Knife Self Def - Live!

[kshurika]

A few points:

1) My Xing Yi instructor says to never turn your back on your opponent. Instead, turn HIS back to you so that you can beat the crap out of him.

2) I've had knives pulled on me by very unstable people. In all cases, I've back-pedaled, watching where I'm going to make sure I don't fall. I've NEVER tried going head-to-head (or arm-to-arm) with a knife-holder.

3) I was in a knife fight in Varanasi, India. I was the guy with the knife. I'd had no MA or knife training whatsoever (other than a long-ago smattering of Kenpo and a bit of Chen). I won. The four other guys (who had ambushed me) lost. What was my edge, you might ask? It was the knife. My knife-fighting record is a perfect 1-0.

4) My name's "Kshurika", not Kushirka or Kushurika. It's Sanskrit for "dagger". Of course, it's not my real name. My real name is Eric Clapton. Perhaps you've heard of me.

[RobP2]

Sorry I mis-spelt your screen name. Eric Clapton - yeah I heard of you, you're a famous drummer aren't you?

[kshurika]

You're mixing me up with Ginger Baker. I play spoons (and skin flute). Now, there's another Eric Clapton who plays guitar, but that's some other guy. I'll bet I could take him in a knife fight, though. After all, my record is perfect.

Andy_S:

Just watched the Karl Tanswell interview and, again, I was laughing uproariously. But, this time it was because he was hilariously ball-busting the phonies who teach so-called knife defense. Thanks for posting it. My only regret is that now I'm going to have to sell my cammies and c-rations on Ebay and eat pasta salad at the next seminar I attend. I REALLY thought those cammies would make me a badass! Instead, they just make my ass look big.

DAMN!

[JAB]

Link????

[Chris Fleming]

Wow was that a "How to Die" seminar?

5 Easy Steps to get Killed Seminar?

[kshurika]

Andy_S:

Missed the second Tanswell link. No laughs (although his audience was howling). Scary. He knows his stuff. Why? 'Cause he got all stabbed up. The Mancunian accent is hard (and I lived in England). But, he's got some hard-earned wisdom. I wish I'd met him before I showed up in Varanasi.

Wow was that a "How to Die" seminar?

5 Easy Steps to get Killed Seminar?

Oh, let's not be so harsh, now. It was a "Let's all pretend we know how to defend against knives" seminar. It instills confidence and self-esteem.



Then, later you get killed.

[ashe]

Gents:

I am not given either to public service or to public service announcements, but I would respectfully draw your attention to the "Knife Self Def - Live!" thread....most particularly the Karl Tanswell post.

I just found, and posted, a YouTube clip of Tanswell who (for reasons given on the thread) is, I believe, a voice of reason in knife self defense. I first heard about him a couple of years ago from a HIGHLY credible source (details also given in the post) but did not know that he (Tanswell) had a web presence.

For anyone who has ever considered this aspect of SD - which would be everyone reading this forum, I'd guess - I recommend looking at his clip (the second one in the post, albeit the first is also worth a peruse). He makes, IMHO, some very important points.

End message. (Andy_S salutes, bows, exits stage left.)

andy, if you think a topic is worthy of discussion, just keep posting in it or cross linking in other topics. the announcement topic in THE SAME SUB-FORUM is just clutter and actually serves to distract from the discussion by splitting the conversation, especially given you didnt post a link to the post in question.

[RobP2]

Not a seminar, just some drills in class working on some aspects of knife defence, as I keep saying, blah blah blah etc etc . And I'm still interested to seeing all your clips

cheers
Rob

PS - thankfully no-one killed yet despite some close calls
PPS - Gareth still alive shock news despite not knowing secret qi-gong method

[kshurika]

Tanswell interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdb2hWNJF5U



Tanswell teaching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KAT5-OI ... re=related

[Andy_S]

Whoops, there is the Tanswell STAB link ("Tanswell Teaching") above.

Hat tip to Kurishka. I mean Skurishka. Er...Kshurika.

Ashe:

Ah well, I AM SORRY for being a NAUGHTY LAD and I absolutely promise NOT TO DO IT AGAIN,though I think this was IMPORTANT. Seriously, I do think that Tanswell is a pretty sharp blade, as he cuts through the crap. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that his well-honed system is on the cutting edge of his subject. If other posters take my point, I look forward to them backing my to the hilt on this.

(Puns not entirely unintentional)

[DeusTrismegistus]

I'd recommend the "red marker" test to some of the Systema practitioners we've seen on video in training their knife defenses.

done it. It's ok but what do you do while the other guy is going all out? Do you go all out too?



Feel free to post anything you have of your own work. The clip is ok but the other guy stops once he makes contact with him

Ok what I see in this clip is a progression of working on aspects of working against a weapon. First is a combination of learning to stay relaxed while facing a weapon. My friend who is now in Afghanistan and saw action in Bosnia told me that him and his buddies treat every deployment with the assumption that they will NOT be coming home. That doesn't mean he has given up but that he is putting what he has to do above anything else. He still has to shoot back, he still has to move and if he was too afraid to die to do what he has been trained to than he will die. He might anyways. But the guys who are afraid are the ones who get killed most often according to him. The first part of the training in the vid should help with a similar mindset, the knife is dangerous but this should help get you comfortable enough so that you can move and give yourself a chance. It also is them trying to minimize damage from the blade.

Using the arms is simply a close range parry practice. IF you can't get out of the way and IF you can't control the arm then its better to parry with the arm than get stabbed in the body. The parries also set up contact that could allow further control of the attacking arm.

Strike placement vs single attack is exactly what it says. It is like a simple exercise to move from purely defensive movement which was only what was demoed before to beginning to make offensive movements with a focus on movements that will harm or hopefully at least stun the opponent making opportunity for follow up.

Evade only vs marker is a drill for practicing evasion with feedback. Given its evade only you will get "cut" which I would think would be part of the point. It demonstrates that even with great evasion skills that against a knife you need to stop the attacker.

The fighting back part is like an accumulation of the previous drills. Most of the attacks are dealt with immediately on the first attack.

Of course there is lots of room for criticism and addressing other areas of knife defense but the questions would be does this training address things in a manner that is encountered in some knife assaults and if it does then does it do so in a manner that works to teach effective defense?

[RobP2]

Seriously, I do think that Tanswell is a pretty sharp blade, as he cuts through the crap. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that his well-honed system is on the cutting edge of his subject. If other posters take my point, I look forward to them backing my to the hilt on this.

Judging the whole program on a couple of minutes clip would be unfair, so I'd be keen to see his work on concealed knives, working in amongst groups etc. I'm also not entirely clear from the clip what you actually do to the other guy that makes him not stab you as you run off. Looks like a headbutt?

cheers

Rob

[DeusTrismegistus]

This knife clip I don't see so much as practice but as testing. Its done at pretty much full speed with intent. It shows an accumulation of various skills. In the first attack you can see that he evades the first swing, then on the second swing parries and grabs the attackers arm and closes in. He performs a chopping throw and gets cut in the back when he does it but then controls the arm and finishes the attacker. Its uses several distinct skill sets which can be broken down and trained separately.

[Andy_S]

Deus:

Well, that is the point. He is training knife SD about as 'live' as you possibly can. Most other people break it down into bits and pieces (hence the slagging of Rob's Systema clip, above) but you rarely see it all put together as impressively as this.

[DeusTrismegistus]

Deus:

Well, that is the point. He is training knife SD about as 'live' as you possibly can. Most other people break it down into bits and pieces (hence the slagging of Rob's Systema clip, above) but you rarely see it all put together as impressively as this.

The problem is putting it together. You don't learn as well by only being exposed to the full speed all inclusive version. Thats like saying there is no use for solo and partner drills in empty hand work.