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Using a knife in combat demands more psychological preparation than
using a firearm. In the latter, all you have to do most of the times
is just squeeze the trigger. This fact was acknowledged by Lt. Col.
Rex Applegate in his book Kill or Get Killed when he wrote, “The
average American does not like the idea of encountering a knife in
personal combat. He would much rather use his fist, a handgun or a
club as a fighting weapon. He would much rather face such weapons
than an opponent armed with a sharp blade.”
Many martial artists engaged in edged weapon
training were so caught up with the artistry of the movements not
realizing the bloody mess it can create for real. Individuals who
use bladed weapons in real combat like professional soldiers and
inmates have a working knowledge of surface anatomy. Roughly
defined, “surface anatomy” is the knowledge of what vital organ
lies underneath a certain body surface.
There are basically two ways to inflict injury
using a knife—it’s either you slash or you stab and whether
you’re on the offensive or the defensive side, it pays off to know
what kind of damage these techniques can create. Unless it cut an
artery, slashes are rarely deadly, you can be stitched up and
survive. Practitioners of Filipino knife fighting methods were often
taught that if necessary while defending themselves, they could take
cuts on the outside of the forearm because less veins and arteries
are located there compared to the inside part. Stab wounds on the
other hand are lethal. A mere one or two inch deep stab wound can
prove deadly if it punctured a vital organ.
The United States Department of Justice has
statistics on knife attacks that says the first three to five
strikes in a bladed weapon assault are often slashes. The intent to
kill and not really fancy skills is the factor that makes an
individual armed with a knife dangerous. Prisoners and street thugs
often rely on the “pin and stab” method and that is they pin you
with their free arm and stab with the other hand holding the knife.
It’s based on sheer aggression and there’s not much artistry in
it but it works.
Since wounds should be expected in knife combat,
martial artists engaging in this field of study must also possesses
the basic knowledge of emergency trauma management such as the
proper application of a tourniquet in case of severe bleeding.
Shatter that romanticized thought of being a badass knife fighter.
Yes, knife combat is one bloody subject indeed. And don’t forget
ex-street fighter Marc Macyoung’s sober advice on the matter.
Oftentimes, this business of knife fighting he cautions, “Will
either get you killed or put you into the prison showers.”
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