approaching the knife
by Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International

July 17, 2018, Israel  

This knife is deadly, do you really want to start playing games with this?

Actual knife recovered from an Arab who attacked a Jew in the Old City of Jerusalem. Think about this!

One of the greatest misconceptions martial artists have is the defense against the blade, the knife, the edged weapons. You would think after all the stabbings, the brutal killings with knifes, that people would get it, and yet we see these martial arts demonstrations where people dance around, grab the wrist of the assailant with the knife, spin him around and drop him on the floor. Applause, Cheers, "Likes"; I do not believe such stunts have ever been done in real life. It is a great show, but in real life - this will get you killed.

If you have the stomach for it, watch real life cases of knife attacks; they are brutal, nasty, ugly. People are killed within seconds, even trained soldiers with combat experience, police officers, professionals. No one is safe from the blade. The knife business is a very deadly business. Respect the knife. 

A wise man once said,  "a man with a knife is your physical superior"(Richard Ryan), not a "black belt with a knife", or a strong man with a knife, but anyone, any person with a knife is your physical superior, no matter how well trained you are!!

Do you understand that! 

Can you let that sink in?

Anyone with a knife is your physical superior. Avoiding the knife is not cowardice, it is intelligence. 

Years ago I asked Itay Gil, "What if you see a terrorist with a knife chasing another person, your wife, someone you love, what do you do?"    

Listen to his answer, listen to the answer of a man who has been in combat, spent years in the military, in combat, in counter terror, and in police work, listen and pay attention.

He said, Never, ever, ever approach a person with a knife, never! Throw something at him, throw a rock, a brick, but never approach him, you will get chopped up. 

Did you hear that? Did you really listen?   This is not from some softy guy, this from a guy who has many friends at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery. This is from a man who has seen violence. Never approach the knife.

We at IKI follow this Wisdom. We do our knife defenses when the knife threat touches our bodies or when the knife attack comes to us. We do not chase, we "receive" the knife.

Let me add; Some believe it is a good idea to approach and hit the assailant or try to stun him. Some like to kick the man with the knife believing that one could kick will disable the man (who might be high on drugs). We do not advocated this approach, in fact we consider it suicidal. Keep your distance!! This individual is dangerous.

If we try and grab, slap, redirect, or interact with the knife hand in any way we are getting too close! it is like those car bumper stickers, if you can read this you are too close.

We do not advocate approaching the knife man in order to kick him. What will that kick really do ? How many knockouts have you seen from one front kick? Think like an economist, consider cost and benefit, risk and rewards, you are approaching a very dangerous individual with the hopes of kicking him, but you are putting yourself in serious danger.

So what can we do? Follow the advice of wise warriors, make a retreat, reposition yourself, find a better way to respond. If you have a handgun, get to a safe distance where you can use it. If not, improvise. Each situation is different. But for the sake of all those who want to see you alive, do Not approach the knifeman.

These blades can kill, that is what they were designed for. Do not be fooled by Flashy martial arts. 

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