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Has anyone tried training against a blade of 15 inches +?
I have been thinking about defense techniques against longer bladed weapons & how best to deal with them & was wondering if anyone has tried training against these length blades, & what they found worked & failed.
This is exluding the back off & run technique, lets say for whatever reason that isnt a option & also if you had to deal with it unarmed.
I think really the defence against an upward stab wouldnt be viable any longer due to the length of the weapon.
I have seen aikido techniques for downward & diagonal slashes against katanas that involve dodging the initial attack & moving in to get a hold on the handle.
I think you you would need to treat the sword almost like a stick in that the tip is the deadliest part & the sooner you can get in close to your assailant the better. Either by backing out of range or side stepping a blow & quickly bursting in to grab or wrap up the hand/s & counter attack till he lets go of the weapon.
I cant really think of any better options.
Any ideas?
Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
Like a machette? My thoughts, use my weapon. Sorry, but thats the cop in me. Now aside from not enough time to draw I would look for a way to put distance or obsticles between us until I can get to a weapon of some type. If your going to use the defenses against a blunt object, better burst in nice and deep and ensure your not going to catch the blade instead of the attackers arm. So I agree with you on where you are going already.
I think we have another thread about this same scenario already. I will look and see if I can find it.
Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
I have wondered about this myself – defense against machetes – as I have been in areas where the machete is not only a common tool, but also used as ‘weapon of opportunity’ at times..
Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
Also in the UK there are ethnic groups such as West Indians for whom the machete is a not-uncommon utensil – you see them around in markets, shops, restaurants, homes etc.
Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
Had two LEO’s nearly hacked to death with a farmworker weilding one a few years back… but they had guns… and didn’t shoot till he nearly killed them. Just a word of advice- don’t jump on the back of a guy with a machete, they just turn the blade around and hack you to pieces on their back.
Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
That’s some heavy shizz!
Glad to hear they prevailed in the end..
Fwiw – the machete was weapon of choice during the genocidal slaughter in Rwanda.
Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
For an upward stab there’s a technique I’ve been taught which is for when the stab is very determined or taken from a run up, rather than the standard 360, block and control, it involves performing the the 360 but simultaneously moving to the dead side, so somewhat like the basic straight stab defence. That could be good for someone with a massive knife. For a machete I’m thinking slashing/hacking attacks are going to the main thrust of an attack as opposed to a stab so you’d want to try and close the distance to restrict their ability to generate sufficient kinetic energy as with a stick type weapon and control the arm whilst attacking as brutally as possible. That’s just a guess though.
Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
Real life machete attack here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jtn_y0PW7g
Shoot them / weapon of opportunity / kicks / run away / 360 defense / possibly stick defense from side seem to make sense.
Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
As a former HS fencer, we messed around a bit with our weapons, including some unarmed defense against a sabre. Things to worry about with swords / machetes:
-they extend range more than you think. A good flËche by an attacker can move 15 yards.
-you have to worry about the point, the blade, and the bell. Getting punched by a metal guard sucks.
-attackers free hand can have a knife.What worked for me occassionally: move in on deadside. control both arms. Simultaneous headbutt / kick / knee to groin. Or, throwing sand to blind, then move in to disarm. Or, use a stick to keep the sword away and strike. Don’t grab the blade. YMMV.
Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
My thought, from a civilian perspective of not having a firearm to transition to, would be to grab anything halfway solid and attempt to use as a shield and possibly an impact weapon.
Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
That’s a good question. We practice with typical plastic (red) knives which are approximately 5″ long (the blade) – 360 defense works pretty good. At home I took a chef’s knife, about 8″ long and estimated how would a #1 360 defense (for overhead strike) work against it. I must say that I am 5’4″, so my arm is not as long as someone’s who is 5’10” or taller. So, in my case the tip of the knife just reaches or almost reaches my face/head (if blocked at the attackers wrist). I 10″ knife would definitely reach, especially if you consider an inch or so of potential “give” on impact.
Even without give, for shorter people attacked with knives with blades 8″ or longer some angles of 360 defense are questionable. Any suggestions/new techniques?Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
quote skibum:Even without give, for shorter people attacked with knives with blades 8″ or longer some angles of 360 defense are questionable. Any suggestions/new techniques?The 360 defense would at least provide you with some protection from complete penetration…but with flexible springy swords, it’s also conceivable that the sword / machete would bend around the block and hit you in your head / neck / or back. I’ve flicked swords around blocking materials such as bells and sheilds. It’s the nature of the weapon.
Or, the weapon could be used to chop off a limb.
The unarmed techniques I’ve seen in samarai and ninjutsu books have all involved stepping aside and grabbing by the hands and executing a take down of some sort. Not very practical.
Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
quote oasktf:Really bad…You’re right – really bad. I don’t understand why the armed authorities didn’t shoot the machette attacker.
Re: Long knife/sword defense techniques
It’s hard to say why they didn’t shoot him. I know that the VAST majority of people do not practice “contact” shooting. Either shooting from the firearm on or in close contact with the attacker. Perhaps they didn’t know how to do this, didn’t have a lower caliber handgun to do it (a rifle round would travel farther and possible hurt the crowd once passed through the attackers body), maybe they were under orders to not interfer directly, who knows what their laws are… Too hard to tell.
But man he sure got hacked up… that head wound was something!
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