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How to Use a Knife in Self Defense

How to Use a Knife in Self Defense

Knife fighting is an art that takes a lot of practice. Just because you have a powerful weapon, doesn’t necessarily mean that you can use it well. It requires possessing a lot of intelligence, balance, and focus.

There is nothing smart about swinging your knife haphazardly. As a matter of fact, it can be quite dangerous. This is why you need to learn how to use your knife properly in order to attack, defend yourself, and fight whenever you need to.

Carry your Knife Safely:

Before you learn about the best way to use knives to attack, you need to learn about the laws of owning and carrying them. Most knives are legal to own but some concealed styles are not legal to carry. You should read the laws to avoid getting in trouble.

Choose the Best Knife:

Which knife should you use in self-defense? This question might cross your mind especially as you browse the various styles and models. Fixed blade knives are the best to use for self-defense purposes.

A bigger knife is not necessarily better. You need to make sure that your knife is comfortable to hold and easy to control. It is all about the grip. Make sure that the handle is comfortable to carry and will not slip off your hands. You can buy from Amazon.

Take care of Your Knife:

A dull blade can be quite dangerous. Always clean your blade and keep it sharp. This way, your knife will always be ready and will not disappoint you whenever you need to use it.

How to Use a Knife in Self Defense?

Before you use your knife in a real-life situation, you want to spend enough time training. If you don’t do this, you might end up injured even if you have the sharpest and best knife in your hands. It is all about using your weapon efficiently.

Do you Need to Use a Knife?

Assess your situation and your opponent before you draw your knife out. Your opponent might be in for a serious talk and doesn’t even intend to use a weapon.

Draw your knife only when you are intending to use it. You might intimidate your opponent to the point that they do something reckless. If there is another course of action, you might want to consider it first.

If you start the attack, your enemy might draw another knife, gun or any other deadly weapon. Holding your neck knife when you are not planning to use it can provoke your opponent and lead to an escalation that could have been avoided.

It is very important to understand that drawing your knife for no good reason is considered a crime in most situations.

Don’t draw your knife if your attacker is unarmed. Look at their hands and pockets first to see if using your knife is an absolute necessity.

Draw your Knife Safely:

As you draw your knife, make sure that the blade doesn’t point towards your body. Always hold the handle firmly. The nearer your fingers are to the blade, the more control you will have over the weapon. Extend the knife up or to the front to assume a defensive position.

Folding knives are easier to conceal but drawing them is slow and more challenging, especially in case of an emergency. You can start practicing with a fixed blade first.

There are different grips that you can use for self-defense depending on your style, strength, experience, and the weight of the blade. The forward grip is the most common grip as you hold your knife facing up and forward.

It is the most suitable grip for beginners. In the hammer grip, you wrap your thumb around the grip for maximum security. With the reverse grip, you basically hold your knife with the blade facing downwards.

This is more advanced especially if you hold the blade edge pointing at you. Most experienced fighters prefer this style.

Attack with Your Knife:

Always make sure that you have enough space to move around. Using your knife in a crowded area can be challenging because you need to be moving all the time. Evaluate your opponent’s move and act accordingly.

If your attacker attacks high, take a step to the back and strike the underside of their arm with the blade pointing up. Do the opposite if they attack low. In both cases, your aim is to strike their arms so that they have to drop the weapon.

Don’t try to use your arm to block an attack, unless you are protecting your face or neck. Use your knife to block an attack or move quickly out of the knife’s range.

Throwing your knife toward your attacker is not the best move. Most of the time, your attacker will be able to avoid the knife and you will end up without your only weapon.

Practice makes perfect. So you need to practice holding and using your knife to defend against potential attacks, otherwise, your knife will not be useful. You might even hurt yourself.

Give yourself time to get used to the feel and weight of your knife. With time, you will get more comfortable with holding and using it. If you want to know how to wear a neck knife.

 

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WRITTEN BY

James Smith

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