Great points about the knife. If you can at all arm yourself, you shoudl and again there is where weapons training can pay off. It does not have to be some Ranger Combat SEAL Deathblade II by Hate Co. knife or a Katana or a Machette, it can be an umbrella, a cane, walking stick, stick from the ground, bottle, chair, ball point pin, glass ashtrays (more common when I was younger and have grabed 2 with bad intent in my life) books, ect.NBK wrote:I have mixed emotions about training barehanded against knives. Most I've seen doesn't include much of the common sense stuff - avoidance and distanct - use furniture, clothing, scream like a banshee, throw everything including the kitchen sink at your attacker. Often it seems the attacks are about rage or intimidation - Lichtenfeld wrote about the necessity to understand that you're going to get cut, perhaps badly, but you have to keep going. His data was that you don't likely don't get stabbed once, you get cut to shreds, and too many people just stopped once they're cut with a non-lethal first jab.
Someone wrote about the utility of a cane.
When it came to self defense against weapons, in the early 1930's Kano shihan wrote that the best weapon, aside from swords, which no one but specialists like military police could carry (and apparently ignoring sidearms) was what he called the 'bo', which means staff, but is now what modern martial artists would call a jo. Readily available, the training can be used with a number of alternatives, etc. etc.
He also wrote his plan was to incorporate its training into judo and spread it throughout the world along with judo.
I trained in Shinto Muso ryu jodo for years. It is the modern version of what Kano shihan arranged to be taught in the Kodokan ('to about 80 senior members of the KDK' IIRC offhand), and the attacker has a tachi, a full sized Japanese sword. Performed correctly you have a safe range from which to pummel your attacker, break his wrist, split his skull, jab out an eye or two, or in the modern Japanese police non-lethal incantation, break his collarbone.
Against a normal sized knife, with a jo you've got lots of stand off distance, and a bare forearm or tee shirt makes for a real rotten guard against a quickly swung or thrust chunk of oak. What really gets people who aren't accustomed to sparring with them is the quick reversals and side swings. With practice you can modify to accommodate closer quarters or a shorter jo, such as a cane, or use techniques from something like Uchida ryu tantojutsu.
One of the added benefits in countries like the US, with the Americans with Disabilities Act, I understand that you cannot even be asked why you carry a stout walking stick or cane. Don't know about inside a/c. Just don't try to carry a sword cane, which is a concealed weapon in most every state I think.
NBK
Every instructor that I have trained with who I feel knew what they were talking about all used some variation of "Expect to get cut, try hard not get stabbed and keep going no matter what if cut or stabbed, clock will be ticking"
We do some nice stuff with Parachute cord that my old Sempai trained us in. Comes from older HoHo Jutsu (If I got that right) Kuk Sool Won and just some stuff he and Rick Fike came up witth and tightly rolled up magazine is a hit.
I train with Arnis and I love sticks and canes. Walking sticks are great for outside.
I was lucky enough to attend a couple of lessons from George Bristol in Jo technies from I think Yaga Shinkage Ryu at our old Ju Jutsu school and I loved the directness and the few things I leanr I have practiced and used in full contact against Arnis guys to good effect.
It's a good weapon for a man of peace IMO.
Thank you for your insights NBK, you do seem to live the dream for a martial artist.