self defence with knives.

[AgonySceneGirl]

I have been working with knifes for a few years now. I use to collect but have been teaching myself how to use them in a self defence type of manner for the past year.
Its illegal to have the blades longer than 6 inches on person. so mine is only a 4 1/2 inch blade. I didnt want to wear one out of the house untill i was completely comfortable with safety.
I am completely self taught because i havent been able to find a decent site, or anything for that matter on how to use a knife correctly and efficiently.
I've found myself in some really bad situations in life, and am a pretty small woman so i want to be able to protect myself.

Does anyone know of any good sites or anything that i would be able to pick up some hints from or even some advice on how to better myself in wielding a knife?


This is strictly for self defence.

Thanks
ASG

 

[TerragonSix]

Well, the key thing would be to go for vital organs: liver, heart or throat, in a stabbing manner, not a slash manner with a 4.5 inch knife.

You need to get a longer, thicker knife. Nothing too big, and something that is still legal. Surgical steel works best. Keep the knife sharpened, and on you where you can get to a moments notice.

One more thing: never take a knife to a gun fight.

 

[AgonySceneGirl]

Well, the key thing would be to go for vital organs: liver, heart or throat, in a stabbing manner, not a slash manner with a 4.5 inch knife.

You need to get a longer, thicker knife. Nothing too big, and something that is still legal. Surgical steel works best. Keep the knife sharpened, and on you where you can get to a moments notice.

One more thing: never take a knife to a gun fight.

i'm not wanting to kill someone, just injure so i can get away. I'm not saying its going to happen but if it does i mean. I cant get a longer blade, 6 inch blades are illegal and around here.

A friend of mine had a 5.5 inch blade, went to the bar one night with some of her girl friends and got arrested because someone seen it and took it as an immediate threat n called the cops. I was with her so i know for a fact that it was at her hip the entire time. But since they couldnt measure it on the spot, and was close to 6 inches, the cops arrested her and released her as soon as they got to the station. so i'm sticking with the 4.5 inch.

 

[TerragonSix]

Let me tell you something hon. Muggers don't carry weapons to just 'injure' somebody. A ruthless mugger will go straight for the head.

You want to be sure to defend yourself, you do it seriously. Don't think that it's like TV, and you can just stab them in the shoulder and that will stop them. It won't. They will keep coming after you until one of you is dead.

I would recommend a self-defense course, if you're absolutely intent on injuring, not killing. Knifes and guns are used for killing, and they are not toys. You intend on using a knife, you better aim to use it the way it was designed for.

 

[kindashy]

i'm not wanting to kill someone, just injure so i can get away.

Bad idea. You will probably come out free from a criminal trial. And then you might end up in the court for the rest of your life with civil trials by the person you got away from or their relatives. I am not a lawyer, however, in the self defense gun community the opinion is this: if your legally carried concealed weapon (gun) leaves its holster, kill, DO NOT take the weapon out otherwise.

I am guessing you are not 21 yet.

 

[Vekta]

Knife fighting is not something you can teach yourself.

There is a 90% chance you're going to get youself killed if you are ever in a situations where you had to use what you read.

If you want to learn go get professional training. It's Even better if you can find people who have actually lived through it and are willing to mentor you. You'll never know if what you "learned" works until you actually have to use it.

If you're carrying a folder it's useless. You'll never get it out in time if you're attacked. You could use it for blunt force if it has a skull crusher or strike point on one end.

If it's a fixed blade you're a little bit better off.

4.5 inch blade is fine but it has to be sheathed in a good location in a good sheath. If you have to use it you're going to be close enough to smell his breath. Stab Stab Stab. Cut deep at the inside of his joints and throat if you're right on them, the bigger blood vessels are near the surface of his skin there . It will be fast...very very fast.

If he's on you before you have your knife out or he sees the knife before you're up next to him you probably lost already. Your speed and ability to hide your own intentions is your only advantage. Brandishing the knife can be as much of a mistake as it can serve to scare him off.

Before my neighbor's son got his third strike he was kind enough to try and show me what he used and had used on him in the streets. When he wasn't fucking around with me I got my ass handed to me every time- in the most brutal and efficent ways. *snaps finger* That's how fast it went by.

 

[Username_In_Use]

Try learning or renting a video about Krav Maga. Pretty realistic, easy to learn, easy to use, and effective. I'm not saying you'll be able to take down Forrest Griffin or something, but you'll at least be able to defend yourself against the average mugger/drunk guy.

Carry mace and/or stun gun and have it ready in situations where you could possibly see something happening.

And depending what state you live in, you could get away with the self-defense aspect if you happen to kill somebody while in a knife fight and have to go to court.

 

[ccgd]

I agree. Krav Maga is the way to go, but I suggest classes.

 

[PhilGarlic]

heading for trouble?

ASG,
for most people who try to use a knife, the attacker takes it off them and uses it against them. You won't know how you will react untill it happens.
My advice, look at other forms of self defence, how not to put yourself in a situation, how to reconise when a situation is starting, keep as fit as you can, kick hard and run fast.
Your attitude is also important, self confidence will make an attacker think before they attack.
If your friend is going to places where she thinks she will need a knife, don't go there.
Keep safe.

 

[Username_In_Use]

I agree. Krav Maga is the way to go, but I suggest classes.

Well I threw in the video renting because classes are a bit pricey and it allows for a preview of what it actually is for a relatively small initial investment as compared to just signing up for a class.

 

[emap]

ummm yeah I'm so going to go well away from what everyone else is saying.

A video on how to use a knife is useless, a video on how to do martial arts is useless, a video on most anything except how to program your VCR or use windows is useless.

If your really wanting to protect yourself physically, take classes, there is nothing else that will work. I'm not talking a self defence class, I'm talking a martial arts class, Karate, Tae Kwon Do so on so forth. A self defence class for us gals doesn't really do much more than show you how to knee and run away, or get out of a hold from behind.

I think you should take karate, and stop thinking of using a knife, they are as has been said made to kill, you want to take karate and learn how to use a Jo stick, then you buy one of those flip wands and carry it around in your purse. Hard to kill someone by accident, not easy on purpose and won't get you put up on charges of assault with a lethal weapon.

Also, you really gotta use your noggin not a knife or stick or gun. If you think we don't have enough people to go in here, don't, if you think you need more than one friend to feel safe in that place, never go there, if your alone in a parking complex, walk fast have your keys in your hand ready to unlock your car. Never sit in the back of a bar or booth, sit at the bar or at a table near the door.

The only way to be safe is to be out in the open, easily seen by many and not near a hideaway. The only time you will ever want to break any of the above is when your with a big pack of friends. Just you and your date, use the above because two are still possible targets for predators.

Really hate to say it, but a weapon is never a deterrant for attacks, unless your talking a big assault rifle or sword. The only sure way to not be attacked, is to never place yourself in a position to be. That is of course impossible, however you can cut way down on the possibilities by simply using your noggin, don't need anything else.

 

[necroerotica]

As a one-time collector of knives as well, I'll thow in my own 2 pence worth;

For basic self defence, knives are a bad, bad idea.

You have to understand that if you pull a knife, you MUST be prepared to use it, because if your attacker isn't intimidated enough to back off then you have to assume he/she is confident/stupid/drunk/experienced enough to think they can still take you - and by this point, you've likely pissed them off.

That is not a situation you want to be in.

'Clean' knife fights only ever happen in the movies. In real life, it's brutally quick, very, very painful and you're likely to bleed out like a stuck pig from even a seemingly non-fatal stab location.


Carry mace/pepper spray, carry a sonic alarm, carry a rotweiller, take some classes, and walk like you own the pavement.

 

[PertPerth]

Knife fighting is not something you can teach yourself.

quoted for emphasis

The best, fastest way to piss off the person who is attacking you (or just stealing from you, and who had no plans on hurting you) is to pull out a weapon. My tips for carrying a knife are :
(A) You have to know how to use the weapon and prepared to use it if you pull it out
(B) you have to be prepared for the consequences (legal and emotional) if you use it on your attacker
(C) you should be prepared to have the weapon used on you

After 10 years of martial arts, I still say that my best defence is to run and scream. By attracting attention, the guy (or gal) will most likely flee.

 

[SydneyScorpio]

I'm 49 now, and since I was 8 years old, my father had me learning various forms of the martial arts. My sister started doing different styles of the martial arts forms when she was about 15. You DO NOT NEED a weapon to protect yourself!!!! There are many different styles of self defence that enable men, women, and children, to be able to protect themselves without the need for a deadly weapon. I know Americans are (generally) raised with the idea that you are constitutionally authorised to carry, and use, deadly weapons. Try some kung fu (Wing Chun was developed by a woman for women), karate, tae kwon do, mui tai, or any others that are available in your area. The problem with carrying weapons is that most people are not trained sufficiently to know how to use one properly and effectively. What would you do if a rapist took your knife off you, grabbed you around the throat and held the knife, your knife, to your throat? Or, in reality, you pulled your knife on someone who you felt was threatening you, they used a leg sweep on you, grabbed your knife and stabbed you in the stomach? Reality is vastly different to television, believe it or not! Do yourself a favour, keep your knives in the kitchen (where they belong) and take up a self-defence course that will do you some good.

 

[wonderwhy]

i do kick boxing, this is find is a great martial art.
i also want to take up ju-jitu and will be next month once we have moved.
kick boxing is about strikes and keeping distance alot of the time whilst ju-jitsu tackles grapples and holds and how to escape or reverse the situation using technique.

 

[SweetErika]

Where are you going and who are you hanging out with that you feel the need to carry a weapon? Don't you think it'd be better to arm yourself with knowledge, proven techniques, and not go to unsafe places or hang out with unsavory people (hint: they probably carry knives)?

I'm assuming you're main concern is being raped. You can greatly decrease your chances of that happening by not being alone or intimate with men you don't know well or trust. That doesn't guarantee your safety, but most rapes are date- or acquaintance-rapes, not attacks by someone the victim doesn't know or a longer-term partner. So, if you have a habit of being alone and intimate with men you don't know well, you may want to consider changing that.

 

[Weird Harold]

I've found myself in some really bad situations in life, and am a pretty small woman so i want to be able to protect myself.

Take a martial arts class -- in the process of learning how to disarm a knife-weilding attacker, you will also learn how to counter someone trying to take your knife away from you.

I have to add to the advice to find a better way than a knife for self-defense. The main problem with a knife for self-defense, especially for a "pretty small woman" is that it requires that you let your attacker get within reach of you.

You either need some specialized self-defense training tailored for small women or you need something that can stop an attacker at a distance -- pepper spray, air-horn, staff/walking stick, or the like. If you let an attacker get within reach, any weapon isn't going to help very much, so you're reduced to unarmed defense techniques.

A good stout hickory walking stick (cane) will do far more to insure your safety than a knife would -- even if it doesn't have an illegal sword or gun hidden in it.

 

[AoNoDoY]

A one dollar bill (and all U.S. bills put into circulation after 1929) measures 6.14 inches. It's a handy fact when measuring blade lengths, etc.

 

[necroerotica]

A one dollar bill (and all U.S. bills put into circulation after 1929) measures 6.14 inches. It's a handy fact when measuring blade lengths, etc.

Also worth remembering is that these are American restrictions - in the UK, the cutting edge can't be longer than 3 inches, must not be a fixed blade, must not be an automatic or gravity-assisted release, and must not have a locking device.

 

[VelvetDarkness]

Even if you're a trained knife fighter, as others have said, as a small woman you can be fairly easily over powered and then you have an attacker who you have just furnished with a weapon while pissing him off mightily.

Very. Bad. Idea.

And especially as you have a child. In situations like these, you need to diffuse violence and anger, not raise the stakes.

Get a personal alarm and some pepper spray. Keep it in your pocket, not your purse. Be careful of where you go and who you go with. Some martial arts training would be handy, including how to disarm someone.

If you feel a specific person is a threat, report them. Pre-empt any attack like this and if something does happen, the police will already know you were in fear of this person. Keep a record of any threatening or inappropriate behaviour. If you do this, you will ensure that if any kind of 'fight' ensues, the law is more likely to take your side.

 

[breezyblue]

My advice is that if you are interested in becoming more skilled with a knife you should go find a class. I think it is a very worthy pursuit in and of itself and requires a great deal of skill/practice/knowledge to be good. I do think that you could teach yourself many things about it on your own time but also that the knowledge and experience offered by the right professional is invaluable. It not only makes the knowledge you do absorb more likely to be credible (as opposed to Internet garble) but also gives you a structured program that will make sure you work up to more skilled techniques after appropriate basics which might be hard to regulate yourself not knowing ahead of time.

However i also know that fights are very dangerous places to be no matter what is involved (bare hands or weapons) and agree with velvetdarkness that you are really raising the stakes exponentially to bring a deadly weapon with you. If you enter into a situation thinking that you will use your knife to protect you above all else (like running away) you had best be prepared to use it. knives are not for deterring nor are they for cutting a person to disable them - they are for killing people. As soon as a weapon enters a fight (assuming you have it) it is to your advantage to use it as soon as you possibly can. Weapons are always more effective when your attacker has no knowledge of them - in this way your attacker has no time to prepare to defend himself or to scheme about using the knife himself or taking it away from you. If he is already badly wounded by the time he knows there is a knife present there is little need to worry about him gaining possession of it.

I really think the best option is to stay far far away from any place/situation that even might be dangerous enough to warrent a fight/person trying to rape you/kidnap you. I have been studying karate for nearly a decade and have my blackbelt and my interest in knife fighting/self defense started because i was scared to death of being raped by someone else. After years of training i am convinced that should i ever need to use my training outside of my dojo things would have gotten so far out of hand that i have had a serious lapse in judgment. Scream and run away as fast as i possibly could would be what i would do. Violence is abhorrent and i try my darnedest to stay away from anyone that i would be afraid of to that degree.

 

[openminded_boca]

I have been working with knifes for a few years now. I use to collect but have been teaching myself how to use them in a self defence type of manner for the past year.
Its illegal to have the blades longer than 6 inches on person. so mine is only a 4 1/2 inch blade. I didnt want to wear one out of the house untill i was completely comfortable with safety.
I am completely self taught because i havent been able to find a decent site, or anything for that matter on how to use a knife correctly and efficiently.
I've found myself in some really bad situations in life, and am a pretty small woman so i want to be able to protect myself.

Does anyone know of any good sites or anything that i would be able to pick up some hints from or even some advice on how to better myself in wielding a knife?


This is strictly for self defence.

Thanks
ASG

Depending on where I go I too carry a knife with me. Nobody has seen it on me so I am not worried about getting caught.

Whatever someone tells you online goes out the window when you are face to face with someone and have to use the knife. Thats the point where you "instincts" come into play.

If they want your wallet, give it to them. Its only material and everything (except the cash wish I hope you do not carry much of) can be replaced. 1st thing you should file a police report then call your credit cards and have them cancelled. Every credit card company (whats called a charge back) will not hold you responsible for purchases you didn't make.

If you are overly concerned about the law, contact you local police department and tell them you are considering purchasing a knife for protection. What are the laws? There are concealed gun permits but I dont believe theres anything pertaining to knives. Even if you owned a gun & a concealed gun permit, if someone sees the gun on you then by law it is not concealed and that person can be arrested.

Hope it helps!

 

[CowBoy18^]

get a tazer, easier to use and less than lethal

 

[Eilan]

I don't carry any types of weapons, but if I did, my main concern would be the whole bringing-a-knife-to-a-gunfight thing.

Even if you owned a gun & a concealed gun permit, if someone sees the gun on you then by law it is not concealed and that person can be arrested.

Why would the other person be arrested for seeing the gun?

Where I live, you can get arrested for carrying a gun without a concealed-carry permit, but openly carrying a firearm isn't illegal unless you're a convicted felon or breaking other laws in the process:

Openly carrying gun not a crime

I would imagine that the laws vary from state to state, of course.

 

[PowerLifter84]

Not sure if someone has mentioned this since I didn't read the whole thread but hands down the BEST self defense for a woman to learn is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Unless a woman is well-rounded in a good hand-to-hand combat (kickboxing, Muay Thai, etc.), she will do very little to a man who is two or three times her size. Fighting in the ground is a different story and a woman can easily win a fight even with a basic understand of BJJ compared to a guy who knows nothing.