5 Most Dangerous Myths of Knife Fighting

Chris Hemsworth in the movie Extraction using a Karambit in a knife fight.

From action movies like John Wick and Extraction to video games like Metal Gear Solid, knives have always played a part in “tactical culture.” We have an emotional attachment to carrying knives and many purchase theirs based on their perceptions of how well they perform in self-defense. I mean, c’mon, every tacti-bro you know probably carries an expensive Benchmade pocket knife or designer fixed blade as a part of their EDC. The truth is we are far more likely to use our knives for opening Amazon packages than we will we would fighting in some close quarters combat situation.

Myth 1: “I’ll Just Shoot Them”

Pistols still reign supreme in the world of concealed weapons. But they don’t solve every problem.

The knife world and the gun world overlap quite a bit. Plenty of people who carry firearms, either for a living or for personal defense, also carry some form of a blade. Knives and guns are sold and advertised through the same venues and publications because it’s a good idea to carry both.

I believe, however, that people put a lot of false confidence in their carry pistols. But who could blame us? Hollywood has us programmed from Day 1. We all know the famous scene from Indiana Jones where the sword-wielding bad guy is showing off with his blade in hopes of intimidating Dr. Jones - only to have the fight cut short by the protagonist drawing and gunning him down before casually moving on. Illustrations like this have helped to make the number one comment I’ve heard when talking about knife attacks/combat: “I’d just shoot.”

Quick Disclaimer: I am not saying firearms are useless against knives. Out of the two, firearms are still a far superior weapon. But those people who think the answer to a knife attack is an easy, push-button solution don’t understand the nature of edged-weapon assaults.

The most deadly knife altercations happen when the distance has already been closed. Think about it! Knives are contact-weapons and the bad guy knows what kind of weapon he’s using. He knows showing his knife to you from a distance is going to give you time to flee or react. If he’s truly wanting to do damage (and not just threaten you), he’s going to be in ambush-distance by the time you see the weapon.

You might be able to get a shot off. Hell, it could have even punched a vital or two. But that knife-attacker is still getting one or more thrusts into your body at close range. If you decide to train in knife attack defense (HINT: You should!), practice techniques that prioritizes life-saving empty-hand skills first and a firearms response second.

Remember: If you both die, you still lose.

Myth 2: The Knife Duel Fantasy

From The Raid 2. Two actors fight with traditional Karambit-style blades. As in real knife fighting, both are injured.

We already talked about the “I’ll just shoot him” guy. Let’s talk about his distant cousin: the “I’ll just cut him” guy. There is something about bladed weapons that draw people from every culture. The knife industry would not be as huge as it is if knives were a niche fad. But that love comes a kind of person who imagines they might save the day with their coveted EDC knife.

This person most likely collects blades in a similar way that the gun-guy collects firearms. He or she may carry a firearm too, but they tend to place a heavy focus on the knife(ves) they carry. Now, there is nothing wrong with this as it stands. Remember: Knives are cool. The people that begin to fall into this knife-dueling fantasy are those that start predicating how they may realistically react to a conflict, knife-to-knife. I’m not exactly sure where this fantasy started, but I figure it gets pushed most by knife advertisements and action movies. Either way, these people usually have limited martial blade training (usually through video snippets) and do not know what actual knife combat looks like.

Like we talked about in the “I’ll Shoot” myth, knife altercations tend to be an ambush affair. The bad guy is more likely to conceal their weapon until they are right upon you rather than they are to present their weapon in plain view to signal a fight. Unlucky for you, that means it will be likely far too late for you to draw your beloved $400.00 Benchmade in time.

That being said, duels DO happen. While rare in the West (even more so the US), they are more common in places like Afrika, Indonesia, and The Philippines where firearms are limited and blade-cultures are still thriving. But even IF you find yourself in a situation where you and a bad guy start with drawn knives, you had better be ready to deal with the chaos of a duel. There is no pretty choreography in real knife fighting. Just violent, unpredictable, and bloody gross-motor attacks repeatedly happening at blinding speed. A bad guy needs no skill at all to kill with a knife and even if you do “win,” the chances of you being permanently maimed or disfigured is high.

Myth 3: “Knife-Defense” in Martial Arts

A scene from The Hunted. Seizing the weapon-bearing limb should be a priority when training

ADC Tie Breaker CQC marking trainer with special marking chalk. If you are serious about knife training, you should have a marking blade in your gear-bag.

We could spend YEARS talking about the hundreds (if not thousands) of hokey, ineffective, larpy martial arts schools and systems out there. Normally, these schools are quite harmless. The most they do is make us cringe and laugh and, as silly as they might be, give a group of people a place to belong and work out.

Where I think the comedy stops and my concern begins, however, is in the instruction of “knife-defense” and firearms. Both of these disciplines have steeper failure penalties in the real world than a fist-fight or grappling match would. Weapons that can easily cause lethal outcomes on either side should be trained with in systems that use layers of safety.

Let’s talk edged-weapons specifically. Firstly, we have to differentiate between “Knife-Fighting” and “Knife-Defense.” We see “Knife-Fighting” as instructing students in the use of a knife, while “Knife-Defense” refers to any defense against a knife attack. Luckily, there are plenty of effective Knife-Fighting schools and styles to choose from ranging from legacy arts from Indonesia and the Philippines (Silat, Kali, Escrima, ect), traditional HEMA, and knife-fighting from more modern systems. Knives really aren’t complicated tools to fight with. There are only so many ways you can stick steel into soft-bits. It is learning how to fight with one without being cut in the process that training really comes into play.

Knife-Defense is a whole different ball-game. As we touched on previously, most knife attacks are going to be ambush attacks. You will most likely be self-rescuing from a knife-attack using your bare hands first and, because of this, many schools teach their own variation. During the early 2000’s, I saw so many strip-mall martial arts schools showcasing some form of Knife-Defense in their adult classes. It always involved an overly telegraphed attack with a wide-arching interception from the defender. Focus was always placed on “redirecting your enemy’s energy” back into the enemy. As most of you can tell from my tone, this is Bullshido at it’s worst.

The first thing you should investigate when looking to study ANY martial art for self-defense is if the school pressure-tests their techniques. This can be in the form of sparring or scenarios. If they don’t or refuse to do this as a regular feature of their classes, run!

In the context of Knife-Defense, techniques can be pressure tested in many ways. In my experience, the most effective way to see what and what dosen’t work is through the a combination of fast, committed attacks and a training blade that can mark where you cut.

A marking blade like the one pictured is a great way to get real data on how injured or dead you might be. It also tells you when you improve (less marks) your ability to stop the attack. Think of it as “Knife Simunitions.”

So lets TLDR this real quick. What’s the takeaway?

A GOOD MARTIAL ART FOR KNIFE DEFENSE
- Makes you Spar…A LOT
- Non-Choreographed Movements
- Uses Marking Blades to show mistakes
- Focuses on isolating the weapon-bearing limb
- Solid foundation in grappling skills

A BAD MARTIAL ART FOR KNIFE-DEFENSE
- Overly structured, complicated motions
- “Redirecting Energy”
- No Sparring or Pressure Testing
- Lack of agility or footwork
- Always assumes you will be standing and un-entangled

If you want to learn how to both stop a knife-attack AND how to fight with a blade, we recommend signing up for our 2-Day Combative Edge course.

A good option for a personal defense knife is our Tie Breaker CQC.

Myth 4: You Can Always Run Away

Man in China chases people and children around a playground with a cleaver

Man severely injured after knife attack. This is what it looks like to win a knife fight.

Avoiding knife fighting by running away is honestly your best solution. Sadly, this is not always going to be an available option in the real world. Many spaces where knife attacks happen are compact and/or cluttered with obstacles, providing a poor line of movement to run and evade an attacker. Additionally, there is a chance the attacker is a faster runner than you, which could result in you being stabbed in the back… tired.

This is why training to deal with a knife attack (be it empty hand or with a weapon) isn’t a waste of time - and why it should be a priority in your training continuum. It’s easy to dismiss direct action in favor of fleeing and, yeah, there is a metric ton of woo bullshit out there with dealing with knife attacks. But that does not mean learning how to fight against one is useless. Give yourself some options to flee or fight effectively.

Myth 5: One Person Wins, One Person Loses

Any fight involving weapons can be deadly. Shootouts can just as easily result in debilitating injuries and death. But compared to edged-weapon fights, shootouts have more of a binary outcome. The chances of a person using a firearm to stop a violent encounter WITHOUT being injured themselves is far higher than it is in knife fighting.

Why is this? Knives are contact weapons that incapacitate slower than a gun or even a knockout punch. To work, they require you to be at 100% equal ground with the assailant. No cover, no concealment, no misses. Two people facing off with blades easily turns into a chaotic, bloody blender in which everyone gets cut badly. Because knives take longer to incapacitate people, a person can keep fighting (and flailing) with their weapon long after being cut (even fatally).

TLDR: The chances of you winning a knife-fight without significant injuries is extremely low, even if you are skilled knife-fighter. There are no real winners in bladed street duels, just those who survive and those who die.

TAKEAWAY

Knife fighting in the real world is nasty business. Glamorized in Hollywood and through video games, it’s easy to forget that knives are not an equal to a firearm for self-defense. Real knife fighting has horrible consequences for even the most trained fighter. That being said, knives have a real place in the EDC world. They should be considered a secondary or even tertiary self-defense tool best left in the “get-off-me” function. And if you plan on carrying a knife for self-defense, you should be TRAINING WITH IT.