Karate Essence ‘Reality Check’ Knife Defence
Karate Essence
‘Reality Check’
The Unsurprising Truth about Knife Defence and the Martial Arts
Knife Defence is the subject of this month’s ‘Reality Check’; and, as per our usual ‘Reality Check’ format, we are going to look at the ideas and concepts from various martial art styles’ on the subject of Knife Defence.
This is a topic that is always controversial. Everyone has an opinion on the subject; some through the mirror of their own experiences, and others via traditionally established and set formats.
Table of Contents
A Serious Affair
Goju Ryu Knife Defence
Wing Chun Knife Defence
Shaolin Kung Fu Knife Defence
Tae Kwon Do Knife Defence
Shotokan Knife Defence
Krav Magra Knife Defence
Funker Tactical Knife Defence
Jesse Enkamp Knife Defence
The Unmentionables
Torakan Eye View
Conclusion
A Serious Affair
Teaching knife defence is a very serious affair and should not be approached lightly. My basic initial advice to anyone facing a knife wielding antagonist, regardless of your skills or their perceived lack of skills, is to vacate the situation, if you can, as quickly as possible!
Having said that… there maybe instances where that option is not possible.
Goju Ryu Knife Defence
Goju Ryu is a tough, practical Karate style with strong roots to its close-quarter self-defence origins; and its traditional knife defence techniques exhibit this tenacious, down to earth approach to potentially, very dangerous, adverse situations.
You will notice from the following link that, although the video is quite short, and there are in effect only two attacking techniques dealt with, it’s clear that the emphasis is on repetitive training routines for effective Goju Ryu Knife Defence Techniques.
Wing Chun Knife Defence
With Wing Chun Knife Defence we have another ‘no nonsense’ and practical approach to potentially dangerous situations. In this next link the Wing Chun Master doesn’t actually say that you must practice repetitiously but it is implicit in his instruction when he emphasises the importance of discipline, determination, and situational awareness in Wing Chun Knife Defence.
Shaolin Kung Fu Knife Defence
Shaolin Kung Fu knife defence has some traditional, established routines and forms which they practice regularly as part and parcel of their martial art. Again, the emphasis is on repetitive training which, if practiced regularly enough, becomes an unconscious part of your ‘self-defence’ instinctive reactions; which sounds very much like something I call ‘Mushin’.
The following link is a snapshot into the mindset that, for Shaolin practitioners, the ‘Shaolin Kung Fu Traditional knife defence’ practice, along with the holistic teachings of Shaolin Kung Fu, becomes a part of their lifelong dedication.
Tae Kwon Do Knife Defence
Tae Kwon Do is more known these days for its sport presence as an Olympic Games participant. Tae Kwon Do first appeared as a demonstration sport in the Seoul Games, South Korea, 1988. More particularly since then, the Korean art is seen as a high flying, flashy sport; however, it began its journey as a military martial art and some dojangs still train serious self-defence with, amongst its self-defence regime, knife defence applications. This next clip is a demonstration containing three Tae Kwon Do Knife Defence applications, which they practice repetitively until becoming second nature.
I have added this short clip of a demonstration from another dojang to note that the similarities in form suggest a traditionally established format: another Tae Kwon Do Knife Defence Technique
Shotokan Knife Defence
Depending on the dojo, and or the Shotokan affiliation that dojo belongs to, defence against a knife might be actually outlined and focussed on, or not. There are a number of Shotokan knife defence techniques, and most of them can be extracted from the various Kata for isolated deconstruction; in other words the bunkai can be examined, researched and practiced. However, one should be flexible when utilising knife defence techniques in this way; sticking too strictly to the Kata routines, while using them as knife defence formats, could be a little precarious, and in some cases downright hazardous.
Kata is meant to pass along concepts, which by definition is itself a learning process where theory and existing knowledge makes sense of new information and situations.
Krav Magra Knife Defence
Krav Maga is an Israeli self defence system. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Krav Magra uses techniques derived from Aikido, Boxing, Judo, Karate and Wrestling and is known for its focus on real-world situations.
The following link takes you to a video on the defence of a certain serious and typical knife attack that is definitely meant to kill you, or at the very least do you serious harm. Don’t be put off by the fact that it is not in English; it is completely understandable by the excellent instructional demonstrations of a Krav Magra Knife Defence.
Funker Tactical Knife Defence
Before I began my research on this months ‘Reality Check’ topic, I had not heard of ‘Funker Tactical’. Funker Tactical is the brainchild of Paulo ‘GN’ Rubio, and takes a broad, diverse view of all types of tactical training through a mixture of martial arts, self-defence and modern armed conflict in a law enforcement and military type framework.
‘Funker Tactical’ is the ongoing work of Paulo "GN" Rubio to discover, document and share the ideas, philosophies and concepts of tactical professionals all around the world.
Paulo ‘GN’ Rubio’s martial arts origins lie in the Filipino Martial Art of Pekiti Tirsia Kali, but his experience encapsulates several other martial arts. However, it was his presentation of knife defence that I was most impressed by and that is why I have included Funker Tactical in this month’s ‘Reality Check’ Blog post article; but judge for yourself Funker Tactical Knife Defence.
Karate V’s Knife, Kata Bunkai Jesse Enkamp
Having a great deal of my own martial arts training coming from Karate I can relate to the ideas behind this kind of training of course; and in fact some of my own knife defence is recognisable from various kata.
Of course, to the online Karate world, Jesse Enkamp, ‘the Karate Nerd’, needs no introduction. In the following link we have two knife defence techniques from traditional Kata bunkai applications as taught in Okinawa, the birthplace of ‘Karate’. Karate Knife Defence Techniques from Jesse Enkamp.
I am also including another link that I stumbled across while researching Funker Tactical: Jesse Enkamp and Paulo GN Rubio on ‘Knife Defence’.
The Unmentionables
There are still a couple of areas not yet mentioned. To talk about knife defence and not mention the most difficult types of bladed weapons to defend against would be grossly duplicitous. I could do what a lot of people do when covering knife defence: put these weapons in the too hard basket and just ignore them!
Obviously, anything involving knives is more than a little dangerous. If you are thinking of employment in the close protection industry you should consider training in one of the knife fighting systems. You might also familiarise yourself with as many other knife fighting systems as possible. My initial knife fighting training, in the military, consisted of a mishmash of the most useful, deadly techniques from a variety of origins. My additional knife fighting education comes care of Tantojutsu from Bushido, and the Filipino knife fighting of Kali. I also acquired some of the practicality of stick fighting from Kali; which transfers very nicely to an extendable baton; and which is extremely useful against a knife by the way.
Slashing
I also grew up on stories of the Glasgow razor gangs. There was still the occasional incident, but on the whole the open blade razor had gone the way of the dinosaur. Quite obviously, they were not used for stabbing but for slashing. They could be used with devastating effect: blinding, opening up or slashing pieces off face and hands et cetera. In an experienced hand they could kill quite easily but, for the most part, they were meant to menace and intimidate. Designed to cause extensive damage without the risk of accidentally killing someone; they were quite a terrifying weapon!
The box knife or Stanley knife is fairly commonplace in Glasgow nowadays: with a capacity to do massive amounts of damage, but without the depth of blade to accidentally kill someone in the process. Another terrifying weapon!
Defence against the two aforementioned weapons, mostly because exponents of said weapons usually train in their use, I would put firmly in the realm of ‘the knife fighting cultures’. I would therefore advise that defence against them should follow the same lines as dealing with any of the knife fighting martial arts.
Knife Fighting Martial Arts
I will touch briefly on knife fighting martial arts, which are numerous. Here are just a few of the most prominent:
Pencak Silat (Indonesian)
Silat practitioners use a curved blade called a Karambit. In trained hands, this is a deadly weapon.
Kali Escrima (Filipino)
Kali practitioners use a relatively short, single bladed, stabbing and slashing knife. This is another devastatingly dangerous weapon.
Paranza Corta (Italy)
Practitioners of this deadly art use a stiletto bladed knife; primarily, a deadly stabbing weapon.
Tantojutsu (Japan)
Using a Tanto; this is a devastating, stabbing and slashing knife fighting art.
Military Special Forces (various countries)
This is usually an amalgamation of the deadliest techniques from various, classical knife fighting arts. The weapons vary, my experience was with a bayonet; however, it is adaptable to most knives.
Torakan Eye View
I was in the high risk security industry for 30 years and during that time I taught knife defence. Teaching knife defence to Close Personal Protection Operatives (CPPO) who just might find themselves up against someone with a knife is a serious affair. It needs to be practical, and they need to believe that it will work; because doubt is the back stabber (pardon the pun).
I have defended myself against four serious knife attacks, I was cut in three of them; minor injuries, only one of which needed fairly immediate attention. However, after all four attacks, I was back on the job straight away, while all of the attackers spent time in hospital, prior to doing serious jail time.
I think we should differentiate between the categories of knife or bladed threats. There are some dramatic differences in threat levels; consequently, there is a difference in the defence strategies used. There are three main threat levels but with a myriad of intensities; however, for simplicity’s sake we will stick with the three levels.
Generally, in this case, the intention is not to kill or do serious damage. However, there can be many and varied mitigating factors and this kind of threat can still progress to a real and sometimes life threatening danger. If you are presented with a knife threat situation, remember that an action is quicker than a reaction; Sen sen no sen:
Perhaps to intimidate during an attempted robbery or mugging et cetera, where injury is not the main intention, but where it all too often escalates to the next level.
I am not talking about the legal definitions here; what I am talking about is the intentions of the knife wielding assailant. This, by degree only, is a more serious situation for the victim than threat level 1.
In answer to Level 1/ and 2/ your responses need to be instinctive and immediate. There will be a variance in the degree of danger and the method of intimidation; however, providing you train your responses until they are instinctive (Mushin), you will minimise injury to yourself by remembering these two rules:
An action is always quicker than a reaction: implement the action.
Act without doubt and without hesitation and don’t stop until your assailant is disarmed and nullified.
Again, I am not talking about the legal definitions; I am talking about the intent of the assailant. There can be a hairs breadth between attempting to seriously injure someone and killing them.
The first defence in this clip is a somewhat tamed down version that can be used repetitiously against a training partner.
Interrupting the first stabbing action, the defender’s initial double strike simultaneously a/ smashes the attacker’s face with an elbow, and b/ smashes the attacker’s forearm with a gedan barai type action (Sen no sen). The advanced karateka among you may recognise the entry… from Soshin Kata. The immediate follow up, taking advantage of the initial shock of the double strike, is simultaneously pushing the head of the attacker down and thrusting his knife hand back and up, while driving his face into the ground. If the knife is still in his hand (which I doubt) retrieving it will be easy. There are also three other knife defence techniques on this link that you can practice with a partner, with a little speed. Some training tools if you will.
The following links approximate the kind of instinctive reaction and speed that is needed to effectively perform this type of defence.
This attack, if allowed to proceed, is a rapid stabbing motion; not unlike a rapid, repeating gyaku tsuki (reverse hip punch) type motion, while controlling (pulling/pushing/grabbing) the recipient with the free hand.
I watched CCTV footage of an attack on a police officer. The recipient of the attack was a big policeman, when he stopped a small, suspicious looking man to question him. Attacking suddenly, viciously, without provocation, a knife appearing in his right hand, the small man used his free hand to clamp the policeman’s gun hand against the gun as he was frantically attempting to draw, while stabbing him repeatedly, to death… right there on camera.
I will emphasise here the point I mentioned at the beginning of the article: if you are confronted by anyone with a stabbing or bladed weapon, if at all possible, you should remove yourself from the situation immediately. Do not make it an ego thing! Even if you master knife defence; having to disarm someone presenting a blade, regardless of the antagonist’s skill, or perceived lack thereof, is extremely dangerous. However, if you are unable to remove yourself – you may be cornered or doing your job (protecting someone) – you owe it to yourself to be as prepared as you can possibly be.
Conclusion
No matter what form your knife defence takes, one thing is sure and that is ‘repetitious training’ is a must! You must train until you do not have to think about what you will do in ‘such and such a situation’. No matter what you call it and for me the word is ‘Mushin’; you need to know that you have done enough training to react instinctively to any given situation. And that is ‘the unsurprising truth about knife defence and the martial arts!’
The ways of tackling this particular problem (knife defence) are many and varied, and there are as many ways of defending against a knife as there are situations where a knife can be used to intimidate, threaten, or actually attempt to take your life.
From personal experience and copious research over a lifetime on the Budōka path, I believe the following to be true:
Generally speaking, the assailant who shows you the knife, ‘holding it in front of him like a crucifix to a vampire’, believes it will protect him. He is actually afraid of you.
The cunning antagonist who keeps his knife hidden or away from you until he determines to use it is not afraid of you, and has no qualms about using the knife to do you serious harm or even kill you.
In this article we have barely scratched the surface of knife defence; and we have only really been talking about defending against someone with a knife, and certainly not someone from a knife culture or a knife martial art. If you are protecting someone, professionally, then you should be carrying some kind of weapon, an extendable baton at the very least, and you should know how to use it.
So, will Karate or any martial art help you in knife defence? Certainly there are tools within your martial arts’ training that will assist you. However, you really need to train, specifically, for knife defence to stand a decent chance against someone with a knife.
Thank You
A big thank you to our demonstrators from the Torakan Dojo – without whose assistance of course the ‘Reality Check’ Blog would sadly be lacking. Assisting me this month were Alan, Tyler and Addison.
Also, there are a couple video clips from a ‘knife defence’ seminar I delivered at the Karate Union of Australia (KUA) Honbu Dojo in Lugarno Sydney 2017, and I’d like to give a shout out to some of the guys who feature in those videos: thank you Jordan, Rob and Steve.
Thank You to the Readers
As always, thank you for following the Karate Essence 'Reality Check'.
Thank you also for continuing to support the launch of my latest book, ‘A Budōka Odyssey’. The reviews continue to be excellent! Check out the latest from the UK:
Top reviews from the United Kingdom
Carl Slee
5.0 out of 5 stars
‘A Fascinating Book’
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 October 2024
Verified Purchase
A fascinating book, and not just for those interested in martial arts. Although if you are, this is one of those rare books that will help in not just the development of karate skills but in the facilitation of those psychological states (rarely discussed) of the true karateka.
From early childhood to the present day, Shihan McKinnon shares his adventures as, Truant, Soldier, Nightclub bouncer and Bodyguard as well as Business man but always as a fighter. And in this book, he shares with us the ‘gifts’ and ‘Lessons’ that come from such a ‘life worth lived’.
A rare book, in that I found myself re-reading pages, chapters or passages over and over to further understand how such insights related to my own life. And this is the ‘gift’ of this book, I think that each person, whatever gender, age or interest will find something at some point within it, that is very personal and that will reverberate for them, long after reading.
Thank you Shihan
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 July 2024
I have to say that I found this book to be compulsive reading. For someone who was born and raised in the West of Scotland I was immediately drawn to T.D. McKinnon’s Scottish roots. He writes in such a concise and realistic manner. As someone with no knowledge of karate and martial arts, I have nevertheless found the main themes of the book easy to follow and this has made me review experiences drawn from my own life. The concept of ‘gifts and lessons’ applies to all life, not just karate. I would recommend this book to anyone, particularly those who are deeply involved in a sport of any kind, and who is striving to be the best person they can be. Read, learn and enjoy.
Thank you for this book, T.D. McKinnon.
Top review from Australia
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reviewed in Australia on 28 May 2024
Written by a man who has lived the life of a modern warrior. His ability to recognise the lessons and gifts in any situation and the having the humility to seek out those who can help you better yourself are important traits we should all endeavour to achieve not just in our own martial arts’ odyssey but in life.
Top review from the United States
Minimal shopper
5.1 out of 5 stars
‘A Fine Man Shares a Life of Budō’
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2024
Verified Purchase
At over 500 pages there is a lot of content in this autobiographical journey. A quick overview is as follows:
Author Shihan TD McKinnon has had ALOT of fights in his life; starting under the age of 6! He tells the narrative of his life through all those fights and what he learned about himself and life along the way. I appreciate that he doesn’t make self-defense fighting seem glamorous and one sided. He talks about injuries, dangers, and making alternate choices to physical violence as a reality.
This book emphasizes lessons like ‘never quit’, ‘move on to the next venture’, ‘stay in the moment and learn what you can along the way’. I recommend it for young and old, karate people and non-karate folks. He carries the journey into today with a very relevant subject - training and aging. Take it on your next plane trip, or beach vacation. And if you’re a karate instructor, you can work it into your teaching. This book does not disappoint!
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