanquish all enemies appeals to a man’s subconscious. While this may be the heroes’ path it may not be the warrior’s path. Fantasy is OK when all of the parties are playing on the same game board, but Fantasy is harmful when those who are role-playing do not explain to the other participants that it is a game, and their lives may hang in the balance.
Some knife instructors feel that realism can be improved upon by snarling or making hideous faces. Others will use foul language and scream at you in an attempt to “condition” you to the realities of conflict. What you need to determine is whether these methods represent reality or not. In Mr. LaFond’s book the typical knifer moves in quietly and stealthily. He slips up close and silently stabs or slashes you making as little noise as possible and drawing as little attention as possible. How does this compare to what you learned on your latest DVD? Are we talking about two different realities?
Place yourself in the role of the anti-hero, the mugger or rapist. Which method of assault would you most likely choose? If there is someone standing there screaming obscenities at you and threatening you with a knife it is probably your irate wife not a mugger. Purchasing a three volume set of DVDs on how to use a folding knife is not going to do you any good if you do not train constantly and if you still walk down the street in a blissful fog. As I say in my new book: all you need is a few good techniques, a good quality knife, and the opportunity, skill, and courage to use it when the time comes. Don’t waste your money, or your time, buying the next three DVDs on the same topic. Practice your basics and be aware of your surroundings. In closing there is one book which I highly recommend. The book, Filipino Combat Systems by Mark Edward Cody, is available from Amazon.com or the FCSkali website[2].
[1] http://www.karmastrology.com/rek_hero.shtml
[2] http://www.fcskali.com/
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