Is your knife training teaching you about range and how to control it?

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1854710588083255

My title pretty much says it.

One of the really common things I see when people demo knife (offense or defense), even in most FMA's, is a lack of discussion about controlling range. Tim Waid, who is the head of the PTK organization I train under likes to ask "how did you get there?" when those super sweet videos are posted of people doing cool stuff with the knife.

In the video above, while you don't see much in the way of lateral movement or use of the triangle, you do see the importance of range. One should also be able to see why medium range with the knife, is so dangerous. There are ways to attack your opponent, particularly their hand, without being in position to get hit yourself. If you do go inside, get in all the way. If you are going to stay out, get out all the way. Medium range is a range to bridge through, not a place to hang out.

 

My knife training goes like this. See a knife get pulled GTFO of there

 

Yes, from day one.

 

I don't claim to be any kind of expert in using the knife or defending against it, but when I do train or teach anything related to knife work I am very focused on the importance of range.

One gripe I do have with how some FMA instructors show stuff is that they start new students out with tapping/hubud/flow drills where the students stay right in the kill zone the whole time and they don't immediately make it clear that these are just drills for developing sensitivity and reflexes to give them a chance of surviving for a few seconds in a range where you never want to spend more than a second or two when a knife is involved.

Personally I'd rather make sure the student understands the importance of controlling distance first, before they get caught up in these sort of close range drills.

 

Nobody trains exits.

 

I do.

 

I have started playing with the concept myself. Especially unarmed v knife. Take one dip at that limb and get out.

 

We train them all the time. In fact, it is one of the things which is really emphasized early on.

 

knives still scare the bejesus out of me. More than firearms.

 

We don't begin these types of drills until after our students have a good understanding of footwork and body movement first.
Tapping,Chekete/Echekete, Break-in/Break-out, Segang Labo are all drill platforms with associated footwork and body displacement to enter, tie up and finish or to enter, break off, and egress safely.

Yes we do!!!

Long through medium to close range and back out to long. Never stay in medium range.
In the contradas and recontras sets the ending weapon actions are designed to keep attacking if you are able to or to keep you covered as you exit.

 

Ok. Let's see examples of exits. Because that is a major component of maintaining distance.

 

You do, and I think that is because many were never taught it in the first place. Many FMA systems don't seem to consider how to get in an out of range all that much, even those which have tactics for fighting in various ranges. I'm not sure why that is, but it is definitely something I've noticed.

 

Go from 1:30 - 3:08 in this video and you can see one of the ways we do it with both the long weapon and empty hand. We do the same thing with the knife. Much of the time (not always) this will include ranging footwork on the reverse 45 deg. angle, as is shown above. We often refer to that as the "Universal Evasion Angle", even though there are times when you wouldn't necessarily want to go that direction.

 

Would creating distance in order to draw a firearm be considered an "exit"?
If so then I do exits in two different ways one for firearms and one unarmed called run away

 

This is the stuff we do.

 

Wise. I call that the "Jessie Owens Technique". Though I suppose I will need to update my name to Usain Bolt.

 

This is largely how we operate as well. We obviously learn the ranges and how they apply to empty hand, knife, stick/sword etc but beyond the concepts it's "get foot work/zoning down first" then integrate moving between ranges.

 

That's only workable if they are far enough away that you can do so without getting stabbed in the back. If it's a knife attack, GTFO is not usually an immediate option.

 

You beat me to it.