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