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Saw this in the new \”Assasination of Jesse James…\” movie:
One character sits on the ground, legs in front, leaning against a sofa. Another character sits behind him, on the sofa, suddenly reaches down, grabs the first guys hair and pulls his head back, then puts a blade around his throat, but holding the blade in a reverse grip, the way we would usually hold the knife for overhead stab. The attacker’s knuckles/palm are facing up as he is holding the knife, not down (as they would if he held the knife in a more regular grip). The blade is now on the left side of the defender’s neck and the attacker’s arm (the one holding the blade) is in front of his throat.
From that position, how would one defend? First of all, the seated position would make the regular knife from behind threat impossible. Maybe one could spin in a little, but one couldn’t use the knife to stab the opponent and there may be little control.
As for the reverse grip, it might make it harder to simply pluck the knife hand down without cutting yourself, because the attacker’s wrist simply doesn’t bend well into that direction. Maybe a pluck straight forward (away from the throat) with one hand, then putting the second hand on there would work better in that situation? One could then think about twisting the attacker’s hand further, in a type of cavalier, to the outside, then spin that way, keeping pressure on the wrist and countering. However, if the attacker is also pulling the defender’s head back, it may not be possible to spin that way.
Looks like this attack would work best if the defender is sitting below the attacker or if he is naturally shorter than he is, because it would put less pressure on the attacker’s wrist. Still, it could be done from a standing position also. In that case, how would one change the regular knife threat from behind defense? Or wouldn’t one have to change it at all? If unable to make the pluck down, one might be able to pluck/pull the blade straight forward, then either turn the attacker’s wrist to the right, spinning outward, or maybe even get a second hand on and spin inwards, the way we usually do and it may still be possible to stab him from there.
Of course, all of this might be complicated by a hair grab. If he really pulls your head back all the way, so that your throat is now completely exposed, would you still be able to spin under that pressure? Either outward or inward? I think spinning inward might still be possible, but it would probably be harder. Spinning outward may not work at all.
Lastly, if the attacker used a regular grip instead of the reverse grip and pulled the head back, from a standing position, would it interfere with my regular defense? How about from a seated position, with a regular grip and hair grab? How should I defend?
Any suggestions about this?
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GiantkillerIt seems like with the reverse grip, the elbow of the attacker is in such a position that you might be able to get a standing keylock you see in so many knife defenses by grabbing the wrist with the left and snaking the right arm under their arm to crank on the shoulder. If they start to go down, you can step over into a kneeling position to try to disable the shouler (this also makes it impossible to switch the knife to the other hand). The grabbing of the hair is not something I would acknowledge too much. Getting your hair pulled is nothing compared to the knife threat.
Ah, finally a brave man tackling my knife question! 😀
About the hair grab, I was just wondering if it might immobilize you, so that it would become harder to make a defense. Also, saw that in another movie, what if he pulled up your chin instead of the hair, to expose the throat just before the cut? If you are seated (below the attacker), he might even be able to pull back the chin and then push his upper body against your head, immobilizing it further and making it harder for you to move or defend.
An armbar could work if the attacker is standing, not sure if it would work if the defender is sitting way below the attacker (in that case the defender may not be able to use his shoulder for leverage).
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Giantkiller
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