Defense Against Knife Attacks from Various Angles G3 - Syllabus

Defending against a knife attack from the rear. The attacker managed to execute a successful attack from behind, it can be a high stab or low stab, a straight one or slash. The moment you feel the strike, you usually do not know whether there was or was no weapon in the hand of the attacker. Usually, you just feel a strike. As soon as possible, one of the main option is, move away from the danger zone. Moving diagonally forward while turning enables you to see what the attacker is doing, what he’s planning next, while removing your body from the dangerous area. This movement is efficient against most type of attacks and strikes. The synchronized motion of your body include turning the head to look, moving the hand to create the appropriate defense, turning the whole body, pivoting in order to put as many as resources as possible towards the problem, moving diagonally forward or even sideways in order to get out of the line of the channel of the attack. Usually, one knife attack does not create enough damage to neutralize you completely. In most cases, according to our experience, there are many option and many possibilities to do efficient actions and not to get the second stab, meaning don’t get stabbed twice if you’ve got stabbed once.

One of the distance, you can decide what to do next. It may be needed to do more defenses or attacks or counterattacks. For instance, if the attacker is coming from a distance, you can stop him with few kicks and disable him. If the distance is closer, you may need to do some hand defenses and counter attacks with the hands and the legs. Overall, this technique takes into consideration that the attacker does not attack once, but much more, and that’s the real danger. But the attacker advances while he’s attacking, and the more you are in the vicinity of the attacker, the more you get hurt. So the main idea, the solution, is to move away from the danger zone while preparing oneself to do additional defenses. And if you reach at the longer distance that the attacker is now, changing his direction, coming towards you, you are ready to attack. The appropriate attacks in most cases are the strong kicks towards the solar plexus or the head of the opponent.

Defending against high straight knife attack, coming from the side, directed towards your neck. Practically, the attacker is coming from an angle that triggers an outside defense with the hands to prevent getting hurt. Your hand defense is outside defense number one, meaning, with a strong [inaudible 00:03:03] of the forearm, the thumb is being directed outward. It is very sharp and early hand defense. Simultaneously, you’re moving your head forward and turning the whole body, pivoting on the balls of the feet. The back hand due to the pivoting action is brought forward. With a low elbow and the forearm directed diagonally forward, you’re supposed to be defending slightly on the attacking arm if the attacker is doing a second or a third knife stab. The strong rotation, the [inaudible 00:03:37] on the balls of the feet while shifting your weight diagonally forward, takes you completely out of the line and then the channel of the attack. The far hand that becomes the front hand is controlling well the attacker’s hand, while the elbow is low and the pressure with your forearm on the attacker’s forearm prevents him from additional realistic attacks. The defending had becomes free. It is now ready to counterattack very early and as devastating attacks as possible. Finishing mode can be pushing and moving away or disarming the opponent. We dealt with knife disarming extensively in a previous level.

Attacker is reaching from your right side, attacking with his right hand. The starting distance that you notice the situation is something between medium to short. Hand defense is with a forearm chopping action, bony part is hitting the area of the back of the hand/wrist of the opponent. Simultaneously, you’re doing a body defense, which is rotating and moving diagonally forward, getting out of the line and then the channel of the attack. You need to lower yourself, especially starting bending the front, the close leg and the back shoulder. Like this, you are able to continue with the far hand, now it’s the left hand, and do an inside defense against the attacking hand. We need to take into consideration not only the first stab against which we are doing the hand defense and the body defense, but also their protective attacks. This is really the job of the far hand that now becomes the front hand. So the left hand is supposed to be doing a defense against the subsequent attacks.

To be efficient it is very important to drop your left shoulder, which means lowering your elbow of the left hand. That enables a good inside defense with the forearm will push, press, or deflect the attacking hand towards the outside. The hand defense should not take the attack downwards, but sideways. At the same time that the left hand is acting as a defensive mechanism or defensive tool, the right hand, which becomes now more or less a back hand will be counterattacking once or twice. Then continue with the finishing mode that can be pushing the attacking hand after double control, and additional counterattacks with kicks for example, moving away from the danger zone, or disarming the opponent. In order to disarm well, we suggest of course, as usual, to move away from the opponent, to act more or less with straight arms that enables you to kick and then disarm more safely. The disarming process, as before, turning the knife to the outside, lowering the elbow of the attacker, bringing your elbow high, creating a strong leverage, and then inserting with your fingers into the palm of the opponent, scraping the knife away while directing it towards the outside and not towards yourself.

Defending against a straight and high knife stab towards the neck while bailing out and counterattacking. The idea here that you are a bit more surprised and could not defend while moving diagonally forward towards the opponent. Advancing towards the opponent was not possible. The best reaction based on a natural response would be an outside defense while moving the body forward, away from the attacker. Body really moves almost forward. The far leg advances a little bit diagonally forward, more or less with the line where the close leg is standing. The head and the torso is moving practically forward. Stepping with the far leg enables the close leg to be free of weight and deliver strong counterattacks towards the knee, the lower ribs of the opponent. As usual, the sequence of actions here are hand defense, body defense, and a step done simultaneously. However, it is seen as if the hand moves first, then the body, then the step. Practically, they all move together. The appropriate hand defense, because of the leaning of the upper body, is outside defense with the pinkie out, with a choppy motion of the forearm.

To have an efficient hand defense, one should meet the attacking hand in the vicinity of the palm or the wrist. So catch the attack before the knife is too close to you, hitting the wrist or the palm of the opponent. Moving forward and bending the torso towards the floor enables you to take the body out of the area of the repeated knife attacks. Naturally, we assume that the attacker is delivering more than one attack. After the first initial counterattack with the kick, continue with more attacks, usually keeping yourself at a distance to delivering side kicks and regular kicks.

Defending a low straight knife attack while bailing out. As before, here too, the attacker is coming from the side and delivering a straight knife stab towards the ribs behind your forearm. The attacker’s relatively surprising, so you can not do the second technique that was demonstrated here, meaning, pivoting and defending the second attack with the back hand. Here, we are practically bailing out. Meaning, moving the body as much as possible from the area of the attacking knife. The chopping hand defense is done with the bony part of the forearm, the pinkie side. This hand defense should be executed rather far from the defender’s body, meaning, deflecting the knife attack, dealing with it as soon as possible and away from the body. At the same time, the targeted area is moving out of the line. Here, the pelvis area, the lower ribs are the target, so you’re arching forward and moving the pelvis forward. In a synchronized action and as soon as possible, you are making a step forward, practically bringing the far leg aligned with the close leg. The moment you land, your close leg is already in the air in the direction of its target. The first counterattack can be towards the knee of the ribs of the opponent. Continue with more counterattacks and moving away from the danger zone or do any other mission that is needed.

In both this technique and the previous one, you should make a step that will bring you to the furthest point away from the opponent, but still in a place that you are very much away from the channel of the attack, but still able to destroy the opponent’s abilities. Here too, it is a synchronized action. You try to do everything at the same time, but the sequence and the way that your body moves is always sort of a hand, body, and step.

Practicing the defenses against knife attacks using all type of defenses, starting from eyes closed. Naturally, it’s about controlling stress. It’s about the decision-making. It’s about identification. It’s about doing the right thing at the correct time and place. So the attacker is circling around you. He’s activating you in different manners. It can be verbal, by noise, by voice. It can be contact. Here, the main examples are that the attacker is attacking more than once. The first attack is waking you up, and the second attack just follow. The second attack can be identical to the first one or better be different. The first attack that wakes you up, that triggers you, can be a knife attack or can be a strike, a push, a light kick, et cetera. You are with eyes closed. The moment there is contact, open your eyes, gather the information. Practically, you got the information from the contact itself, the initial attack. Make the correct decision and execute the correct technique. Practically, you’re trying to do techniques by the book. As soon as possible, the best solution.

Continue with more counterattacks simulating scanning and moving away, only simulating. Go back to your place and be ready for the next one. Don’t waste too much time. The partner should be attacking from time to time different attacks. Attacks should not be too often. One should control the internal dialogue. The more quiet your mind, the better decision you can make. The less busy your mind is, the better solution you can come up with.