On defending knife attacks

[tcgthevidiots]

It is not impossible to disable a skilled knife fighter, but it is impossible to not get cut in the process

[PalebobUK]

@DragonZord90 Ok, a fair comment. But i think the point he is trying to make is, dont try to fight with someone with a knife. if you can run run, if you can give him your wallet do so. It's not worth the risk trying to disarm/disable him.

[PalebobUK]

@DragonZord90 how the hell is this bad advice??

[taekwondo16]

It is almost impossible to defend against a trained knife fighter. paul vunak has a good explanation of why is it so. no matter how good you are, it is always wise to run when up against a knife.

[samuraiboxer29]

lol..... im like two blocks away from the school...... signing up soon

[chuninabun]

@DragonZord90 thats just one of many variables that could happen. I would look for an exit, if i didn't see a path out immediately turn and fight. Better to fight unwind ed then out of breath from using adrenaline to run your ass off.

[Gieszkanne]

@DragonZord90

You are absolutely right. It happens so fast that in the many cases the victim even realized after the fight/attack that they get stabbed by a knife!

[jacksawild]

You may be able to defend against a knife nine times out of ten. What he's saying is if it is possible to avoid the confrontation then that is the best defence. Obviously, if it isn't possible then you have no choice and that is why arts have knife defence drills. Being cocky about your skill, no matter how good you are could get you killed. This isn't a game. If the attack is coming then do what you can and end it as soon as possible. Good luck.

[siderhero]

I have the defense for a knife. If someone has a knife I grab a chair. or anything that is longer than the knife. If I can't find anything, I run. This guy is smart.

[noisepuppet]

"If I get a chance, somebody hold a knife, I run. A lot of people say I can fight with a knife. Mm-mm, got killed." 100% thumbs up. I love you, Sifu Lee.

[ImAllSticky]

its either get stabbed from the fight or take your chance and run away

[terryandrews1]

I think what the master is saying is to question what we learn.......then keep questioning it until you understand it..........but never beleive that this knowledge makes you indestructable!!!

[SparkamusPryme]

As a saber fencer (...and by no means a martial artist), I have to wonder how you could reliably block a knife attacker who changes their line of attack mid thrust?

If they lunge they might look like they're going for the face, and then quickly drop their arm and go for the kidney/stomach.

[TomahawkWarfare]

the knife has tremendous power in itself and with the right amount of muscle strength supporting a strike every hit would be deadly. ive seen videos where people use more muscle than needs be and it slows down the strikes and make them less effective in truth. but i see knife defence videos are avoiding teaching you defense against gut jabs, or thrown knives

[Shihabudeen7]

Silat is what it is, distinct from anything chinese or Okinawan etc. it is unlike any other traditional ancient mother art... therefore to believe it was created as it is does not take much, at its heart is a direct continuous connection to its sourcing, inspiration, and that is the secret to its sacred character, with the Almighty is the source of all paths to Him they will all return... some are more pure than others but only 'cause of their connection to Him the source of all healing in truth

[ljcampbell1]

i do din mak and i wanted to know is there a way to fight knife to knife would be really tricky i would never unless no other chiose fight unarmed someone with a knife.

[kelly980]

This dude is cool. I know wing chun and do a bit of teaching and i try to take this kind of realistic appraoch as well but there are a lot of people out there who are trying to make it seem mystical to make themselves look better.

[bbbd]

hes honest and right.

[lucirz]

very honest...this is true, u must be out of ur mind thinking u can fight with a guy who has a knife. like he said, only use the arts when ur in a desperate situation, once u get out of it, run.

[123bigpete123]

i disagree. it is very possible to fight someone with a knife and win. its narrow minded to say you can't fight someone with a knife. maybe YOU can't. and there's nothing wrong with that. even I can't. But I know ppl who can. I've seen it.

[paulzikang]

Possible but very dangerous and difficult. the point is not whether you can defend against a knife attack, but that you should avoid it if you can. A knife attack leaves you with very little room for mistake, if the person is trained on how to use a knife, then it all the more dangerous. make one mistake and the possibility of serious injury and death is very high.

[123bigpete123]

you said "a knife attack leaves you with little room for mistake." isn't that reason enough to learn how to defend against a knife? based on what your old school instructor is telling you, you should run. what if you cant? what if you're in a corner or there is no place to run? most crimes involve weapons. it's a fact. ppl don't fight fair. don't think for a moment that someone would hesitate to stab you if you were winning the fight and he had a knife. your instructor is wasting your time.

[paulzikang]

I agree what you are saying that you SHOULD train to fight against a weapon. but i still think that even with all the training i can possibly get, if I am unarmed and faced with someone with a knife, the first thing I would try to do is get away, however, you right, if I can't then I do whatever possible to win.

[judoreclamation]

wing chun is old school!

i dont knock it as an exellent tradional art,

but is out of date for the streets of today,

however, the guys right, if you cant run from a knife attacker, trained or untrained, then get a chair or something to keep the distance until you can run. i have trained some knife defence, and in the dojo im not bad, but im no way confident enough in reality to try any of the fancy shit ive learned. no way, an equilizer...or run.

[ZoharJz]

This guy is right. If someone to come to you with a knife and he knows what he is doing, and knows how to use a knife, you are done. You are DONE.

Unless you have some chair nearby or something that you can throw at him and then jump on him or something, then it's over. No matter how well you have trained all these flashy techniques.

[stardust005]

What would you mean by 'knows how to use a knife'. The knife is merely an extension of the attackers arms, a relatively short one at that. Stab wounds generally do not kill unless they're really good at targetting vital areas, and even then, quick medical treatment often allows multiple stab wound victims to recover. if you're quick enough to evade a punch, you can evade a stab, if you can take down an unarmed opponent, you can take down one with a knife. Of course, both are really difficult

[Outside45]

good knife fighters dont do a lot stabbing, but they might cut 30 you times before you bleed out

[123bigpete123]

stardust you have misconceptions on knife fighting. a stab is not going to put a man down. a stab in the throat or heart however will. look online at pictures of knife attacks. look at the cuts from a razor blade across a persons throat. then tell me how many knife attacks you can survive even with an ambulance standing on the corner of your attack. once your throat is cut your are done friend.

[Mider999]

Hmmm So is knife fighting pointless? Even though Indonesian and Phillipino arts teach how to knife fight? What i mean is there entire movement is somewhat based on knife attacks if they had a knife htey would kinda move the same if they didnt. Look up Dan Inosanto on here with Panatukan

[paulzikang]

@Mider999

He's not saying that unarmed techniques against knife attacks are pointless, just extremely risky. If you can avoid fighting unarmed against someone wielding a knife, then avoid. even the best trained and experienced fight should be cautious. 

[Mider999]

@paulzikang Yeah mate i know that now i posted whatever i said.........a LONGGGG time ago. If people have a knife you usually have to learn something like FMA or Silat because yeah there is a german wing chun man i dont know his name but he looks pretty good. You can also look up the Dog Brothers they train security and military and train them how to deal with knives. But they do agree that a knife can be way more dangerous then a gun

[Gieszkanne]

@Mider999

The difference is what is a slight touch or slap hand to hand with a knife would be a cut and maybe a dangerous to life one.

[123bigpete123]

oh btw i'd like to see you take on a knife fighter unarmed while he has a knife. i see ppl who think they know how to stop a knife all the time and they always get cut or stabbed (with a rubber knife ofcourse). i would trade an attackers punches against my stabs or cuts all day long. lets see who ends up walking away. please rethink your attitude towards self defense with weapons. it might cost you dearly one day knock on wood.

[lordtains]

NOT true. stabbing wounds are almost always lethal. And we're talking about people that know how to use them right? they wont be stabbing you in the leg, but in the face and stomach. You'll die RIGHT away. I learned how to use fillipino butterfly knives for a bit, and I'm telling you, if someone wants to rob me with a gun I could take him, but a knife is 10 times as dangerous. I'd give him all my money and cry for his mercy.

[wmpyr]

I like this guy, simple & to the point.

as for knife combat, I hope to take steps to change what is understood & accepted today for a better tomorrow, wow

that sounded so cliche ;P

[Shihabudeen7]

Salaam Peace' be with you... as a teacher of a knife fighting art...(Pentjak Silat) I bear witness that there is no defense against a trained knife fighter if you are weaponless...true power is in speed... and anyone can be inspired to move in a blurr... tru power and speed is the gift of inspiration... who can defend against what they cannot see? wise movement comes from a tru martial arts connection to inspiration

[lordtains]

true.

Even if you know how to defend against a knife, if someone really wants you dead they could just walk by and kill you with a conceiled knife when you're not paying attention....knife fighting is not pretty.

[GarlandMuay]

Cool guy.  I'm pretty awed. This guy is modest and honest...and this knife advice is the exact same stuff you'd hear from GT Leo Gaje.

[GulangUK]

A very wise and honest man !

[heckald]

wing chun is a very good style to start with good for street fights but the comment that wing chun isnt really fast id have to call bullshit it isnt the style that is slow its the trainer.

[paulzikang]

Like he said, its relative. Wing Chun is all about economy of motion. shortest most, direct route. compared to a punch from a well trained boxer, or a kick from a well trained tae kwon do practitioner, wing chun kicks and punches are slower.

[heckald]

i guess

[hiddenwingchun]

hahaha thats funny maybe you are training with the wrong teacher.

wing chun kicks and punches are fast too fast infact and inteligent you dont even see it coming or you dont know what it you.

respect

[MARKCHAOS]

i know knife technique but i agree with this teacher knife is such a hard weapon to deal with even if you practice for years you cant still mess off with a knife fighter

[whitetigersb]

ABSOLUTELY!

thank god someone teaches common sense

[tabkatoro]

bravo......if only there would be more true teachers like this gentleman we wouldn't have so many people thinking they are capable of surviving a knife attack......

[zenny88]

He said similar things here and in one of his articles(analyze stuff, don't blindly follow your sifu, don't let someone mystify WC ask for an explenation etc.)...great guy

[SettingSunRisingMoon]

I agree. Too many are wowed by martial arts and I've met many people who were good at their discipline in the training hall environment but panic when the threat of serious injury in a real fight ensues. It's better to go home alive with your pride stung than wind up another statistic. Thou art but mortal.

[sifu50]

I agree, nice to hear someone talking truth - I just laugh at the guys who THINK they are teaching people to do things like kick knives out of peoples hands- I have found that that works best when there is a camera running

[peckerwood78]

People have defended themselves succesfully against knives so it's not impossible. Yes I agree with everything he said first RUN! But if you are cornered and can't run then FIGHT, but yeah,even if you succeed you will still get cut.

[anhacus]

An old friend of mine was knife attacked outside a bar down the Jersey shore a few years back. He apologized to the fellow for talking to his girlfriend. The guy stabbed through his hand in a drunken rage, anyway. My friend twisted the knife out of his hand and cut the guy's throat. It was all over within 15 seconds.

[peckerwood78]

Everything differs from situation to situation. Is your attacker drunk, is he on crack, is he a powerlifter, does he weigh 400 pounds, does he have any skills etc etc etc People have been stabbed up to 40 times and they lived others died from one stab wound. We can't generalize when it comes to fighting, too many variables.Glad your friend made it.

[mykul321]

great speech

[dinmosterskatt]

I dont see Sifu Duncan Leungs name here, and it really should be, since he is the one who tought Alan all this (especially the part about analysing and thinking for your self)

[kiddl3]

Then you should look closer. SiFu Lee gives credit to all his SiFus and even wrote 3 lengthy articles to honor them. Did Duncan Leung SiFu tell you he taught Allan Lee how to think for himself? Rediculous! You're caught blatantly stiring the pot to create discord between two very close and respected individuals. Shame on you!

[Rathryn]

Blades are meant to maim and kill and designed to do so as effectively as possible, so therefore you will be cut, simple as that.

Even if you're an experienced knife fighter yourself, I wouldn't recommend fighting a knifer... find out who runs faster or apologise and buy him a drink as I've seen suggested on here

[MykeTyson]

Allan Lee has a lot of knowledge and common sense. The only thing I don't agree with is when he claims only an "experienced" knife guy may pose the most threats. I don't know, Oj Simpson didn't seem like he studied Kali. Or I may be wrong. Maybe the Juice was an experienced FMA's student? Fact and bottom line= if you are an experienced fighter and your attacker is a common street punk with a blade, run! Or die fighting?

[explosiveturtle]

ya he's right, don't let your pride blind your reason.

No point fighting when you are not 100% you can handle it.

[beihou]

Best damned advice I've ever heard. Sounds like my sensei, they have their heads in the right place. I've learned a couple of basic techniques against a knife but I know if the guy is a knife fighter-I get the hell outta there. In any case I go by this rule of thumb-if there is a knife in the fight I will get cut. Damn good video and a good sifu.

[mofotox]

I'm glad at least some Sifu teach the truth but not mythify the art. Nice speech! If the students are taught the reality about dealing with knife in real situation, they will have a better understanding of what they learn and capable of. This holds true for any REAL martial art. As for BJJ, it's an over hyped SPORT marketed on TV that misleads the fans that "takedown" is the way to go but in reality, they may loose their life with a knife sticking into their back, puncturing their lung!

[laconas]

mofotox, who ever mentioned BJJ? What does BJJ have to do with this video? please keep comments on-topic. For example, I would comment that it is good advice to avoid taking on a man with a gun or a knife if you are unarmed, even if you know you have more skilled than he is, because all he has to do is get lucky and you are dead, not just defeated.

[exsanguinator644]

I can't see the original comment but I do know that BJJ does have a standing knife defense. It's taught in armies around the world. It's essentially both of your arms attacking a single arm on your opponent, which in WC is an ideal situation so I can see the similarities there. Sifu Lee is 100% correct though. I've trained in fencing for 8 years and I can tell you right now that I would rather face a sword than a knife any day of the week and under no circumstances would I face either unarmed.

[jinfiesto]

I've trained in fencing as well, and I agree completely.

[stardust005]

I suppose it is much easier to deal with a longer more visible weapon, than a shorter one that's more difficult to track with the eyes.