Short knife defense posture
Any defensive or offensive maneuver should be built on a good foundation. The most effective poses are the adjusted boxing poses:
1) Open your hands
2) Never stand too straight or face your opponent head-on. While this is a natural reaction, you won’t be able to protect yourself.
3) Since your trunk organs are the primary target of the knife, focus on defending there.
4) Lower your standing posture by leaning forward at the waist.
5) Keep your knees bent and position your feet appropriately, just like in boxing poses (e.g., not too narrow and not too wide). This is the basis for your balance, flexibility, strength, and power – without any of the above, all of these important defensive principles are complete.
6) Keep your eyes straight ahead and keep your eyes open at all times, especially when you’re being hit, although that’s when it’s hardest.
Figure: Correct short knife defense posture
Pictured: Poor short knife defense posture. The defender stands too straight and faces the opponent head-on.
Figure: Take these two bad feet as an example. In the first photo, the feet are too close together, and in the second photo, the feet are too far apart.
But no matter how good your posture is, you can’t defend all positions at all times. However, if your opponent doesn’t want to be violently resisted, they’ll have to attack as close as possible. Your hands will provide most of the necessary resistance.
Before you try the morphing forms of standing and manoeuvre, you should be proficient in the basics. In real combat, if you want your basic skills to be effective, you must have a lot of training and experience.
The defense is seized by the opponent
Be careful, an experienced short-knife fighter may try to control and attack your left side by grabbing and twisting you. You must prevent your opponent from grabbing your left arm or controlling your left side in any form, and never turn around and expose your left side. Of course, if your opponent is left-handed, all of the above has to be reversed.
Figure: It’s easy to see why you can’t let the attacker control your left side. Note that after the third picture, the defender is completely exposed and has no defense. In reality, this series of situations will end in seconds.
To defend well, your standing and the position of your left arm are important. You can only block with your left arm when your opponent stabs you with a knife. You should stand so that your opponent’s knife must go through your left arm and ribs to stab you. Similarly, if your opponent holds a knife in his left hand, it will all have to be reversed, because then he will try to expose your right side.
Your right hand (clenched) is not motionless, it is always waiting for possible offensive (or defensive) opportunities.
Grab and take out the knife
No matter how skillful your defensive tactics are when you’re standing, grappling happens from time to time. Some people will consciously grab you before stabbing you. Getting stabbed in a grappling is one of the many situations that can happen in a typical street fight. You won’t know who you’re dealing with, so never underestimate anyone!
It’s the same if you look at it from your (offensive) point of view. If your opponent is standing and you’re determined to kill him, you can do the same, but you have to be prepared to pay the price.
Pictured: This is one of many examples of stabbing in grappling.
Pictured: Another demonstration of grappling and knife shooting.
The principle of grabbing
Pictured: Grab the block with your forehand
A grab is a powerful slap that grabs an opponent’s arm. It can be used to dispel the opponent’s jabs. The slaps are fast and heavy, usually done with the forehand in a short knife defensive position.
Grabbing should not be confused with fixation. Do not try to secure the attacker’s knife or arm. Experienced opponents will immediately withdraw the knife, which makes fixation very dangerous.
If you’re attacked, the first objective is to grab (pull away the knife that comes at you) until you have a chance to fight back or escape. If you’re barehanded, run whenever you can. It’s not a fight in school.
If you have to block with your right hand (for example, if your opponent is left-handed), then the opponent will be very close and you will have to attack with your left hand (forehand) and use your right hand (dominant hand) to block. The key is to be flexible in your defense – don’t limit yourself to grabbing with your forehand, as the environment can change in seconds, forcing you to change your defensive strategy.
Similarly, the attacker’s natural reaction is to retract his knife-wielding hand after the stab. You must strike him in the eye or throat before he withdraws his knife holder. Once he withdraws the knife, he will be able to defend himself effectively and attack again.
Never try to force any technique in a short knife defense. You have to wait for an opportunity to present before launching an active attack. Forcibly creating opportunities is at least difficult, and potentially dangerous. You should focus on defense until your opponent’s weapon is in a relatively safe position. This is very important, in the short knife defense you are defending and counterattacking, not actively attacking! The opponent with the knife obviously has more control over the situation and is therefore sure to go on the offensive.
Figure: Grab the block with the dominant hand. True short-knife combat is fast and unpredictable, so you’ll have to be able to adjust your defense strategy in an instant.
Your focus of attention depends on the weapon your opponent uses. The afterglow of the eyes is important for mastering the movements of the rest of the opponent’s body.
Even in small spaces, you have to keep moving. Don’t let your opponent stand firm for a more powerful attack. You can run away, defend or attack, but never let your mindset become negative.
