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William · 08-25-2006, 07:18 AM

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Somebdy much smarter than me siad that to be prepared for war is the best way to keep the peace (or something to that effect) and let us not forget Teddy Roosevelt's (it was originally an African proverb, btw) advice to "speak softly and carry a big stick."

I agree (as I stated above).

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The fact that at least two of you have encounters with a blade would lead me to question that knife attacks are not that common in this country.......Close combat weapons are the great equalizer. Once you start looking out for them, you'll be amazed at how many people have weapons on them- from boxcutters, yawaras. clubs, spray deterrents, stunners, blades, chains, etc.

Knife attacks are not that common compared to other types of attacks. And, not as common compared to other countries that have a more blade oriented culture. That certainly does not mean that they don't happen. Knives themselves though are not uncommon. I recently went to an air show with my family. They had advertised that they would have heightened security and would be doing checks on people going into the venue. I tried to make a mental note to leave my "tool" in the car. Of course when the day of the show came and I got through the hassle of parking and making our way to the entrance I had forgotten to leave it in the car. I always have at least one on me and don't even think about it. I use it at work and at home so it's SOP...second nature. When I see the check point I remember I still have it. They had the metal detectors out and were wanding people as they passed through. They were also checking back packs and bags. I decided it would be prudent to approach one of the MP's and explain that I had forgotten to leave my "tool" in the car. He said, "No problem, come see me when you leave and I'll give it back to you". He then took it and dropped it into a duffel bag that was on one of the tables. We went in after that and I mentally wrote off my knife thinking I'd never see it again. A few hours later we stopped at the check point on the way out. A different Sergeant was there talking with two State Police officers. I walked up to him and explained what the previous Sergeant had said. He says "sure, what's it look like?" and grabs the duffel bag and opens it up and starts rooting around inside. I could see pepper spray containers and around 30 to 40 (guessing) knives in the bottom of the bag. Mine wasn't that hard to find since it was one of the old style Endura's. They appeared to all be folders/"tactical" folders of different sizes and makes. I didn't notice any fixed blades. So out of at least a few thousand people, they pulled maybe 30 to 40 blades plus assorted other types of weapons out of the crowd. How many of those people left weapons of some sort in their car I can not answer.

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I agree that the attributes you develop in knife fighting are essential and translate well to empty-hand (and grappling).

Very true, when you get used to dealing with impact weapons and blades coming at you at 90+ mph, dealing with open hands is a whole lot easier. In the Kali fencing we do, the blades move so fast that in the beginning it is really hard to keep track of them. But after a while your blade awareness and reaction times get so fast that your able to effectively counter and react to the blades. Again, this translates real well to open hand.
http://williamsmartialblog.blogspot....ted-blade.html

Best regards,
William