by Steve James on Tue Feb 13, 2018 12:45 pm
I dunno. Where I live, there'd be only a couple of potential knife attack scenarios. The most probable is that there'll be a group of guys to surround and one or two with knives. The other is an ambush or sneak attack by one person. In the latter situation, it's possible that there'll be a chance to try some technique or other. Well, the third is a combination of the first and second, with the important addition of the intent to kill.
Imo, with a group of armed attackers, c'mon, give 'em your wallet and watch, if they ask. "IF" they ask, they probably don't want to kill you. With a single attacker, it's the same, actually. However, if you're in a struggle against a guy with a knife who's trying to stab you, I don't think stabbing him is a problem.
I agree with Giles, though. Deliberately killing someone when it isn't necessary will get you into trouble. Otoh, if the person survives, you could get into more trouble. I think that, ideally, the goal is to incapacitate the attacker --when it comes to self-defense. Imo, training with a blade, for self defense, should be aimed at learning how to do that efficiently. That just means learning where to cut and why.
For me, practicing cuts that will kill (which is common in fma, for ex) makes perfect sense. Killing a helpless person is not self defense.
"A man is rich when he has time and freewill. How he chooses to invest both will determine the return on his investment."