knives for self defense

[Harley]

blade color and quick draws

glad to see such positive response on my thread. thanks for the interest.
as far as blade color, i agree with the others on this, he will not see the blade until he feels it. it might be because of my tactics as opposed to the color of blade but either way, he will only feel the burn. also, i might add that although i have carried a blade for 10 years now i have never drawn it. now that may seem normal considering many people go their whole lives with out that need, but as a professional bouncer for the last few years i have been in over 300 fights in the last 2 years alone. many assailants had weapons, many situations were multiple assailants, but i did not draw because i never felt in fear on great bodily harm or death. that's the only time i would draw my blade. so if i pull it i will have a good reason, with good reason and good moral justification, i can leagally do what i need to do.
secondly, quick draws. i practice them quite a bit, i even sell homevideos on how to do this. it's normally just for people in our organization but it covers these training methods.
1. balloons - tape balloons on a cardboard box. the practice drawing your clipit and popping the balloon. there are some small points of interest that make this faster but the main one is practice.
2. rushing attackers - i DO NOT recommend that you have people rush you while you draw your knife. i use a training method from Bando, you get a cardboard tube, and have someone throw it to you, you draw and thrust it with your knife, (caution.. this can cause the knife to slip in your hand cutting you so be very careful) you and also use old phone books wrapped in duct tape. works well and little bigger than the tubes.
if you would like more info on drills like this let me know, it's a big part of our training here.
harley

[Kevin]

Harley

Hi Harley...

Just wanted to say that you have a nice looking web-page and school. The first thing I thought of when I saw the knife cutting pratcice pics (meat, etc....) was... Bando! Dr Gyi is the man!

Talk to you later...
~Kev

[Danny T]

Originally posted by Harley
I'm just curious, how many of you out there carry blades for self defense and what you carry and why. Just trying to see what the crowd is into.
Harley

I carry several "Toys", projectile and flexable as well as blades. As far as blades go, I carry a left handed Emerson on my right side (opens in pakal) and a right handed AFCK on the left side. I also carry a spyderco delica in my rt rear pocket and a benchmade ascent on my left leg above the ankle. Along with this I carry a Glock 27, a handkerchief with a ball bearing tied in one corner and my belt has a rather heavy buckle than can be removed with one hand and makes a very good flexable tool.
In my vehicles I carry a 45 cal 1911, a cold steel SRK on each side as well as in trunk and two fighting sticks(NOT RATTAN training sticks).

As far as the color of the blades, some are black some are shiny. I don't care. If it comes down to having to use any of these weapons then I will be fighting for my families or my life. I won't be showing off these weapons to impress or to intimidate. The only reason I will draw is to win and I will not be showing you what I will be winning with but using them to win.

Yes, I do practice drawing and applying all these weapons in as many different situations as I can think up. Evasion, weapon drawing and retention is extremely important.

Danny T

[Chad W. Getz]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Danny T

[i]
I carry a left handed Emerson on my right side (opens in pakal)
Danny T

Danny, which model is this? I carry a left handed Benchmade-Emerson model, but the knife no longer made under both names...I think it's just Emerson here. If we have the same one, I bet it is one of your favorites, fast draw, nice weight, and very sharp.

I know the feeling of one shouldn't pull his blade unless he is going to use it, but guys, don't overlook that you fighting with 3 guys in front of your family is not always safer than pulling out two blades and chasing them away and than removing your family from danger. Different areas of training. Also, a part of this is knowing when you can scare and when you can't. Being able to identify aggression levels in individual(and even animals) is as much a part of MA as throwing a jab or a fake to see how your opponent reacts.

[Danny T]

I carry a left handed Emerson on my right side (opens in pakal)
Danny T [/B][/QUOTE]

Danny, which model is this? I carry a left handed Benchmade-Emerson model, but the knife no longer made under both names...I think it's just Emerson here. If we have the same one, I bet it is one of your favorites, fast draw, nice weight, and very sharp.

Yea Chad the BM-Emerson and it is a favorite. I do like the Commander due to the handle and the very quick draw it has. There is a small detail on the blade that allows the blade to open as it is drawn out of the pocket. It is very quick however it is designed for sak-sak and with short blades I simply prefer pakal. ()

Danny T

[Harley]

Hello guys.
yes sir, i have taken alot of "impact training" ideas from Bando. also from several of my filipino instructors as well as my own stuff added in, even a little Lynn Thompson from Cold Steel.
I think it's all important and evey bit of information helps.
Yes i agree that you should know when to run and when to fight, i think you should put yourself in an environment where you will have to learn that behavior. it is an intergral part of martial arts training.
Great stuff so far guys, let me ask you guys
what kind of training do you guys do with your knives...
sumbrada, hubud, draws, cutting? just curious.
harley

[Bahala Na]

Hello Harley,
As you may have heard, Chuck sent me an Emmerson Commander, and I've been working a great deal with it. The draw-to-first-cut time with this knife is unbelievably fast...about half what it has been with any Benchmade I've owned, including my axis lock. If you draw it with the right hand, and cant your wrist like you're executing a shallow bong sao, the small wave on the back edge of the commander's blade clips onto the rim of your sweatpant waistband, your pocket, or any other piece of cloth, opening the blade the very same instant it clears your clothing. There are no secondary movements to pop the blade out! It's like drawing a fixed blade knife, and it works at any speed, but is amazing with the quick draw and cut drill you taught in Colorado. I can order you one a lot cheaper than I've seen them anywhere else, so if you wanna try it after you play with mine in January, I'd be happy to pick one up for you. P.S. I still carry my benchmade McHenry and Williams axis lock in my left pocket, and have the clip rigged for left hand draw. Plus a small spiderco in the back pocket by my wallet. The Sayoc guys are on the money when it comes to carrying lots of blades!
Hope to hear from you soon,
MIKE

[Harley]

hello mike,
great to hear from you, yes, i hear that it's a heck of a blade. i think brad has one am i right? anyway i'm glad some of the stuff i taught has helped out. i look forward to training with you and your guys next month. looks like dec. will be the first month i havn't had a visitor since we opened. your group will be the first visiting students of the year. how's pat? krystal wants to know. talk to you soon.
Maraming Salamat.
harley

[Bahala Na]

Actually, Brad got the McHenry and Williams axis lock, which is an amazingly fast blade in it's own right, but I can't do a lot of the Bando stuff with it for fear of slipping up onto the blade wit the power thrusts. The Emerson has some pretty deep grooves, and feels very secure on thrusts, although I think that the Benchmade's blade is better suited to poking. The Emerson is an all out slasher.
Pat is fine. Of course, he's still got that weight problem...=) No, actually, he and I went lifting last night and worked off some of the frustration from his cancelled fight. These local promoters suck. He trained for 9 weeks for this fight (Vale Tudo) and they cancelled two days before the event. Pat was, as they say, all dressed up with no one to choke. I'm looking way forward to coming out and seeing you soon. Lots to ask you. By the way, are you planning to go out to LA anytime soon? I know Guro is having a camp in March, and I think me and Di are going. It'd be great to see you there too. Let me know. Talk to you soon,
Mike

[Harley]

Hello Mike,
I agree with your evals on the blades. i'm waiting for the axis lock on a little more "harley" friendly design, i'd own one if i found one on sale but not a full boat price.
Sorry to hear about Pat's lack of fighting, he can always go back to bouncing and dumpster a few people. just kidding! it's far safer to have him fight in the ring, that way you can make sure he doesn't hurt anyone. tell him i said hello and better be working his weapons before he comes down. as for YOU i can't wait, my students are excited about having you down. got some fun ideas for our personal training. also working on a "private I.W.F.A." seminar with Tuhon Sayoc. sound interesting?
harley

[Bahala Na]

Sounds Great!!! I don't have long today, but I'll e-mail you.
Mike

[Guro Dave Gould]

Pull, draw and execute...

Hi guys,
I know that this thread started out as posing the question on the what, why, where and how of ones day to day carry. Then it branched off into another more important line of questioning and that was the ability to draw your weapon based on necessity. This is what I choose to comment on in posting my response.
I strongly feel that your ability to pull, open and execute with your blade is crucial in that if you can`t gain access to it when and if you need it, it is of little use to you. It`s like threatening someone with a gun and when that person decides to attack you with deadly intent, you have the gun but no bullets... The gun is of little effect with no bullets to deliver your deadly intent. Likewise a knife is of little consequence if you can`t get to it when and if you need it.
unfortunately this is an area in which too many pilipino warrior art enthusiasts blatantly ignore when it comes to the knife. Most people assume that when a possible life threatening situation befalls them that their knife will automatically, if by "magic" or some other nonsense transfer from the pocket to the hand. Which certainly will not be the case without the proper training. Your ability to pull, open and execute when the need arises is key and is an art within itself.
Basically, in Lameco anyway, there are 7 openings / starting positions from sak-sak (blade out position) and 7 from pakal (ice-pick grip), but feel free to invent your own as necessity calls on your own experience and creativity. However, the openings should be trained in order to maximize your ability to gain access to your knife post haste while dealing with various attacks on your position (punches, kicks, defending the shoot, defending a knife attack, etc...) and through realistic perception / reaction time, economy of motion, and proper positioning the training should allow you quick access to pull, open and execute in under a second with a fixed blade, folder or neck knife. Or for that matter any blades that you have access to belonging to your opponent as well.
keep in mind though that economy in motion plays a big part in your ability to do all of this with success. If you can`t pull, open and execute with your folder in less than 1 second you`re to slow. The secret is to clear any pathways leading to your knife (t`shirts, keys, coins in the coin pocket, belt if you carry on the inside of your waistband, etc...) and getting immediate access and quickly establishing a firm grasp on the knife handle is key, once you have contact with your knife it should only take a fraction of a second to pull and open at that point. Once you pull the blade you should be opening it almost immediately out of your pocket, whether by inertia or thumb-push, as soon as the blade firmly locks you have to immediately counter with a combination of thrusts or slashes with intention on your opponents position. Again let me reiterate that the time in which it should take you to pull, open and execute with the first strike should take no more than 1 second, if it takes longer than that it is too slow...
In the U.S. depending on how threatening the situation escalates itself will dictate how you should respond and whether or not you should use deadly force. In which case you have 3 options all involving pulling your folding knife with intention and speed but not necessarily opening and executing with it. The three different levels of escalation which will dictate your degree of response are: 1)~ you sense trouble and pull your knife as a precaution but feel that your life isn`t in danger so if provoked to fight you allow the closed knife to stay in your hand as if it were a 'roll of quarters' in the old days to solidify your hand which increases your punching capabilitiy and impact. But not using the handle to come into contact with your opponent at this point. 2)~ The situation escalates to a more dangerous level but does`nt justify taking a life. This will enable you to use your knife handle to put down the situation by defending against punches, kicks, shooting-in, etc... but does`nt justify deadly force. But use extreme caution when impacting someones skull with your knife handle as a blunt weapon delivered with heavy impact can break your opponents head and you may kill him, thereby over escalating the situation from its current status. 3)~ the situation escalates to an extremely dangerous level leaving you concerned for your life so this justifies you opening your blade and executing with reasonable deadly force (if another weapon is involved otherwise it will be seen as manslaughter). You can escalate to the level of threat that exists within the present altercation but you are not allowed to over escalate the situation. (knife to emptyhand, etc...)
This mentality gives you three options by which to deal with an altercation, you can use punches (fist loading your knife), the handle of the weapon, or the blade itself depending on how the situation escalates itself. So basically you have three options within one weapon. But above all the most important aspect of this progression is to be able to gain access to your knife when you need it and then you will respond accordingly 'on the fly' so to speak as you evaluate the situation at hand and decide which level of response to execute and proceed with.
Notice that when I began the previous paragraph I stated within the U.S. these things apply, I can assure you that your options will not be so limited in many third world nations. So when you travel abroad you have to switch your mentality to become more operational and be willing to do what you have to for the sake of self preservation and survival... A different world with a different set of rules. I`m a firm believer in that if you carry a knife you had better know without a doubt that you "will" use it to what ever extent necessary in order to put down a crisis situation whereby your life hangs in the balance of your decision making abilities, or you should`nt carry one at all. If you know that you won`t use it to possibly take a life than I suggest that you don`t carry one to begin with because on the street as on the battlefield hesitation translates itself as death...
Punong Guro Edgar G. Sulite would not carry a knife on his person as a day to day carry here in the U.S. because he had used one on numerous occasions in the past and he knew that he would use one again if given the choice. He "chose" not to carry while in the U.S. and felt more than compelled to carry while living in the Philippines. Although I might add that he had many knives, machetes and swords in his home as to protect himself and his family against would be "hold uppers", "killers" and "wrong doers". Again a different world with a different set of rules... Take care guys and be well...
~ Guro Dave Gould.