Weapons of Jiu Jitsu: Knives

The Knife

What is a knife?

Knives vary dramatically. From the small pen knife or switchblade to the machete, from straight bladed stiletto to the curving blades of the bich'hwa bagh nakh tiger claw weapons of the Middle East and India. From single bladed knives to double edged serrated and barbed blades. The list of variations in styles is astonishing. This fact alone makes the knife a deadly weapon.

If you are ever attacked by someone who is armed, its probably going to be a knife, and so it pays to learn how to defend effectively against one.

In Jiu Jitsu we begin knife work with rubber and wooden knives. At higher grades, practice with real knives is introduced. These are typically tanto or aikuchi. Tanto are curved Japanese daggers reknowned for their sharpness . Aikuchi are essentially the same as a tanto except that it does not posess the tanto's protective hilt.

Attacking with a knife

A stilletto style blade for instance has practically no blade, but it is well balanced and has a sharp tip. For this reason this type of knife is thrust into an opponent or if the wielder is adept, it is an accurate and deadly thrown weapon. A typical 'kitchen knife' can vary in size greatly and are all too often razor sharp and as well as cutting up old boots, they can slice cleanly into human flesh.

The kitchen knife does not posess a hilt (at least not in my kitchen) and so does not lend itself so well for endured use, rather it is used as an impromptu weapon. This means that on the occasions when such a knife is used it is likely to be in a heated and emotional moment, and the attack is likely to be a stab of some sort.

A survival/combat knife has a guard and often a serrated and or double edge on the blade. These knives are not really designed for stabbing, more for tearing and slicing and so if someone is armed with such a knife, expect them to try and slash with an occasional stab.

Pocket knives and switch blades tend to be slashed with and then used to puncture an already incapacitated victim. These knives have folding blades and most attackers are untrustworthy of the blade actually staying out and not folding in - slicing their fingers in the process. Locking blades for such knives are becoming more and more common place.

Overall the attacks are stabs and slashes. Attacks cannot be explicitly defined into types, but stabs are rarely straight in, but rather down towards the throat/head, the back, or up into the groin, stomach or chest cavity. Slash attacks may easily be forehand or backhand and can be at any of the extremities (i.e. hands, wrists and forearms), but most attackers will go for the face if they can reach it.

Defending against a knife

Knives are nasty weapons, particularly smaller ones as they are more difficult to see coming. If someone is trying to attack you with a knife it is imperative you try to avoid them totally. In situations where this is not possible, you must accept that there is a good chance you will be cut by the knife. Something to keep in mind is that the ulna bone of the forearm should be used to block if caught off guard. The outer bony edge of the ulna has few nerve endings and blood loss from this part is relatively small. The bone is also quite strong. But hopefully you will never have to put this to the test!

If you have to fight someone using a knife, try to obtain a weapon (a coat is quite effective) to keep some distance between you and your opponent and possibly use to disarm your opponent. If there is nothing, you must attempt to gain direct control of the knife. This can be attained by either a pro-active move towards the knife hand, or waiting for a poor attack to be made.

Stab attacks should be blocked with both hands if possible, and then a wrist lock applied in order to control the knife and hand. Be careful not to block too hard and leave your body in the line of attack of the knife. A hard block may cause the grip on the knife to be relinquished in which case the knife may well end up still managing to cut or stab you. From a slash, the attack(er) should be kept moving preferably so that the attacker will lose focus and perhaps balance. At the same time the defender should again attempt to take control of the wrist and knife. From there control and appropriate finishes can be applied.