VIDEO: Knife Training with Damian Ross and The Self Defense Training System

Self Defense Training System (SDTS) Knife Training with Damian Ross

Would you practice batting and never hit a ball? Would you practice golf and never strike a ball? Of course not. Then why do self proclaimed knife fighters and edged weapons experts continue to stab the air and play tag with rubber knives and magic markers? While knife sparring is fun activities and will develop a competitive edge, it doesn't prepare you for plunging a knife into a living, breathing, human being. Hey, I know it may sound brutal, but what the hell do you think combat knives are made for? Fighting is not clean. It's messy, painful and caustic. Fighting with a knife is even more so. If you're serious about what it takes, you've come to the right place.

In the real world, when you stab a body it has flesh, bone, muscle, ligaments and blood. It's going to be extremely difficult to keep a grip on your weapon. A lot of martial artists hold the knife like it's a paint brush with little thought as to where that blade is going. Chances are your local butcher has more experience and practical knowldge than your local martial arts/knife expert.

When you stab something living, the flesh will actually close around the knife, create suction around the blade and literally hold it in the body so withdrawing the weapon is a problem. Prisoners have been known to literally lash the blade to their hands with bed sheets and soak it in water to create an impact weapon as well as a way of ensuring the knife doesn't leave their hand until the job is done. The point is, in a real fight, it's going to be tough to hang on to the blade so you better do two things: train your grip and practice stabbing something that will give you realistic feedback.

In the past I have stabbed the family roast, a leg of lamb, water jugs and foam. While raw meat adds to the realism, it gets expensive, it's messy and will make you unpopular around dinner time. By far the cheapest and neatest target is good, old fashioned cardboard.

Cardboard gives you some realistic resistance, you can find it easily and it can be attached to anything with just a little duct tape (now 1002 uses). I like attaching it to the training dummy like we do in Module 9 of the Self Defense Training System titled "Weapons Offensive Tactics". This way you can practice striking and stabbing with the weapon for more effective training.

But before we continue I need to mention something regarding the realty of all this stuff. I do this not to shock you, but I want you to think about this logically and compare it to what is generally taught as knife fighting. Yes, the complicated flipping and twirling crap you see all over the internet.
First of all, let's get one thing straight. You are not pulling any of that fancy shit off. In a real assault, attempted rape or homicide your body experiences "HORMONE INDUCED HEART RATE" or FEAR. This causes the debilitating effects of combat stress that have been recognized for centuries. Phenomenon such as tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, the loss of fine and complex motor control, irrational behavior, and the inability to think clearly have all been observed as byproducts of combat stress. Even though these phenomena have been observed and documented for hundreds of years, very little research has been conducted to understand why combat stress deteriorates performance. The simple fact remains: we know this happens so we prepare for the reality of only being able to perform a few simple movements under combat stress. Listen, you can believe me, scientific research, the military and police OR you can believe the elderly Asian gentlemen in the fancy pajamas. For more on the subject of the psychology of combat you can start HERE. and I'll see you in a year.

Back to training.

As far as what type of cuts do the most damage, ask any Emergency Medical Tech or Emergency Room Doctor, Nurse or Medic. Slashes cause superficial wounds, thrusts or stabs cause mortal wounds. When you penetrate the body you pierce the organs. This will you get the desired result. The greater and more frequent the stabs, the faster the target will bleed out. Other than a direct stab to the Hypothalamus, the only way someone will die from a knife or a gun wound is loss of blood or blood asphyxiation depending on the location of the wound. The short of it is, fast fancy slashes look nice but have little or no stopping power. Let me put it to you this way, if you are only going to be able to recall a handful of gross motor skills under stress would you you better make them count. If your life is in danger and you're in a situation that forces you to use a weapon to defend your life, why would you screw around with anything else?

The most important thing to do is grip the hell out of the knife and plunge it into the vitals of your target as fast and as often as you can. Who cares if he puts his hands up or is foolish enough to try to block it or grab it. When trained correctly, no one should be able to "take the knife away". At least no one that I trained.

Think about this logically and put yourself in a situation where your best option was to run that SOB through, what frame of mind would you be in? Imagine the worst and then multiply it by 10. Fighting for your life is not a game and should not be treated as such.

To learn more about Module 9 WEAPONS OFFENSIVE TACTICS CLICK HERE

Until next time, Train Honestly,
Damian Ross

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