Apples and Snakes

Joy of joys I actually had two students for knife class last night! I have a policy of not teaching anyone who just comes in off the street so sometimes I go for months with out any students. It is one thing to teach how to punch and kick, it is another thing altogether to teach someone how to use a knife. Sure I can call it knife defense to make it seem less objectionable but knife-fighting is what it is ultimately all about. If you want to learn empty-hand knife defense I’ll teach you all I can but let’s not fool ourselves, the odds are badly stacked in your attacker’s favor.

Empty-handed you are a victim, given a knife you suddenly have a chance of surviving. But surviving and winning are not necessarily the same thing in this age of litigation. One of the first things I always give new students is a copy of the NYS laws on the use of force. The other thing is an excellent article on potentially lethal target. My reasoning in providing this information is not to make the student more lethal, but to educate them on areas it is best to avoid when you do not want to kill someone. Carrying a knife for self defense carries a huge responsibility that should never be taken lightly.

Even a cursory look at the cardio-vascular system of a human being reveals a target rich environment for the knife user. This is both good and bad but my options with a pistol are even worse. I am licensed to legally carry a concealed handgun in several states but I wish it were a concealed “weapons” permit. A knife gives the user many more options than does a hand-gun. A knife can cut lightly or deeply. A 45ACP or a 357 magnum cannot be shot lightly. The idea of grazing or wounding an attacker is silly when all training focuses on shots to the center of mass or to the head. What, are we going to try to inflict “only a slight head wound” with 450 ft-lbs of muzzle energy? But a skilled knifer can perform a light cut across the forehead of an attacker to discourage further aggression. Hands reaching out to injure us can be easily cut to disarm our attacker without terminal consequences. Try either of those moves with your revolver. Despite the perfectly good reasoning behind carrying a knife versus a handgun for defense the laws are what they are. Foolishness prevails and even books on the subject of knife fighting are often prefaced with “For Academic Purposes Only,” while books and classes on tactical hand-gunning are perfectly acceptable. I think that knives, like apples and snakes in the garden, have gotten a bad rap. Stop by the dojo some night and we can academically study the art of edged weapons.