What are the secrets of knife fighting?

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Luna · Answer

Find a knife or weapon fighting system first of all and practice. There are several systems that practice martial arts with small weapons like knives and really any of them will do. Sayoc Kali popuarlised in the movie The Hunted is cool one for instance.
Any sort of martial art system with reactions is better than whimsical “secrets”. Training intuition, instinct and reaction is more important than secrets.
But here are some anyway:
Run away. Any sort of fight is not worth it. A knife fight is definitely not worth it. Nobody is going to win, both or one party is going to get cut and stabbed up with superficial and internal injuries that will last a lifetime. Both of you will likely go to jail afterwards or to the morgue. Only fight if your cornered or stupid.

2. Keep distance. From the five rings a classic stance is to keep the blade between you and your opponent. This intimidates your opponent and will give you confidence. To keep your guard up so to speak. If he charges in you stab him and you can thrust and get him easier.

Guard wise you want your arms and hands to get cut over anything in your body. Its worth your arm getting cut or stabbed and you stab his stomach.

3. Your other limbs are weapons. A common mistake in a knife fight, is people only use their knives focus in on their knives, when they have four good limbs available for kicking and punching, elbowing etc.

4. Never throw your knife at a person. It won’t work. You will just lose your knife.

5. You won’t know when you are stabbed or you stab someone. Its not like the movies with bullets and knives a single stab or a single bullet kills someone. People keep going like nothing has happened, they might react momentarily but they will keep going until they collapse from blood loss.
So even after a fatal wound people can keep fighting for minutes after the fact. They won’t notice they are cut and they won’t stop. It means just because you stab someone, you get that hit, its not over the fight is still on until someone collapses, runs away.
Your ideal strategy that isn’t some crazy consensual knife fight is to pull your knife out, and make a means of escape. Don’t turn your back on your opponent until they stop following for a good while.

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Aubrey · Answer

1.) There is no such thing as a “knife fight,” at least not like you see in the movies. Two people never square off with knives (unless they are stupid kids acting out what they see in the movies). There are certainly places in the world (like many areas in Southeast Asia) where you might be attacked by someone with a knife, and the only tool you might have to defend yourself is a knife. But it’s gonna be over in seconds and there won’t be any posturing. You keep your knife hidden and wait for the thug to attack. At the last possible moment you pivot to the side and stick your blade in a soft part of your enemy. Then you drag it to the side, making the biggest gouge you possibly can, and leap away.
2.) Everyone leaks in knife fight. My silat teacher used to say, “if you’re going to play with knives, you better learn to get cut.” I have very-well-healed scars on my hands, arms and lower back. The “secret” is that you don’t stop when you get cut; you don’t panic when you get cut — you dig in and keep fighting. Early last year I inadvertently cut a finger to the bone. I needed the assistance of a young man who was working for me to bandage it. When he saw the depth of the wound, he almost puked. I was ho-hum. Been there, done that. Bandaged myself and others.
3.) Never telegraph to your enemy that you have a knife. The first time that he should realize that you have a knife is when he feels it slashing into him. Learn how to hide your knife in your hand. Learn how to deploy the blade of folding knife quickly and efficiently. A balisong is slower to open than a top-flight flipper, but when the blade clicks into place, the knife is positioned properly in your hand. With a standard folding knife, you have to reposition the knife for it be useful. Pr…

Reese · Answer

The big secret of knife fighting is that, at least in terms of the small blades you typically associate with street/prison/non-martial-arts-or-professional-combat settings, there is no secret necessary .
You take your knife, you get close enough, and you stab every part of your opponent’s torso you can stab as quickly as you can, and then you run away and let him bleed out.
Anyone professing to share the “secrets of knife fighting” with you has, at best, dressed that fact up in a pretty tutu, but knife fighting really is that simple. There’s no need for clever targeting, no need for really even any muscle memory besides “playing sewing machine with my pokey thing.”
As several others here have said, hkives are not weapons of “combat” — they are weapons of murder.

Genesis · Answer

The true secret of knife fights is that there is no such thing. Assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, and murder are what really happens.
There are no winners; it’s just a question of who loses less, whether in legal or physical terms. Usually the aggressor comes out on top simply because they’re the person choosing when, where and how they attack you.
This can be deadly enough in a bare-handed assault as people can and do kill by sucker-punching unwitting victims. A knife multiplies the danger substantially.

sheca · Answer

If the other man has a knife in his hand and is facing you, challenging you to a duel, the best thing to do is immediately apologize for offending him and decline to duel… perhaps even offer to pick up his bar tab, because it is virtually guaranteed alcohol is involved. Leave without turning your back. Avoid returning to that venue.
If this secret tactic is unsuccessful, immediately wrap your jacket around your weak arm to use as an improvised shield and loudly state, “Please don’t stab me! I just want to go home!” Hopefully he will start laughing and call you a “little bitch” or others will intervene and tell him “it isn’t worth it” so you can leave.
If secret tactic number two fails to work, you need to start throwing beer bottles, ashtrays, and pool balls at him before running away.
I studied knifefighting for over 25 years and trained with the top Masters in America. There are a few moves that are impossible to defend against, but they require years of training to develop… thousands of hours simply to learn how to “win” a knife duel. That is just silly, everyone carries guns now.
The only “secret” you need to remember is: “NEVER go knife to knife.” Use a superior weapon or retreat. A small knife is a very poor first choice of weapon, practically an improvised weapon to be used when no other option is available. Knives are best utilized against unarmed attackers.
C. R. Jahn, author of FTW Self Defense

Sadie · Answer

There are Several Secrets to Knife Fighting    I. It’s Almost Always An Ambush !!!   It’s very unlikely going to be to people squaring off and dancing around like a duel. Though that’s the way most “knife systems” train.   II. Learn To Get Out of The Way   You’d be surprised how effective not being in the way of a knife helps. This also means making track as soon as you sense a knife being draw. Ideally before, developing clairvoyance helps.   III. The pointy end goes into the other guy    IV. Cheat   You have to survive and you want to stack the odds in your favor. Why do you think the other guy is pulling a knife on you.   The biggest secret of all ???   There are no secrets.  Just survivors with painful lessons to share.

Lilybelle · Answer

Here’s the big secret: THERE IS NO WINNER IN A KNIFE FIGHT.    Seriously, you’re not walking away from a knife fight with all your blood still in your body.    You can train in various forms of knife fighting for years, and then face a rank amateur…  and you’re STILL gonna bleed .  You might “win” in that you manage to kill someone. But you’re not coming out unscathed. Because if you’re close enough to put a blade in me, then the reverse is also true.  I’ve seen soldiers criticizing units that train in knife fighting tactics on this basis:   For a soldier to apply the skills of knife fighting:   1) He needs to lose his unit.  2) He needs to lose his rifle  3) He needs to lose any sidearms, grenades, etc.  4) He needs to lose his shovel.  6) He needs to find himself in an area devoid of rocks and big sticks.  7) And in that place, he must then chance to meet another equally useless idiot from the enemy force.  I’ve read a LOT of books full of soldier’s accounts from battles throughout history. And I’ve never once heard any story of two soldiers facing off in a knife fight.

Kennedy · Answer

I read this somewhere, not sure where, but it truly defines a knife fight. “The loser dies at the scene, the winner dies in the ambulance in route to the hospital.”

Savannah · Answer

When two people are fighting over a knife, the guy who is holding the grip usually wins.

Kylie97 · Answer

Bring a gun…
Knife fighting is difficult in that the opponent can be very unpredictable. What little knowledge I have pretty much consists of keeping something between the blade and your vitals. Stay back long enough to see if the opponent has some sort of pattern and decide the best way to get in close. Using your arm or whatever, deflect their blade outwards, get in close and if you also have a blade, well it should be clear where to go from there…

Camila · Answer

The BIGGEST and most well kept secret of knife fighting is… Avoid it! No one wins a knife fight.

Charlotte · Answer

One basic principle I have learned (and experts might disagree):
Keep your knife hand closer to your body, prepared to slash or stab.
If you can, wrap your other hand with clothing and extend that in front of you to block the opponent’s knife (yes, you will likely get seriously cut, especially if you don’t wrap your hand with cloth).
When your opponent strikes, use your other hand to catch or deflect his blade, then move in with your knife hand.
This is very unlike what you see in the movies, where knife fighters always have their knife hand extended. If your knife hand is cut, you will drop your knife and become defenseless.
Having said that, you don’t want to take it to this point. Other people answering this question have good advice about trying to run away first.

Kylie97 · Answer

there are only two secrets to knife fighting number 1 don't get in one and number 2 if you do get into one make sure you bring a gun.

Lyla · Answer

I don’t know if these qualify as “secrets” but I have 2 suggestions (as long as they are legal—not encouraging anyone to break the law).
#1—Avoid knife fights—in fact avoid all fights whenever possible.
#2—Bring a gun to a knife fight.

Aaliyah · Answer

No secret just study a weapon based martial art like kali it is only fair if both people is armed and you fight differently if you are unarmed your a bit stuffed as your likely hood to win is pretty low, still possible but wouldn’t recommend it even with training. Just run away which is your best bet. Only secret is to avoid fights and run away when you are clearly outmatched.

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What are the secrets of knife fighting?

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