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Knife Training

For most of us, the chances of being involved in a knife against knife fight are extremely remote however, the chances of being assaulted by a knife-wielding thug are not. Because the possibility of such an assault is realistic, learning practical knife skills is an essential component to martial arts training.

A knife wielding attacker can cause a great deal of damage with no training of any kind being involved. The very nature of a knife and their easy availability makes it a highly practical weapon for an aggressor intent on committing a crime and a difficult weapon to deal with for the victim of such a crime.

Many cultures are highly skilled in the use of edged weapons, but few can match the sophistication of the Filipino and Indonesian martial arts systems. These systems have evolved out of a long history of real combat, not just in terms of inter cultural wars but also, smaller scale conflicts such as tribal, family and personal, where the use of edged weapons have been the primary weapon of choice.

Knife training is a controversial subject, there are many who would argue that there is no place in a modern day sport to teach techniques of such lethal purpose however, if we remove the sport aspect of modern day martial arts and return them to their original purpose, self-protection, we begin to realize the importance of this type of training.

As discussed earlier, your chances of being involved in a knife-against-knife fight are very low, your chances of being assaulted by a knife-wielding thug are not. Therefore, knowing how to actually use a knife helps the martial artist better defend against one. It is true that most knife drills focus on knife against knife, however, by modifying many of these movements empty handed defenses can and are developed.

The Filipino Martial Arts have a number of drills such as Sumbrada (medium range shadow drills) and Hubud Lubud (close range cycle drills) all of which offer an excellent training ground for realistic knife training. These "flow" drills (a flow drill is a two person training exercise of give and take which flows continuously developing various reflex responses to a series of attacks).

Flow exercises help develop a wide variety of skills necessary for effective application of defensive techniques and gives the practitioner a flexibility which allows for change within the fight dynamic.

The continuous cycle of these drills allows both training partners to sustain their training for an extended period, more repetitions of the given movements are far more superior than individual "one step" type actions as both practitioners are able to modify and correct their movements more frequently with each successive cycle as the "feel" dictates. (In these cycle drills the "feel" is more important than the visual perception as at close quarters you are often unable to see what is going on and have to rely on other attributes such as tactile sensitivity "feel").

As one becomes proficient in the various hubud drills a variety of additional elements such as, strikes, kicks, strips and disarms are added which increase the skill level of the practitioner. Locks, throws and nerve strikes are also added into the training structure.

Training in knife work must be done with safety at the forefront. When starting out students should work with either wooden or metal training knives. These training aids should be treated with respect and awareness (as though they were the real thing). Protective eye glasses should also be worn.

The length of the knives used can vary from short to long as this will give a different "feel" to the training drills. Shorter bladed knives are more difficult to deal with so will require a greater level of expertise in the application of the various drills and exercises.

Essential Principles of Knife Fighting

•Never display your knife as a bluff.
•Never keep your knife hand extended because it will give your opponent an idea of your range.
•Move your knife in front of your body in a figure-8 pattern. It will make it more difficult for your enemy to attack your knife hand and to guess the timing and source of your offensive movements.
•If you are facing a knife, let no part of your body extend beyond your own blade.
•Stay out of range of your opponent ’s knife until you absolutely must move into range.
•If you are unarmed and facing a knife, orient the outside of your forearms toward the attacker to reduce the seriousness of any cuts you sustain.
•Remember that if you are close enough to deliver a telling blow with your knife, you are also close enough to receive one.

The Fearsome Fighting Blades of the Philippines

Knife sharpens on stone;
Man sharpens on man.
A long perilous road tests the horse;
A long perilous journey tests the man.
-Chinese Adage

April 27, 1521, Mactan Island, Philippines- After most of his men had deserted him in the heat of battle, a native warrior threw a bamboo spear in Magellan's face. Magellan immediately thrust his lance into the warrior's breast and left it there. He then reached for his sword, but was only able to pull it out halfway from its sheath because his right arm was wounded. While standing knee deep in the surf, Magellan tried to reposition himself.

However, his feet were mired in mud and it was difficult for him to move. A charging warrior slashed and nearly severed Magellan's left leg with a large, heavy sword called a kampilan. Magellan fell face forward into the water and, in the words of the famous historian Pigafetta, who was by his side, " . . . they killed our mirror, our light, our comfort and true guide. " So died Captain-General Ferdinand Magellan at the flashing hands of Filipino warriors and their fighting blades.

Being true to himself and his community, the mighty chieftain of Mactan, Lapu Lapu, fought and defeated the Spaniards and refused to give up Magellan's body for all the riches in the world. He made the dead captain's burial on Mactan Island a perpetual monument of the Filipino's first successful encounter with formidable foreign invaders.

The conquistador's' retreat back to Spain was a tribute to the fighting prowess of Filipino warriors and their fighting blades. So impressed with this new fighting style and weaponry, they named it Escrima (skirmish) after their own style of Spanish fencing.

At the time of this bloody battle, the Philippine Archipelago of over 7,700 islands was divided into a hodgepodge of politically independent communities known as barangays. Each barangay produced a different dialect. It was also each person's responsibility to defend his own community so that it would become stronger. To further this goal, self-defense systems were encouraged. Forms of kali (large bladed weapons fighting) and Dumog (Filipino native wrestling) were taught to protect barangays from pirates or foreign invaders.

The Spanish eventually returned to the Philippines in 1564. Led by Miguel Lopez de Legspi, they acquired firm control over most barangays by force of arms and diplomatic skill. With Spanish rule secured, Filipinos were made slaves and a ban was put on the practice of kali and the carrying of fighting blades.

In spite of this prohibition, the Filipinos continued the practice of kali secretly, during the late hours of the night and while performing in dances and moro-moro stage plays. During moro-moro performances, when the Filipino slaves manipulated the colorful harnesses of their costumes, they were actually practicing kali under the unaware eyes of the Spanish overlords.

The newly disguised, widely used, term for their fighting arts became Arnis de marzo (harness of the hand), or simply Arnis. In the southern Philippines, the proud, patriotic and fiercely independent Moros (Muslim Filipinos) mixed Arnis and courage and were never conquered by the Spanish. Hence, they were able to continue the growth and development of weapons and fighting This was greatly influenced by the continual flood of aggressive cultures with superior weaponry, who infiltrated into the archipelago, especially the Malayans, who settled in the mountain slopes in 200 B.C.

Three basic types of bladed weapons commonly seen in Moroland are the barong, kampilan and kris. The barong is a Sulu fighting sword, with a heavy, single-edged leaf-shaped blade approximately 18 inches long. The back of the blade is thicker than any other blade of the southern Philippines, giving it the slashing weight needed to compensate for its shortness. The hilt is made of wood, silver, ivory or black horn, and is frequently formed in the shape of an exotic bird or animal.

The kampilan, common in Mindanao, is a large and heavy sword that needs to be handled with both hands. It is considered to be in the same class as the cutlass or Japanese samurai sword because of its great size, weight and craftsmanship. The blade is single-edged, has a definite sharp point, is wider near the tip and narrows progressively toward the hilt.

Sometimes the kampilan has a little horn-like projection just opposite the point, making the blade appear double-pointed. The kampilan's handle is wrapped with a fibrous material like the handle of the samurai sword and its butt end often resembles the open jaws of a crocodile. It has been described as "a weapon made for splitting the body from top to toe." Some people say that the kampilan was Lapu Lapu's favorite weapon.

The kris is a Malayan dagger with either a straight or wavy blade. The blades are always double-edged and vary in lengths from five to 30 inches. Blades found in Malaysia are sharply pointed, but seldom taper to a sharp point in Sulu and Mindanao. The kris has a long history of complicated structural features, decoration and significance.

The Moros use the kris and kampilan to practice their fighting technique in a traditional dance called Silat. They also show a preference for the karasaik (spear) and frequently use it along with a circular shield made of wood and decorated with metal and carvings. To the Moros, the carrying of a blade is a sign of personal honor and those who go without their blade feel undressed. Each blade, therefore, is used to suit individual tastes and requirements. Some of the other blades found in Moroland include the punal, panabas, pira, laring, lahot, and utak.

These various fighting blades were used by Juramentados (Filipino Muslims who took religious vows to kill as many Spanish-Christian soldiers as possible) during the "Moro Wars," which lasted through more than 300 years of Spanish domination and carried over into the American occupation of the Philippines, beginning in the early 1900s.

At first, American firepower was insufficient to stop the flashing, slashing blades of the feared Juramentado frenzy, even at point-blank range! As a result, the U.S. Army was forced to reissue its mothballed single-action Colt 45 (long Colt) revolvers, in place of the .38 caliber revolvers used by the American forces in the Philippines. This led to the eventual design of the Colt 45 ACO (automatic Colt pistol) in the Philippines and elsewhere.

Besides the Moros of the southern Philippines, pagan tribes, loosely called Igorot, lived in the mountainous interior of the northern Philippines and also retained their independence. For the Igorot, head-hunting was an ancient rite intensely practiced during the Spanish regime. Head-hunting expeditions usually followed the death of native kinsmen. When an unsuspecting victim was within range, a head-hunter would use the hook on the back edge of the cutting blade of his ax to snag the victim's head toward himself. In a swift follow-up, he or another headhunter would then decapitate the victim by using the concave cutting edge of a head ax. To the Igorot, head-hunting was synonymous with warfare and surely, plenty of Spanish heads watched over their native huts.

In 1941, General Yamashita promised the Emperor of Japan that Japanese Imperial Forces would seize all of Southeast Asia for their "Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere." The Japanese proceeded to quickly swallow up all of Southeast Asia-except for the Philippines. General Douglas MacArthur instructed the Philippine troops to resist the enemy at the mountainous peninsula of Bataan and at the small fortress island of Corregidor until he returned from Australia with reinforcements and supplies.

Although the U.S. had the authority to dictate political and military strategy, Filipinos were allowed to use their knowledge and ability in Arnis, and they in turn taught it to American bayonet instructors. Long, broad-pointed and single-edged bolo knives (similar to a machete, but usually shorter) were issued to Filipino platoons to be used both as a hand weapon and as a bayonet, when affixed to their Springfield or Garand rifles.

Jungle bolos have sharper points, narrower and thinner blades and are lighter in weight than standard bolos knives. They are designed for quickness, as many Japanese came to find out. A frequently used strategy of these Filipino guerrillas was to steal forth at night and use their bolos to decapitate the sleeping enemy or, with a savage surge of the blade, thrust an unaware sentry into the waiting arms of his emperor. Melting back into the jungle, they hid during the daytime as Japanese patrols searched in vain. Many of the tactics used in the Vietnam War were pattered after Filipino strategies of guerrilla fighting.

Shortly after the war in the Pacific, Philippine independence was restored and many Filipinos migrated to the United States, settling mostly in California and Hawaii. Some of them began teaching their traditional knowledge of arnis to family, friends and selected students residing in their communities.

Knife Principles

Edged-weapon masters frequently teach and write about the geometry of combat including footwork and handwork. Examples of this are the langkah (angular footwork) of pentjak silat or the tatsulog (triangle) of Filipino martial arts. What secrets do these ancient traditions hold and how can they be applied to modern knife self-defense? The answer is a study in the geometry and trajectory of motion. Similar to a Physics 101 class in college, we must first understand the principles of attack with an edged weapon. If someone pulls out a knife and is moving toward you there are a couple of factors which require analysis. Freeze-frame the attack and draw a line from the tip of the attacker’s weapon to your centerline (imaginary line drawn from your forehead to your groin) – this is the line of attack, or LOA.

Imagine you are standing on the face of a clock. If your attacker is at 12:00 and you are in the middle of the face, then he is directly in front of you. No matter where the attacker moves to on the clock face, you can still connect the line from his weapon to your centerline and call this the line of attack. The laws of physics hold that after he commits to a slash or thrust (or some other type of attacking motion) with the knife, he must follow along that same LOA to reach his intended target.

Your response is to step off that line of attack as quickly as possible to reduce his chances of connecting. The ancient masters figured out that the best way to step off the line of attack is to step-out 45 degrees either forward or backward from the attack. Using the clock face example, the assailant attacks from the 12:00 position. Now, if you’re standing in the middle of the clock and you take one step straight back then you’re still along the same LOA and it’s just a matter of time before he closes the gap and hits his target. If, however, you were to step 45-degrees back, say to 4:00 o’clock, this would force him to change his direction and motion in order to pick up the new line of attack.

In other words, the closer you stay to the LOA, the better his chances are of hitting his target. The faster you move off that LOA (using 45-degree steps) the less chance he has of hitting his target and the more time you gain to react. In the condition where you have lost ground and cannot use footwork to escape, lets say from close to extreme close-quarter range, you have lost the advantage of using angular footwork and must now rely heavily on the use of the hands to break down the arc of attack.

The arc of attack can be viewed as that arc scribed by the tip or edge of the weapon as it approaches the target area. In other words, if you strapped a big green crayon to the tip of the blade and made your attacker slash at a huge piece of paper, then you would see a curving arc-shaped "C" on the paper. Optimally, you would like to avoid this arc of attack at all costs.

There are two ways to break this arc of attack. One is by pushing down and away from your body, and the other is by pushing up and away from your body. If you don’t have a choice and must make contact with your arms or hands then you must effect the arc of attack – you have no choice in the matter – it’s already too late for you to step off the LOA. A good suggestion would be to use any object at your disposal such as a grocery bag, jacket, trash-can lid, car door, distance, or whatever you can put between you and your attacker to defeat that arc of attack.

At long range you can effect the line of attack by either stepping 45 degrees forward or backward away from the incoming motion. If you fail against the LOA then you must deal with the arc of attack. This means you are in close quarter proximity or ECQ (extreme close-quarter range) and are already at an extreme disadvantage – especially if you are empty handed. Here, at this range it’s up front and personal, and very ugly. You’re going to get cut and nothing short of a miracle is going to keep you from bleeding. Your only recourse is to break down the arc of attack by keeping the point down and away from your centerline, or up and away from your centerline.

Remember, if you get caught in a knife fight, use your feet to step 45 degrees off the line of attack. If you get caught in hand-range remember to break the arc of attack. It’s all really just a simple matter of understanding angles and arcs – use the geometry of the masters to your advantage. Sometimes it’s all you have.

As a full-time professional edged-weapons instructor, the two most common questions that always pop up are: "What’s the best blade out there?" and "How do I know what’s best for me?" The modern blade student can answer this with several questions directed to themselves: "Am I going to use my knife as a utility blade, a self-defense weapon, a work tool, or a recreation tool?"

You’ve probably heard the saying, "form follows function." This is especially true in the world of edged weapons. A fisherman needs a different knife than a hunter, who needs a different knife than a sushi chef, who needs a different knife than a U.S. Navy SEAL. It’s all a matter of application. Only after you’ve determined what you’re going to use the knife for, can you choose the best knife. There are two general classifications of modern knife types: fixed blade and folding blade. A fixed blade can be defined as any pointed or sharp, single or double-edged blade secured to a fixed handle. Examples of fixed blades are the Bowie knife, Scottish dirk, K-Bar, or the classic Rondel dagger. Even a broken piece of glass, or a steel shank with duct tape wrapped around the end, can be classified as a fixed blade.

A folding blade can be defined as any pointed or sharp, single or double-edged blade which can be folded, coiled, bent, or otherwise secured in such a fashion as to be rendered disabled in the "folded" position. A Swiss Army knife falls into this category as do "switch" blades and automatic combat knives. Folding blades can be further broken down into three identifying categories: 1) Mechanically operated; 2) Gravity operated; and 3) Spring assisted or "automatic."

If you’re looking for a mechanically operated folding knife, a plethora of opening mechanisms are available. Some blades are enabled via manipulation of an opening mechanism using holes, T-posts, pin posts, indents, groves, or pocket catches. These types of mechanically operated folding knives are generally offered with either spine (or ridge-lock), liner-lock, or bolt-lock securing systems.

If you’re looking for a gravity-operated knife, you generally have only a few options. Mainstream availability of the balisong and tri-fold make these the most popular. Some historians have traced the balisong back to the Philippines (bali means "broken," and soung means "bone"). This loosely translates to "knife hidden in a broken bone." This knife is sometimes also referred to as a "butterfly knife." Both the balisong and tri-fold are available in a multitude of different blade styles and lengths.

The third and final classification of modern folding blades is spring-assisted or "automatics." Due to the majority of state and federal laws governing the proliferation of edged weapons, there aren’t too many of these types available to the general public. In certain states only law enforcement and military personnel are granted the right of ownership. When choosing from the different types and styles of available blades on the market today, one must also consider two very important aspects of blade ownership – legal and moral responsibility. If you live in a state which prohibits possession of a blade of any length greater than four inches, then your choice of fixed or folder is limited to only those blade lengths that fall within the letter of the law. Likewise, if the law prohibits possession of any blade of a specific type – say double edged, dirk or dagger, "switch" blade, et cetera – then you are again limited in your choices. You must also consider what type of carry system best suits your application. In some states it is against the law to carry a blade in your boot, hanging from your neck, or hidden in your belt-buckle.

Moral responsibility is a subjective matter. However, to quote the training philosophy of one of today’s top weapons instruction schools, "It is incumbent upon those of us that carry weapons to be trained with those weapons and to keep our safety and skill levels as high as we possibly can." Choosing what blade to carry is as personal as choosing what clothes to wear. It needs to fit your hand, it needs to fit your style, and it needs to fit your application.

In the many different styles and systems of knife fighting, there are certain basics which are common to all systems. These are the basics of edged weapon combat — how to hold a knife, how to stand with a knife, and how to operate a knife.

Depending upon the origin of a particular system or the emphasis it places on a certain aspect, there are tremendous differences in philosophy and training methods. Much like comparing makes and models of sports cars, it’s not a matter of one being better than the other, but an issue of which fits you the best. Some people prefer a BMW over a Corvette. Others might prefer a convertible Mustang over a Ferrari. Still others would chose a Jaguar over a Viper — it’s truly just a matter of personal choice.

There are about a half-dozen ways to hold a knife in a defensive posture: the hammer grip (langit in the Filipino tradition), the saber grip (la sabre in the European tradition), the ice pick or reverse grip (pakal in the Filipino tradition), reverse grip with thumb support or canted reverse (“military” in the Western tradition) and the prison shank grip (where inmates duct tape a shank to their fingers and execute purely thrusting deliveries — said to have originated in Folsom Prison). There are others such as the Japanese tsuki grip (used predominantly with the tanto), or the Malaysian execution grip, et cetera.

Stances are simply how to posture your body while holding a knife. Much like the classic fencing postures of the famous sword-fighting schools of ancient Venice, Madrid and others, body position while holding a knife is just as important as the technique itself. In fact, your stance is the very platform from which any technique is executed. In order to have a strong building you need to have a solid foundation. The same goes for knife fighting — if your grip or stance is weak then you’ve already compromised the integrity of your technique.

Common sense tells us that if you are holding a weapon in your hand and you engage in mortal combat, then you want to keep that weapon between you and your adversary. Some systems promote holding the knife behind your back or at your side during combat. Although this may be a stylized function, it is purely a matter of time and distance. Simply put, if the knife is farther away from it’s target, then it’s going to take longer to get there. Most Filipino, Malaysian and Indonesian styles place the weapon out in front of all appendages and in the closest possible position for a strike or defensive tactic.

Similar to classic European fencing, there are five general postures in which to hold during engagement: basic ready, high open, low open, low closed and high closed. Each of these can also be maintained with any grip of your choice based on style, system, or personal preference. Operation of the blade can be broken down to six basic moves: thrusting (some systems call it “cut-poking” or sungkette in the Filipino tradition), hacking, scraping (tearing), coring, and puncturing. Slashing means moving the blade along an arc of attack so that the sharp edge makes contact with the target area along that arc with full follow through. Thrusting is to place the tip or point of the blade exactly at the point of contact and penetrate the target in a linear trajectory. Hacking is to snap the sharp edge of the blade at the target area, make contact, and literally “bounce back” from the point of contact to your starting position. Scraping is to place the tip or edge of the blade at the target area and drag the tip or edge at a 30-90 degree angle so as to tear. Coring is the same action as coring an apple. Puncturing can be likened to opening a can with a triangular can opener to create a triangular flap on the target area.

To be lacking in knowledge or skill in stances, grips, or operation can weaken the foundation of your overall combat effectiveness. Remember that a strong foundation makes for a strong defense. A solid proficiency in the basics will give you an advantage in any edged-weapon encounter.

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