A SAMPLING OF OUR NEW BOOK:

WHEN TWO TIGERS FIGHT

Chapter I: Introduction

When Two Tigers Fight, One Will Die and the Other Will Be Scarred For Life.
The main focus of this book is a select few friends who are makers of fighting knives, and how their knives can be used in the defense of your life.
The knives illustrated herein are for the most part my own, I bought them and therefore I have a personal working knowledge of them. My opinions are not based on other’s writings or knives that I have only seen or read about in magazines.
It is only due to my wife’s gracious nature that I have been able to expend so much of my time and our money following my passion for steel.

Never before in the history of modern Man have so many people been engaged in custom knife-making. Unfortunately, while many of these knife-makers are excellent craftsmen very few of them are capable of capturing the essence of a fighting knife. Why, because not one in a hundred, perhaps not even one in a thousand, have ever been trained in the use of a fighting knife.

What is truth?
I think this is a question that anyone teaching Martial Arts needs to ask of themselves, especially those of us teaching the gritty art of knife-fighting and defense. Some truths will become self-evident in this book and others will perhaps remain less obvious.
Pseudo-Budo Warriors:
The Knife-Fighter: the Man the Myth, the Legend:
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

Chapter II: Tools of the Trade
Weapon Design, by Evolution or Revolution:
hat criteria are at work in the design of a fighting knife, whether it is a dagger or a Bowie? What role does culture or ethnicity play in the design process? There are two major, diametrically opposed philosophies covering the design of weaponry and its usage. This seems to be the same sort of East - West dichotomy that divides and influences so many aspects of the two halves of our world. Topics include:
A Culture of Steel:
Some Lessons in Blade Geometry:
What is a Tactical Knife?
The Long and Short of it:
What kind of steel is that?
Which is Best, Cut and/or Thrust:
Any Old Knife Will Do:
Selecting a Fighting Knife:
How does one go about selecting a suitable fighting knife?

Fit and Finish: and some random thoughts:
Clattering Kydex, whatever happened to cows?
Damned if you do, Dead if you don’t:
Carrying Concealed:

Chapter III: A Focus on a Select Few Makers:
This section will discuss a select few knifemakers and their work.
Peter Parkinson and the F/S Fairbairn Sykes:
Brent Sandow Viper and Victorian:
Gary Bradburn Shobu Tanto series:
The Decker~Sandow Cobra:
Laci Szabo Knives:
John Gonzalez knives:
A Plethora of Bowies: choppers and fencers
The Smatchet: mostly a chopping weapon.
Frizzell Boot Dagger and Bowie:
Richard Derespina’s Knives
Graham Brothers Knives
DJ Urbanovsky & American Kami knives

Finally, My Choice for the Perfect Fighting Knife:
After collecting fighting knives for over 40 years my vote is finally in for "the Perfect Fighting Knife." Drum roll please! The title goes to ………. You have to buy the book to find out!

Chapter IV:
Some Factory Knives of Interest:

The Urban Dart

Cold Steel Bowies
Benchmade Griptilian fixed blade
Ontario Knives Bagwell Bowies
Wotan Project: Brazil
ROSarms USA: Russia
Ethnic knives from Indonesia
Fighting Folders:

Chapter V: Concepts and Techniques
Itto ~ Itten:
Knife Grips: a review
Losing Your Grip:
Knife Disarms:
Disarming Using a Knife:
Chicken Wings, Keeping Your Elbows in:
Hyoshi: Timing and a Bit of Morality:
Fighting Ranges:
Transitioning: Opening and Closing the Distance:
Dancing to a Broken Rhythm:
Compression and Expansion, manipulating the range:
Keep it Stupid, Simple:
Closest Target ~ Shortest Distance:
Picking a Stance:
The Knife Becomes a Hand:

This is just a very small sample of the topics covered in our new book. It will be fully illustrated and already over 175 pages long. Please contact us for more information! Publication will hopefully be in the Fall of 2007.
Questions/Comments? Email me at: ghdave2@hotmail.com

Sifu, the teacher

Sifu, The Teacher:

Unique among modern folding knives, the Sifu (top knife in photo) from Round Eye Knife And Tool, aka REKAT, has often been referred to as the "Mega-folder." The Sifu has a 5.75 inch long blade and an overall length of nearly a foot. The ATS-34 blade is a graceful recurved design with a nicely beveled spine. This was among the last knives produced by REKAT and today specimens are extremely difficult to find. It took me many years to acquire one of these intimidating folders.

The locking mechanism is reputed to withstand a test load of 500 pounds, which is more than ample for any self-defense use. The scales are a finely checkered micarta like those found on many Benchmade knives. The grip is contoured with five finger grooves. The extreme length of the handle allows the user to shift his hand rearward, for greater extension, or choke up on the handle for greater grip strength. The opening and closing is smooth and the lock up is solid. Most impressive with a blade this long is the fact that there is no side-play in the joint. I own three REKAT knives and they are all extremely well made and exceedingly sharp. If you have the opportunity to add a any model REKAT folder to your collection you will not regret it.

Folders of this size were quite common in the Mediterranean. Known sometimes as Navaja, carried most notably by Spaniards, they were often as large as the average Bowie knife and used for work, to preserve their honor, or to settle some vendetta. Some European and British cutlers also manufactured folding Bowies. Most of these had a blade that extended past the handles when folded, necessitating that it be provided with a sheath. When closed, the owner possessed a small knife for utility purposes, and when opened, an intimidating fighting knife. A knife of similar construction is available from Laci Szabo called the "RAD." Check out Laci's website at Szaboinc.

Like a Wooden Puppet

"Be Like a Wooden Puppet"

How many times do you feel that a technique must work successfully before you can consider yourself an adept? Yagyu Munenori had a number of things to say about this in the family book of strategy called the Heiho Kaden sho.

“No matter what you do, if you do it single-mindedly, trying to control your mind correctly and not allowing it to be distracted (unfocused[1]), you will end up becoming muddle-headed. You do something right once, so you think you are good enough; but then you do it wrong. You do it right twice and wrong once, so you may be pleased that you have reached a point where you do something right two out of three times; but then you do it wrong twice in a row and find everything confusing. All this is because you are determined to do something well.”

This is a part of the learning curve in most endeavors. If the subject is history or grammar the consequences of errors can be minimal. If your study involves an empty hand martial art, mistakes could get you seriously injured. Mistakes involving a weapon such as a knife, sword, or staff may be terminal. So paying attention is important. But isn’t Munenori saying that too much attention may actually be detrimental?

The Yagyu clan was famous throughout Japan for their muto dori (no-sword) techniques. In fact it was a demonstration of these moves that eventually gained them the honor of sword instructor to the Tokugawa Shoguns. Despite this, Hiroaki Sato states that “after working hard at the art of no sword he (Yagyu Muneyoshi) reached a stage where, without a sword, he could defeat ‘six or seven out of ten armed men,’ or defeat one armed man ‘six or seven out of ten times[2].’”

This admission comes from one of the most skilled exponents of muto in all of Japan. Was Muneyoshi satisfied with that percentage? I doubt it. After all, that means that in actual combat he would be killed 3 to 4 times out of ten encounters. Getting killed more than once is sure to be discouraging. So, this suggests that there is no end to training, no such thing as good enough, that muto dori is not infallible, and a 60 % success rate is not acceptable in single combat.

Munenori writes that you must train diligently until you become like a wooden puppet.
[1] my addition
[2] The Sword and the Mind Hiroaki Sato pg.100 footnotes

Finding a Teacher

If this paragraph sounds familiar it is because I copped it from my first book. Having re-read it I felt that I could not improve upon it substantially.

“There are many things that you can only learn by training with an instructor, so take the time to find a good one. Videos and books will only take you part of the way. In fact, I recommend using these training aids as secondary sources to reinforce your primary training with an instructor. Too often it is impossible to make the necessary leap of understanding from one still photo to the next in a book. The techniques may be confusing or impossible to duplicate because of this gap in the illustrations or in your understanding. I am sure that this book will have its share of similar shortcomings. Videos may show techniques from one angle only, or neglect to tell you to watch the feet or the hips where the real power is being developed. This is usually not an attempt at hiding techniques. There is just too much to remember, and sometimes too much is taken for granted. Even a highly skilled instructor may overlook the basics that a technique was built upon. Remember that they have performed the techniques tens of thousands of times until that apparently missing basic ingredient is ingrained into the way they move[1].”

Do not be misled or romanced by an instructor’s title. Too often those teachers who insist upon being called master, guro, datu, professor, shihan, hanshi, etc. have very tenuous, or even spurious, claims to the distinction. Instead of spending your time reading the certificates plastered on the walls, watch to see how the teacher moves. Not only when executing techniques, but see how he or she moves among the students. Do they show fear or respect for the teacher, and is that respect freely given or extorted? I have known too many students who began martial arts at an early age and were easily intimidated. As they grew older they found that what they thought was respect for their teacher was in reality fear. Once they outgrew the fear their respect soured into disrespect. Despite the lost admiration and general dissatisfaction, they often continued to stay with the school because of the many years they had invested. Sometimes it is necesary to admit you made a wrong choice and leave, rather than stick around expecting things to change. If you find that you advance in rank only because other students continually come and go, making you senior, then that ought to be your sign. It is never too late to move on and find a new teacher and get a fresh start! Trust me on this.

There is another side to this. Do not expect your teacher to be a master of every art! If you make expectations of him that he cannot live up to then you have done him a disservice. An honest teacher will tell you when he reaches his limitations. A good teacher will send you to someone who can advance your training. A lesser teacher will not admit to being unskilled in any art. To maintain his student base he will attend a seminar or two and proclaim himself the master of yet another art. He never admits to the students that his mastery consists of eight hours of standing around watching, combined with some training, and four hours of beer drinking afterwards. If you think that sounds too cynical, then you need to take a dose of reality and call me in the morning.

David Decker

[1] Exerpt from The Rhythm of One, http://therhythmofone.blogspot.com/

Itten

Itten:[1]

Just how many techniques do you need to know or how many video tapes or DVDs do you need to purchase? That’s a reasonable question to ask. When I told one of my friends that I was working on a second book aimed at simplifying knife defense, he responded with what he considers the only technique you need to know. He said “You go straight in and kill the son of a b----.”

In a life or death confrontation my friend is absolutely right! If that were possible to do every single time, then that is all one would ever need to know, and all of the books on knife-defense ever written could be thrown out. In truth you do not need dozens of fancy techniques, but relying on only one might be too understated. If that technique does not work - after trying it about a dozen times - your attacker is going to figure out some way to terminate you, if for no other reason than the fact you are being incredibly annoying.

Musashi[1] said there are five postures but there is only one purpose, to destroy the enemy. While this is not morally or socially acceptable today it is still the reality of mortal combat. When I was taking karate lessons we had over forty self-defense techniques to learn. Do you know how many of them I still remember? Sitting here safely typing at my computer, I may remember five or six. How many will I remember if some drug addict comes at me with a straight razor or a kitchen knife? Hopefully one good one!

When you are attacked there are only four possible scenarios, with many variations:

1) you move off center and escape
2) you move off center and attack
3) you take the center and get hurt
4) you take the center and defeat your opponent

Option number one is my personal favorite. This course of action is the one least likely to end in your injury, incarceration, or death. This is true only if your attacker is not committed to following up his attack, and if you are a faster runner than he is.

Option number two is a good defensive move as long as you are skilled and strong enough to gain a victory. If you are not, then plan on taking a beating and making a trip to the Emergency Room.

Option number three really stinks! This is the one most often used by idiots with a couple beers in them and a few karate techniques under their belts. Before following this option make sure you have a good medical/dental plan.

Option number four is for those few who have the skills and fortitude to wade into a fight knowing they are going to give more hurt than they get. This is the option most likely to result in your spending time in a courtroom and possibly a room furnished by the state correctional system. Option four is to be used only when options one and two did not achieve the desired results.

Until you are actually under attack, no matter how hard you train, you really have no way of knowing whether your best defense is good enough. This is true of the martial arts and the so-called reality-based, non-traditional, systems. That is not very reassuring news is it. Watching TV you might get the false impression that if you train hard enough that a single punch or kick will quickly stop most attackers. In the real world it may take more than that, even more than a single knife wound or gunshot to incapacitate your attacker. Keep in mind that any response that inflicts pain on your attacker may only enrage him, making him that much more aggressive. Unless you are caught-up in a man-hunting enterprise, Van Damme[2] style, you will never have the chance to fully test the effectiveness of your self-defense techniques.

So practice Itten, and hope that one of your killer kicks or punches is enough to stop the fight. You might get lucky and stop your attacker with your first blow, but do not count on it. Always have a back-up plan or several in reserve, just in case. Be sure to keep your shoelaces tied and a current insurance card in your wallet. If you like option number four then the phone number of a bail bondsman might be in order too.

David Decker

[1] Itten means winning with just one cut. This is a selection from my next book on knife fighting

[2]Famous Japanese sword saint and author of the Book of Five Rings.

[3]Jean Claude Van Damme: Hard Target