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