 So last week we answered the question from a viewer and the question was in regards to how practical was it to learn traditional martial arts weapons in today's society? So if you haven't seen that yet, please go check that episode. We have a link in the description. Today we're going to answer another viewer question that's related and the question is how practical are self-defense techniques against modern-day weapons? So today's question comes from one of our Patreon viewers, Michelle Poirier. And Michelle asks, I'd like to know your thoughts on knife defenses and club defenses. Are they useful or are they too dangerous? What are the best and more techniques that you've seen for those defenses? Michelle, that is a fantastic question. And in context, I'd like to throw in firearms to that because I think it's kind of related because there's a lot of self-defense techniques for knives, guns, and clubs. And I think I want to answer this and approach this in three different segments. The first, I want to talk about the obvious and inherent dangers and risks of each. Sometimes they're obvious, sometimes they're not. Then I want to talk about the actual defense techniques that are out there, what's good, what's bad. And then ultimately, we can quickly go over what's the best way to approach weapon defense techniques. So starting off with, let's just start off with firearms, I think it's obvious to know the danger that comes with this. And the obvious advantage is that of range. And there's no question about that. If you're out of range, there's really not much you can do about that. Also, it's very quick to use. Somebody who is holding one of these can usually use it and operate it as fast as they can move their finger. So you really don't have a lot of reaction time. And that reaction time is very important because if you really think about it, in many cases, it operates too fast to react to. So just think about the time it takes between their decision to act and yours to react, that little gap of time that damage is usually already done. And not only that though, the inherent danger to you is obvious, but also it's hazardous to anyone around you as well. If somehow someone tries to use that on you and they miss you, there's a good chance they can hurt somebody else in the process. And not only that, here's something that a lot of people don't take into account, especially if you're not familiar or have any experience with firearms is they are loud, especially if you're right up against one. And if you're not familiar with it, a lot of people might be startled by the sound. And if you're in a situation where this is present and in play, the last thing you want to do is head to state or be startled or be distracted by anything. So I think that's an aspect that a lot of people don't even think about is how loud it can be, especially if it's right up against your ear. It could stun you. So I know as badass as we all want to be, the hard truth is when it comes to firearms, they really are an equalizer and they are to be taken extremely seriously. The next is she mentions knives, knife self-defense. And knives come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and different designs, you know, single blades, double blades. There's a lot of different aspects to them and there's a lot of dangers that come with it. One, they're very easy to hide and conceal. Very often the person can hold it where it's just kind of guarded by their own body or they hold it behind their back or sometimes they've got a jacket or newspaper wrapped around it. They're very easy to conceal. And also when the person does have it out, they're very hard to see or they can be hard to see when it's moving around fast. It's incredibly versatile and also it's very silent. A lot of times it can be present without you being aware of it. So at close range, a knife has the potential to be more dangerous than a projectile weapon just because, one, you're not limited to just one line of sight attack. With a knife, you know, close range, you know, you've got a wrist that can turn. There's different ways you can hold it and cut and slice and hook and even the withdrawal action. This is a very, very dangerous object to manipulate up close. If you have somebody who's holding it and it's really angry enough to try to use it on you, it's not going to be a simple line of, you know, single line of sight attack. And you don't always know when it tags you. I've heard from a lot of personal accounts that people who've been inflicted by this that they described the sensation as being punched. A lot of times they thought they were just struck and the damage isn't apparent until a little bit later. So when it comes to a knife, close range contact from someone who knows how to use it. This could be an exceptionally dangerous weapon and you really need to know all the risks that come with it. And going back to when it's used to, you see a lot of, you know, self-defense techniques and in movies too where the person just comes in steps and jabs with it. That's really not realistic because if you think about it, this is a very intimate weapon too. If you have somebody who's holding it and they're really intent on using it on you, it's usually in the heat of emotion when that person is at their absolute most wildest and dangerous state. It's also surprisingly dangerous at a longer range than most people realize. There is something called the 21 foot rule. And back in 1983, there was a study done by Salt Lake City Cop Dennis Tueller who determined that through multiple experiments that approximately in the course of about a second and a half, a person can cover 21 feet if they're charging at you. Think about that. A person is 21 feet away from you. If they're coming at you with full speed with this drawn out, how fast they can be upon you. And a lot of times that might be fast and you can react. Now take that into account when you might be thinking, okay, well 21 feet is pretty far away. But imagine that person is six feet away from you. How fast this can be drawn and used upon you. So this is not a slow tool of somebody has this on them or you suspect somebody has this on them. Keep your distance because this can be pulled out and used a lot faster than most people realize it can be. So do not underestimate the knife. Even if you have a firearm on you, this is not to be taken lightly. This is still a very dangerous object. Now speaking of taking lightly, this is actually just a training knife for it. It's marketed as a self-defense tool, but I really like this for self-defense training in a classroom setting because it kind of ups the ante a little bit. This isn't just a plastic knife. It's actually got a little stun gun built into it. So when you push the button and it's got a little metal ridge around the edge. And when it touches your skin, it really hurts. And what I like about it is in dojo settings when you practice knife defense techniques, there's a certain complacency because, oh, the knife is wood, towards rubber. There's a psychology of knowing it's not going to hurt you. There's something psychological that triggers when you put this out in class and you're about to do a technique and something like this starts going flying at you. You're instinctive to, I don't want that to touch me. So there's a little bit more of a heightened awareness with it. So we do have a link in the description if you guys are interested in picking one of these up. And we also did a review on this product, which we'll recommend at the end of the video, but really good training tool in my opinion. So Michelle asked about clubs as well. When it comes to the clubs or collie sticks, this is a very common weapon in the martial arts. A lot of arts will train with it and defense against it. And I think the risks are pretty evident about it. I mean, it's a stick. It's a club. It's a very fast, easily moveable object. It can achieve a high velocity impact, very versatile, especially in trained hands. And also it's very easy to apply these techniques to other real world objects. You know, a person has to have a gun or knife with them. A stick can be found anywhere. It could be a pipe, it could be a pole, it could be an umbrella. A lot of those same techniques apply. So all in all, I mean the club is a very versatile and very dangerous weapon. Also, do not underestimate swings. I've seen so many self-defense drills that base their timing off the person doing the full swing and having stopped and rebound and come back the other way. If someone knows how to use this, that rebound time is very, very minimal. It's not like the baseball bat or an axe where they heave the whole weight into it and they have to kind of pick it up and fight against gravity to come back. Something like this is lightweight enough. It comes one way, it can come back just as fast the other way. So if you have someone who knows how to use this, don't underestimate that you're going to have this big gap of time to jump in there when they miss you because if they're good with this, it's going to come back at you just as fast as you, as they came at you the first time. The most dangerous part about the club is about the last third of it. This is where on the full swing of the orbit, that's where the full momentum of the energy is right here. This is the worst part of the club you want to be struck with. So if there's any techniques involved, you either want to be on the outside of that swing or as close in as you can to kind of take away some of that impact, but right here is the last part that you ever want to be hit with because that's where the full powerful momentum is coming from. All right, so now onto the section about what are some of the best and some of the worst defense techniques that I've seen. Now just to disclaimer here, I am not an expert on weapons defense, but this is just based on some of my own personal observations and techniques that I've seen performed and demonstrated, but I'm sure we have a lot of viewers out there who have more experience, so I would definitely welcome your input and know what your observations are. When it comes to gun defense, first of all, it's extremely tricky and dangerous. There are some good ideas out there, but unfortunately there's a lot of bad and a lot of very dangerous ones, especially a lot of techniques that try to instill you with the sense of confidence that you're going to be able to deflect the gun and take this armor real easily. It doesn't work that way. If the person is skilled, your options honestly are limited. You're going back to the whole action versus reaction, you're pretty much going to have to take advantage of a mistake or distraction on their end because if that person is focused on you and they're ready to use it, they're going to move a lot faster and it's not likely you're going to be able to do anything before they do their action. Also, what's dangerous, and I see this a lot, a lot of systems do it and it's not exclusive to one particular art. It's across the board and it's in different schools. Long, complex disarmed sequences are not likely to work. I've seen so many times where there is grab, regab, counter, bend, turn, twist. You don't really have that kind of time to play around with that. Even Kempo is an example. It gets a lot of flak for its memorized sequences and Kempo does have a set of knife and gun techniques that we have in there, but again, they're not meant to be memorized, it's just some ideas. But in my personal opinion, and I know there's a lot of Kempo guys out there who are going to probably blast me for this, is I don't think Kempo goes far enough into it. There's just some ideas. I find it lacking on the weapon defense. A lot of arts think that you can just preconceive a choreographed maneuver to disarm a gun and it's just not realistic. Michelle asks, what are some of the worst techniques that I've seen? There's actually quite a few, unfortunately. I have seen a lot of self-defense sequences that have the person wrestling with the attacker, but in so many cases, they get off the line of sight of that pistol, but then as they're maneuvering, they keep moving it around and they keep crossing that line again. That's the last thing you want to do. Once you're off that line, you want to secure that item, you want to prevent them from using it, and the last thing you want to do is cross back into its sight again because you're right back into danger zone with that. Any technique that involves kicking it out of their hands, I think is extremely irresponsible because think about it. Remember that quick motion for them just to pull that little trigger. How fast are you going to be able to kick? Also, while you're delivering the kick, where are you? Right in that line of sight again. If the technique is teaching you just to kick it out of their hands, I wouldn't put a lot of confidence into that because that's extremely dangerous. One of the worst ones I've seen too are these drop kick techniques I've seen where your hands are up, and the person will actually squat and drop and they'll kick their legs out to kick out the attacker's legs. I think we can all agree with the obvious dangers there. If that doesn't work, if you don't do that perfectly, where are you? On the ground, on your back, splay it out with them above you like this. Probably the worst position you could possibly be in. There's nothing you do at that point, and probably the worst one I've ever heard of is a school years and years back that actually promoted, you know, diverting off the line, grabbing the weapon, and then grabbing the slide and just keep moving it back and forth, moving the back and forth until the gun actually jams or even breaks and comes apart in your hand. No. As far as best techniques, I think really take advantage of timing, and Ed Parker had a theory, and Ed Parker, he's the founder of American Kempo. I do like the way his mindset was, the concept of is when it approached self-defense against weapons, the concept was divert, seize, control, and disarm. You want to get off that line of attack. Whatever that weapon is, divert it and seize it. Once you have it, once your hands are on it, you want to control it. Control it to the point you can disarm it, if you can. But, I mean, so the best techniques I've seen is when if someone is able to get off the line of attack of the gun and you keep it pinned and you keep it trapped and you do what you have to do to the person, but do not release it, do not cross the front of its path, do not try to disarm the gun, don't try to kick it. It's a very, very tricky, tricky thing to approach. Okay, self-defense techniques against knives. Just like the firearms, unfortunately, there's a lot of dangerous ideas out there. A lot of pre-choreograph motions that I just don't think work. And I think there's pretty much a universal agreement where a lot of the flaws are with knife techniques. And mainly is that these techniques assume that the person's going to step through and jab and hold the knife in position or they're going to come at you like this, like some sort of robot. That's not a realistic way a person is going to attack you with a knife. Once again, if a person's at a point where they want to use this on you, they're not going to be calm and calculated, it's going to be erratic, it's going to be frantic, and they're going to be extremely angry. It's not going to go out there and stay there. It's going to be in and out, it's going to be lots of jabs, it's going to be tried to be hidden, it's going to be dirty. And even on the offset chance that somebody does, try to step through and jab with it, and if you're able to somehow step off the line, they're not going to hold it there. They're going to pull it back. So even if you divert it, you got to watch the risk of that retraction because they're not going to hold it there. They're going to try to use it again. You have to understand the realistic way a person is going to attack with a knife and too many self-defense techniques out there, I think downplay the danger of it and assume that it's just going to be a quick thrust when it really isn't. It's a very erratic weapon to react to. And remember what we mentioned at the beginning too is this is a very easily hidden weapon, very easily to keep it out of sight so somebody can be walking up to you and you might not even know they have it. So one thing too as far as techniques go is I think you really need to be aware and watch a person. If somebody feels like they're a threat to you or somebody's trying to start something and they've got a hand hidden, you always want to keep sight of someone's hands because the last thing you want them to do is reach for a weapon without you knowing about it. But if somebody's coming up to you and approaching you and they're keeping the hand hidden, you want to watch out for that. Try to keep your distance, try to gain space between them if you can because remember that 21-foot rule, remember the rule that within the second and a half they can cross the 20-foot distance. Imagine if they're three, they're five feet away from you and they're in a position like this. You have to watch out for that. So awareness is a big part of it. As far as some of the worst defense techniques I've seen, honestly there's far too many to say. Starting with any technique that starts with the attacker, just stand there with the arm out and just like hold it there so you can do whatever you want to it. That's where it starts. Also just like the gun, any technique with a knife being kicked out of the hand is highly unrealistic. I've seen techniques where they teach you to do a front kick at head level to stop and deflect an overhead knife attack. Completely unrealistic. Even running can be a risk. I do advocate trying to avoid a situation and escaping if you can, but you have to also be aware of your surroundings and your environment. If you've got enough distance where you think you can actually safely get out of the war, get out of the way, that's great. But if they're right on top of you, the last thing you're going to want to do is turn your back and run because they're going to be on you before you even take your first step. So if you can use barriers, obstacles, uneven ground, train your environment to get away, I recommend doing that. But if they're face-to-face or sometimes you might be in a situation where maybe you're in an elevator in a confined space where you can't run. But I really do think some of the best defenses for the knife is being proactive, recognizing the threat before it gets there. And if it does come out, if you do have to face it, you want to control, pin it to you, pin it to them, you want to prevent them from using this. When it comes to fighting somebody who's got a knife, there's an extremely high likelihood that you're going to get cut and injured. So I guess the idea here is you want to do whatever you can to give yourself the best chance to mitigate the damage. Now, she also asked about what are some of the worst club defense techniques I've seen. To be perfectly honest, I have not seen a lot of bad self-defense techniques against clubs, mainly because most of the videos out there, most of the applications have been stick-on-stick, you know, in classroom training. So the danger with the stick or a club is a little bit different than, say, a gun or a knife. Because one, it's not a bladed weapon, it's not going to cut you. It's also not a long-range weapon. But its efficiency is in blunt force trauma. So the amount of energy that can be generated by a swing with a stick, or if you want to expand it to even a baseball bat, is immense and one mistake could end everything. So if you picture the top third being the zone you want to avoid, that's where your defense techniques are going to come from. You either want to be outside of that, or get in fast stuff and jam them up. Even if someone swings full force, even if it's a baseball bat, if you get in on them and you take the blow here on the hand, it's going to be so much less than at the outer end of it. You're going to get hurt with the outer end of it. Even if you bring your hand up, of course, I'd rather get hit in the arm than the head, but just understand, you're most likely going to break that arm. And also, keep in mind, even though, you know, when it comes to swinging, the most dangerous part of the weapon is from about the last third down. Understand that if this is in the hands of somebody who knows how to use it, they're not limited to just swings. You know, there's other parts of stick too that they're good with trapping or they could do takedowns, are close in fighting with it. And I actually invite any feedback from a screamer practitioner, anything you want to share about defense against a weapon or any good tactics that people might not know, please put it in the comments below. So what are some of the best self defense techniques against weapons? My personal opinion is if you want to learn how to defend against weapons, learn how to use them first. Understand how they work. If you want to defend against a tool, understand how that tool works. And it's okay if you're a little bit nervous about it or afraid of it, demystify it, go to a safe place, take a class, go to a range, take some tactical lessons, understand how it works. A lot of the time, the best defense is knowing how the offense works. So I've said this before, I think sometimes being proactive is the way to work on your awareness. Watch people's hands, look at their gestures. If you read the room, if you get a bad vibe about a situation, listen to your gut and try to avoid it before it escalates into something else. I think that weapons are probably one of the most, if not the most, underestimated aspects of self defense. A lot of arts, and in fact most arts will include some form of weapon defense in there, but if it's a side note, then personally speaking, I don't think that's enough. It's good to get ideas from it, but I would seek out specialized and certified training course for that specific aspect if you really want to become proficient and aware and have the best chance to defend against weapons. So defense against modern-day weapons. I would like to thank Michelle for her question today. I think it's a really important aspect to talk about and worth discussing further, and we're going to come back and expand this in the greater detail, but that'll be for a future episode. So if you guys have any questions that you would like answered on our show, then please consider joining our Patreon family. We have different levels of exclusive content and all members can submit questions to be answered on the show. Also, please subscribe and make sure to click on that bell icon so that you receive notifications when new episodes come out. And if you liked today's episode, you might want to check out our review we did of this Taser knife. We did it a little while back. We examined it as a training tool and I think you'll find it quite shocking.