Would a rope be a good weapon in a fight?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “knife on rope weapon“
About Amelia
Written by: Amelia
Published on:
Would a rope be a good weapon in a fight?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “knife on rope weapon“
About Amelia
Maybe not just a bare rope. But have you heard of a rope dart? It is a type of flexible weapon in Chinese martial arts.
It is a long sturdy rope with a metal dart on the tip. There is a technique to roll and wrap it securely around your forearm to conceal it, and it will be easy to unravel without tangling or getting into knots.
Scorpion from the Mortal Kombat games uses a chain version of this weapon.
The actual art uses different variations of twining, shooting, and retrieval of the dart tip by manipulating the rope with your body. It is a very difficult art to learn, but experts can use all their limbs to make graceful movements.
In combat, they can use the dart tip to cut or pierce. They can also use the tip as a weight, and the rope tip as a sort of bola to trip or restrain. Finally the rope itself can be used to tie or even choke an opponent.
Against most modern weapons, it might not be as effective. Against an amateur opponent? This weapon can confused them and give you an unpredictable advantage.
Watch this skilled practioner. At one point, he tosses a soda can and hits it mid-air, by twirling his rope dart like a whip, then redirecting it with his toes. In another, he hits a can by jumping in the air, and aiming the dart using his knee.
Some people might go, “hey, I’ll just grab the rope and pull him/her off balance. Or get my knife and cut their rope”. Really? You will be able to anticipate and catch that rope? Do you even know what angle it will be coming from? Good luck.
Wanbasion Black Stainless Steel Knife Set, Sharp Kitchen Knife
Define rope. If you just mean some random piece of thin rope then not really. You can however turn a rope end into a very effective weapon by the construction of decorative knots. Something like a monkey’s fist filled with a hard round object in a 1” or larger piece of hemp is like a slightly flexible mace. Definitely going to ruin someone’s day.
Authentic XYJ Since 1986,Outstanding Ancient Forging,6.7 Inch Full Tang
As a rule, no. Ropes do not transfer force well.
Consider a stick. You can whack or poke someone with one. You are transferring energy.
Now imagine hitting someone with a rope. Being soft and flexible, it won’t transfer well. You might get some incidental whip-like effect, and putting a weight on the end of the rope will help it transfer energy, but just a stout stick will be a better weapon than a rope, outside of a few niche situations.
Original question- Would a rope be a good weapon in a fight?
Amazon Basics 14-Piece Kitchen Knife Block Set, High-Carbon
It definitely can be.
The question is, which type of fight? One on one, hand-to-hand? A rope is a pretty terrible weapon in most direct fights.
But for stealth/assassination, a rope can be an extremely deadly weapon. A simple garrote is one of the most dangerous weapons out there.
(In my opinion, this is the scariest weapon because of its simplicity and single use-case. I find it almost evil in its effectiveness. This is not a weapon for good people.)
As a side note, never tighten a rope or blanket or string around someone’s neck. There is a very high chance you could accidentally kill them.
Chicago Cutlery Belden 15 Piece Premium Kitchen Knife
Not in most cases. A rope used to counter and trap the knife hand of an attacker can be very good ‘if’ you’re quick and don’t let go of either end of the rope. For an effective visual demonstration, watch Ben Affleck in “The Accountant” use his belt to entrap his opponent’s arm/knife and render him immobile. It can work but it’s not always as ‘easy’ as in the movies. But having a rope to counter a knife attack sure beats the Hell out of a cell phone!
Mossy Oak Survival Hunting Knife with Sheath, 15-inch Fixed Blade
Absolutely, as a lasso. A rope can be used to control another person’s weight from a distance, can immobilize limbs, etc. A good horseman could probably rope someone around the kneck and then hang them from a tree without ever touching them.
For this you need a long rope though, and ideally a horse. Not very convenient to carry a 10ft length of rope around.
Zelite Infinity Damascus Chef Knife 8 Inch, Japanese Chef Knife
As a few answers will no doubt tell you, the rope on its own is not a very good weapon.
There are only two ways that I know of that would make the rope a viable weapon:
If it’s a long rope, and there’s a weight at the end, turning it into a sort of flail.
If it’s a short rope and you’re skilled enough to use it to arrest your enemy’s movements or to garrote them.
Gerber Gear 22-48485 Paraframe Mini Pocket Knife, 2.2 Inch Fine Edge Blade
Yes – but you must have good footwork to close the distance and quick hands to make a capture of a limb (arms) or neck. One thing though. Don’t even try to make a capture of the leg.
I wrote a book on it: Pananandata Rope Fighting (Paladin Press, 1989).
I am not aware of any other book that focused on the subject.
Author : The Art of Throwing (Tuttle Publishing, 2007 & 200); Archery for Beginners (Tuttle Publishing, 2019)
Victorinox Fibrox Pro Knife, 8-Inch Chef’s FFP, 8 Inch, Black
No, not in the hands of most people. It could be used as an effective means to strangle someone, but that’s not fighting – that’s killing someone.
Pocket Knife Spring Assisted Folding Knives
Absolutely. The kyoketsushoge, the kaginawa, the rope dart, the manriki kusari-fundo, and the kusarigama, are all either rope style tools of self defense, or could be used as a substitute for the chain style tools of self defense, in the absence of a chain
CJRB CUTLERY Folding Knife Crag
Depends on the resistance of the rope. Dont try fighting back with a long string.
Your belt would be a better option.
RoverTac Pocket Knife Multitool Folding Knife Tactical Survival Camping Knife
In the late 60’s/early 70s, the SF writer Piers Anthony wrote a fantasy trilogy about a post-Apocalyptic Earth where the men constantly fight for reputation, and each is named for his weapon of choice.
The first book is titled Sos the Rope.
It’s something of a stretch.
Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops SWA24S 7.1in S.S. Folding Knife with 3.1in
Yes, any weapon that can competently be used to increase your effectiveness to cause injury and ideally reduce chance of injury to yourself is a good weapon in a fight.
Rope Chain, added effectiveness to above techniques.
And finally origin of the word THUG.
Authentic Sikh Martial Arts to this day can be highly secretive, an entire branch of Sikh Martial Art involves using ropes and strings in complex ways as weapons.
The world is your oyster if you use your brain.
Tac-Force- Spring Assisted Folding Pocket Knife
So, think through the ways to fight with a rope.
You swing and hit somebody with a rope, if you managed to hit some bare skin they might get a welt there. They then stab you with their spear. So just swinging a rope won’t do.
So, we had a heavy weight to the rope. This essentially gives us a flail or a chained mace. The problem there is that flails\chained maces really weren’t used much in ancient combat much. And the reason they weren’t used is that they just aren’t very good weapons. They’re slow, hard to control, have a tendency to hurt the person using them and have very little defensive use.
So that leaves us with using the rope in some kind of tricky way. Like perhaps as a lasso or snare. There was a type of Roman gladiator that fought with a lasso and a sword, although how effective it really was is unknown. As with most of the fanciful Roman gladiator types, they would have been better off simply getting rid of the exotic weapons and using a shield.
So while they are ways that a rope could be used as a weapon, it really won’t ever be a good weapon.
MOSFiATA 8 Super Sharp Professional Chef’s Knife
Not getting into a fight is the best way to have a good weapon for a fight.
Rope and line can work well. Wrap a couple lengths around their neck. It will cause them to rethink their actions.
I’ve seen people put knots in thick rope. Swinging them around like nunchucks hurts when impacted with certain parts of your body.
From my experience using rope, it would work fairly well in a fight. If you had to fight and that was the only object available.
Otherwise go away.
When I was incarcerated, people were given blanket parties. Sheets, blankets and whatnot were thrown over their heads, immobilizing them while certain objectionable actions were performed against their bodies.
I used to have a fair command on rope. I used it for many things. High lead, tying loads down on my vehicles, towing cars, making nets. I have used rope and net to immobilize people, not people, objects and inanimate objects.
Duct tape works the best for restraints.
. In retrospect, a rope at neck level, if someone is running at you, stretched between two objects, is preferable then confronting a person. I can stay removed while they get decapitated.
You don’t need a rope. You ever try to walk with your shoelaces tied together?
12-Piece Color-Coded Kitchen Knife Set, 6 Knives with 6 Blade Guards
If you know how to use it properly.
I once took an improvised weapons course. Basically using whatever random stuff you find near you to defend yourself if attacked. One of the things I learned was that just a simple piece of cloth, such as a light weight scarf, can make an excellent self defense weapon.
A rope, particularly if it has a knot on one end, could potentially be even more effective.
But you have to know how to use it properly.
However, the best self defense really comes from your feet as you use them to run away from a potential fight. Fights should be avoided at all costs if at all possible. Never fight unless you have no chance of escape.
imarku Japanese Chef Knife – Pro Kitchen Knife 8 Inch Chef’s Knives
A rope could possibly be a good weapon in a fight IF there was a heavy object on the end of it. Or possibly off of horseback.
Anything can be a weapon if used properly… 🙂
ALBATROSS EDC Cool Sharp Tactical Folding Pocket Knife
If rope was a good weapon in a fight, we would see its use historically. We would have rope fighting schools with rope fighting tournaments. There would be rope fighting reenactors. Rope is not a good weapon in a fight.
HENCKELS 8-pc Steak Knife Set
Just rope? No, I don’t think so.
You can use it but I don’t think it’s that much different from using your bare hand, in comparison to say knife which can kill people (thus make them afraid to charge recklessly) or a stick from maybe a broom which gives you a bit more range and safety.
MOSSY OAK 14-inch Bowie Knife, Full-tang Fixed Blade Wood
Would a rope be a good weapon in a fight?
Better than nothing, I suppose (although even that’s debatable), but certainly not good .
First and foremost, flexible weapons are notoriously unpredictable and difficult to use. If you’re unpracticed then you’re as likely to hit yourself as your opponent. Even relatively good people hit themselves all the time.
The best thing to do is to keep it short, so the only thing you’re likely to hit is your forearm. You’re less likely to hurt yourself that way.
The next issue is that flexible things by their very nature tend to dissipate force. Because the full energy of your swing isn’t transferred to the target you need to increase the energy at the business end by adding weight.
So tie a hefty knot in the end. If you have the time and expertise, a monkey’s fist is perfect.
That’ll certainly hurt, and might well be enough to send someone running. But if you’re being attacked with serious intent, it’s not going to do enough damage to stop them (unless you hide a big metal weight in that knot, of course).
Frankly, you’re better off with a good stout stick.
Spring Assisted Knife – Pocket Folding Knife – Military Style