This should convince you that it cannot be done without training which at least allows you to mentally internalize useful actions. Everyone should get some training as a matter of course, except that is not so easy either. Rather specific conditions did introduce me to some useful actions which i never have needed. Yet i am the first to note as well that I learned nothing in Basic Training which aimed at conditioning.
You do have to visualize a useful action and even practice it. For a knife attack, you do depend on using the side of your arms to knock the knife aside. That is at least a start. The other clue is to not make the first move but do step back into a defensive crouch if you can. Then drive with the point of your hand for the attacker's throat between the Adams apple and the top of rib cage. This could trigger a reflex action bringing the attackers hands and knife to the throat in protection and even tossing the knife in the process. That needs to be your primary target with bare hands as you will never be in position to do much else. It will also take him by surprise as well.
The bottom line is to have useful actions mentally internalized and try to avoid ever needing them. everything else is generally secondary..
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How to Survive a Knife Attack (And 4 Myths That Could Get You Killed)
by Graywolf
https://www.theorganicprepper.com/survive-knife-attack-myths/
With knife attacks seemingly on the rise in the news,
I thought I’d write an article to give you some ideas of what to do in
case you’re faced with a knife-wielding maniac. Keep in mind that this
is super generic advice and some of this won’t be at all applicable in
some scenarios.
I’ve had several classes in knife fighting and disarms, etc, but
don’t think by any stretch that I’m an expert. As you can see for
yourself on my blog, my expertise more in the intelligence gathering/protection and survival realm than hand-to-hand combat.
What relevant experience I do have, however, is in risk analysis and
mitigation, which is more what you need to know if you aren’t trained
and practiced in defending against edged weapons, so that’s what this
article will focus on.
Myths and misconceptions about knife attacks
There are a lot of misconceptions about knife attacks to clear up first.
Myth #1) You can disarm him without getting cut/stabbed
Ok, so this is technically possible, but unlikely. One of
the biggest hurdles to get over in a fight where your opponent has a
knife is when you start bleeding. You might not feel the cut/stab due to
the adrenaline in your system but you’ll see and feel the blood. A lot
of people freak out at this point because they’ve never been hurt in a
fight that caused them to bleed so their brain will lock up and they’ll
hyper-focus on the wound and not getting stabbed anymore instead of
dealing with the attacker.
Just assume you’re going to get cut or stabbed during this fight and
hopefully you’ll keep your head in the fight when it happens.
One of the biggest things to focus on is protecting your vital parts
such as your neck and chest. You may need to sacrifice your hands and
arms in order to do this.
Myth #2) The attacker will lead with his knife-hand.
If you’ve ever seen a knife fight in the movies or on t.v., you’ll
see the bad guy holding the knife out in front as he tries to stab the
good guy. The problem with this misconception is that when you go to a
class to learn how to defend yourself unless you have an instructor
who’s been in ACTUAL knife fights, your lessons and practices will
involve you defending against this type of attack.
This could set you up for failure.
Whereas this does happen sometimes, in most cases, the attacker will
use his unarmed hand to keep you at bay and then grab you before he
stabs you. He’ll no doubt swing and stab with the knife but the actual
attack isn’t usually that forward. Make sure you practice with your
opponent trying to get quick control over you before stabbing so you’re
more used to that. Sparring matches, with practice knives especially, are much more useful than watching YouTube videos, although the videos can give you some ideas of what to practice.
Myth #3) You’ll have time to come up with a plan
Most knife attacks are ambushes within a few feet of the victim,
usually within arm’s length. To adequately protect yourself against
something like this, you really do need to build up some muscle memory
so you don’t have to think.
Also, when someone attacks with a knife, they usually go right after
the victim instead of standing back with surgical strikes. This means
you need to act immediately and gain yourself some space or control
immediately.
Most knife attacks last less than 15 seconds. You need to gain control of the situation within this timeframe in order to have a chance to survive.
Myth #4) The best defense is to run away
Now, sure, if you have the ability to run away, then this is your
safest option. From what we’ve seen above, this is unlikely to be the
case. You’ll most likely be forced into a confrontation if someone has
committed to an attack.
What you should do
Now that we’ve cleared up those myths above, how do you survive a knife attack?
Learn from a qualified instructor
First things first, nothing beats training with a qualified instructor.
Krav Maga is my favorite self-defense system but it’s not the only
one that you can learn to protect yourself against someone with a knife.
In any case, check out your instructor’s credentials and experience
with defending against and disarming knives before you spend your money
and time with them. Just because they’re a badass in karate competitions
doesn’t mean they know jack about a real fight, let alone one with
weapons.
Practice correctly
When learning any form, it’s best to start slowly and get the basics
down before going into more advanced techniques. Disarming movements
shouldn’t even be on your radar for quite a while.
If you’re using a shock knife
(which I think are great), don’t put the setting up to full until
you’ve had quite a bit of experience with sparring against it or you’ll
be so afraid of getting shocked (simulating being stabbed) that you’ll
shy away from what you need to do in practice and won’t learn anything.
In addition to a shock knife, here’s something called a scratch
knife. Just something to keep in mind to bring up to your instructor:
Control the space
When someone attacks you, he’s most likely going to try to grab you
and stab several times within the first few seconds. Unless you get
really lucky, you most likely won’t be able to control anything and will
probably get at least cut. Barring any lucky reaction, you need to get
some space between you and the attacker so you can see the next attack
coming and have at least some time to react.
Keep moving and watch your space so you don’t back yourself into a
corner. Also, see if you can put something between you and the attacker,
even if it’s just a table. The longer you can keep him at bay, the more
likely it is that he’ll leave or someone may notice what’s going on and
help.
Putting some space between you and him may just be enough of a
deterrent that he may decide to exit stage right. If not, you may be
able to find something useful laying around that you can use to defend
yourself.
Control the knife if you can but don’t hyper-focus on it
Gaining control of the knife is extremely hard to do without a lot of
training and practice but if you can get a hold of the knife, or at
least get it out of his hand, you’re much more likely to survive. Just
keep in mind that even someone trained in this will most likely get
stabbed or cut.
Now, I know I just said to control the knife but you shouldn’t keep
all your attention on it. If you can somehow get in a successful blow to
knock the guy out, the knife becomes useless to him. Also, as I
mentioned above, he’s most likely trying to control your body before
stabbing you so pay attention to blocking his unarmed hand and possibly
getting control of it.
Find an improvised weapon
If you’ve been jumped and have now managed to put some space between you and the attacker and have a moment, look around to what’s immediately available to grab.
A chair or beer mug or even just something to throw in his face might
become very helpful to gain the upper hand or at least make the guy
decide he doesn’t want to hang around any longer.
Remember: speed, surprise, and violence of action
This is a basic tenant of most combat situations.
The attacker will most likely rush in at the last second and will be
expecting a compliant victim to just crumple to the ground with their
hands up as they get stabbed to death. A violent counter-attack can
throw off the attacker’s focus and may give you just the advantage you
need to survive. In some cases, just rushing in and jamming the
attacker’s arm to his body while you move to pin that arm will stop the
fight, as long as you’re strong enough to hold him until help arrives or
you may luck into taking the knife or using your own weapon.
Basically, put the guy on defense. In a lot of cases, a guy with a
knife is looking for an easy target. Don’t be that easy target.
Keep fighting until the fight is over
The worst thing you can do in a knife attack is to stop fighting or
trying to find a workable escape. Keep fighting until the guy either
runs away or can’t fight any longer. If he isn’t running away from you
and you can’t get away, you should be attacking.
Realize a gun may not help
A lot of people immediately just pipe up with some variation of,
“That’s why I carry a gun.” Ok, Rambo. If that’s your solution then
you’re screwed if he just keeps stabbing you while you’re trying to get
your pistol out of your holster and get a bead on him. He may end up
dying but you will also. Besides, as I mentioned before, a knife attack
is most likely to come by way of ambush from arm’s length. You probably
won’t have time to grab it and he just might stab you in your shooting
arm/hand/shoulder and disable your response.
I’m not saying it wouldn’t be a good idea to have a gun as an option
but it’s not the only solution. What if you’re in a crowd of children
and he stabs you? Are you really going to risk killing them because
you’ve left yourself no other option?
Most likely, the best immediate response will be to do something
other than focus on pulling your gun, aiming, and shooting, but if
that’s all you’ve left yourself with then that’s all you’re going to do.
Not saying that won’t work but don’t leave that as your only option or
even just your immediate first response.
Have you ever been involved in or witnessed a knife attack?
If so, what happened? Share your experience in the comments below.
About Graywolf
Graywolf is a former Counterintelligence Agent and US Army combat
veteran. His experience as an agent, soldier and government contractor
on assignments around the world gives him a unique perspective on the
world and how to deal with it. His website is Graywolf Survival.
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