How To Use A Knife For Self Defense: Into The Fray Episode 172

Dangerously bad advice

Even though this video is 6 years old I wanted to comment additionally to it. Slashing, in terms of stopping power, is nothing compared to a properly delivered stab. What does that mean? It means that you stab the body's shock zones. Specifically, the heart, penetrating the intercostal spaces between the ribs (provided you have a blade that is long enough) Then we have the eyes, kidneys and femoral artery (kills mobility and later kills the host due to blood loss. The reason a slash will not be as effective at stopping an opponent, generally speaking, is that a slash may contribute to the stopping of the threat due to blood loss but at a later point in time. This is operational time for an opponent to do their worst to you. I've seen this behavior even with firearms when the wrong caliber combined with poor shot placement fails to immediately target an area that produces enough shock to stop a target. While these instructors have some really good points their discussion and techniques are remiss. How do I know these things? I learned from the best. For knives that's Master Matei Florin. I call him master, that's not a title he actually uses but his skillset is truly scary. Then there is the legendary Massad Ayoob who I have studied extensively. Finally, know this: Knife fighting isn't pretty. In fact it's rather gruesome and if you are not mentally prepared or just cannot kill then do not carry (this goes for guns too) Most importantly, train. Without training you are a liability to yourself and others. Talent is no replacement for training.

Once you cut flesh the shock to the body is significant.

So, i had a pretty severe injury on my thumb with a badly designed Knife sheath that almost amputated my thumb... needless to say, i have a bit of trauma... and thinking about slashing someones arm open, even in self defense... i don't think i could get myself to do that... Cut injuries are so nasty... my entire body is writhing thinking about this...

This is very helpful, I recently just got a nice sized knife for myself. Sad that we live in a world where we need to carry stuff like this!

Wharncliffe style blades are VERY effective.
That's why migrant gangs in Europe use them (box cutters) in attacks.

Simple information that could save your life.
Thanks

Awesome 👌

I say either hands or a gun.

I would say hands are better than a knife. Hands can't be taken away and used on you. If they get punched in jaw they might not want to keep attacking with a broken jaw.

Always stab to neutralize the threat. Slashing only works with a razor edge and no clothing.
This title is wrong!!!

Lucky enough not to have been attacked with a tyre rod, touch wood . Think if it happened tomorrow would go with a defensive arm block by me and then a stab (or multiple) to the other party after moving in to their zone. If I thought it was life and death I might go for the neck. All hypothetical and mostly BS on my part LOL. Completed some basic fighting courses - did not learn knife work for those fighting courses. Also fortunate not to have been in any serios full on battles in my adult life. I live alone and keep a knife very handy at night, so I enjoyed watching this video as I thought it brought a lot to the table and a lot to think about. Incidentally where i live in Australia people have been known to sometimes be charged for overdoing the self defence when a house breaker enters their house and they beat the crap out of the intruder. We can't carry any sort of knife during the day or night when out legally to my knowledge. 🙄 Forget the firearms.

This presents an entirely wrong mindset for self defense. The defender with a knife should never be aiming for minimum damage, he should be committed to winning the fight.

Pepper Gel to the face makes the bad guy wish he had stayed home that day.

What if you are using a Knife in Retaliation?

It's got to be hard to hit someone's moving arm right?

aww so stabbing in the face is out?☹️

I saw an article on Recoil Off The Grid Magazine featuring Michael Janich in which he talks about his EDC weapons and even Michael carries a gun (a Glock 43 to be exact). That goes to show you that even knife fighting experts realize projectile weapons like guns, tasers, and pepper spray are far superior to blades when it comes to modern self defense.

So folks, the moral of the story is to get yourself a can of pepper spray or a gun and save the knife for utility or rescue situations. In 2023 we have mass shooters to worry about and a knife isn't going to get the job done when they are spraying the room with bullets.

WOW! That is really helpful info! I will still use my pepper spray before my belt knife but defanging the snake and creating shock is interesting info! Thanks! Let's all stay safe and protect our loved ones.

Thanks

So I'm right handed with a 3 or 4 inch knife, the guy's forearm swinging a crow bar with his right hand is my target....I'm thinking he might get cut and I'll have a bad headache.

A baseball batt would work perfectly but hey the stupid law wont allow this theyd rather i bleed

Slicing napes like Eren Yeager

First of all, this guy lost all credibility for talking to cops. Rule #1 for every aspect of life, DONT TALK TO COPS! All they wanna do is put as many people in jail as they can, especially the Sherriff Department

The gun shot in the intro got me pumped 🥷

I guess they don’t wear jackets in the Philippines. I also doubt they fight with 3” knives. So how does that effect time spent studying Philippines martial arts?

This explains why you should carry a.22 caliber derringer and always shoot the gun out of your opponent’s hand. I have investigated stabbing and slashing attacks with short blades. Often the stabbed person only thinks he is punched. The slashed fought for about an hour according to witnesses. A 2 1/2”-3” knife may be legal but it is a poor weapon choice.

recently got a knife for defense in case. ty for this video

I work in a level 1 trauma hospital and I'd have to agree 100 percent with this video.

It's a shame that we live in such a pussified society that emphasizes "minimum amount of damage to escape a threat" A person comes against you they literally take their own life in their hands and whatever happens to them is solely your discretion, not some judge's or court's.

I can't even measure the wrongness of this advice or slashing versus stabbing. The odds that you will slash someone in an area that immediately stops the threat are miniscule. You have shock points such as the trachea and eye, kidneys and heart that WILL stop an attacker cold IF you stab. A slash will cause a bleed out but the enemy will remain ambulatory for a time, a doctrine called "combat effectiveness" or their ability to remain in the fight until they expire from their wounds. The is possibly the stupidest video I've ever seen you guys put out.

This is ridiculous. You think in the stress of a fight the average person's gonna be able to hit the arm and cut it to the bone like that? That's ridiculous.. You need to backup from your attacker if possible slash's hands arms face stab him everything ad he is trying to close in on you..you're not gonna have the skills unless you're bruce lee or a world class martial artist to hit and cut the tendon's When your attacker's arms are swinging wildly with a weapon in his hand.

Interesting points, but, far to technical for any practical situation... I'm still of the view that knife is a very poor choice for defensive weapon. Because, fights involving knives have a very high probability of death or injury - and especially when poorly employed, the person wielding it is likely to be killed with their own blade... A skilled attacker will use your own knife against you.

The reason why knives do poorly is because they are inherently offensive weapons, and best used with the element of surprise. Presenting it too early yields advantage to your attacker - and that makes it useless for preventing or de-escalating any confrontation. The best kind of defensive weapon is one that stops a fight from happening. Something like a short wooden stick, or baseball bat, is perfect. It's non-lethal, and requires no skill to use.

I don't know what's funnier. the fact that guns are considered more fair yet can ricochet inside of you and easily kill you or the fact that slashing is more effective than stabbing.

Stabbing/Thrusting is accurate, quick, and anyone can do it. Slashing is a technique based skill and not everyone can do it. the most effective self-defense is a quickly drawn fixed blade and a stab/thrust strike to a vital area. (neck, groin, head, and or chest)

Thanks for mentioning about the Filipino Martial Arts. I watched your videos here in Manila! Take care always Sirs, 73!

Thanks for mentioning about the Filipino Martial Arts. Watching your videos from Manila! Take care always Sirs, 73!

Nah in reality if you're trying to survive and attack aim for his eyes, his neck and even genitals.

unless you happen to live in a state where Self defense or the defense of others is frowned upon. hawaii where im from is a glowing example of this. Ive seen people go to jail and have their lives ruined because they defended themselves or others from an aggressor. It dosent matter if its justified or not most of the time the aggressor gets a slap on the wrist while the victim ends up paying for it in the end

Thank you for sharing. In some countries, carrying a pointed knife is crime, and their governments only license guns - not knives.

Why not slash the hand area. He could have heavy sleeves on

Literally just stick them in the carotid or femoral and they're done

Slash to defend and stab to kill

Knife

Yeeeeeaaaaah wool we are stabbing dudes like the scream movies

What about the throat?

only way a knife stops is massive blood loss. Go for the major arteries or heart using at least a 6 inch blade!

A friend in law enforcement and a high ranking self defence coach and filipino martial artist said this...." Its safe to ask the officer for time to articulate because of a highly adrenalized state" deep breaths ask for water and a coffee...whatever. The key is the ability to articulate, and its fairly specific whats best to say and not to say

I'm not convinced that the advice given here is entirely sound. Firstly, one should not approach such a situation with any fixed notions of how to defend. When being attacked such that one's life hangs in the balance, a defender takes whatever opportunity to strike his opponent as may present itself. If an opportunity to slash presents, you slash; to stab, you stab; to run like a scalded cat...

As for targets, just as with opportunities, you take what providence presents. If I can strike the neck, I'm striking the neck as that is the most likely to stop the attack forthwith. Your points about cutting tendons and muscle are all well taken, but your presentation was too static. If the only thing I can cut is the attacker's left toe, then that's what I attack.

Concerning use of proportional force - here I depart with you completely. If someone is threatening my life, I am going to use whatever force I deem necessary to get the job done, up to and including using terminal-level tactics. When fighting for one's life, there is no time to consider legalities. I would also point out that when the police arrive, assuming you've not left the scene, if you have any brains at all, you will refrain from saying anything. It is generally recommended that you say absolutely nothing for 72 hours after such an incident for reasons I will not go into here.

Thanks for helpful but brief video 👍