Knife defense is a topic that comes up all the time on martial arts forums, YouTube, Facebook, Myspace and search engines. New DVDs and videos from various experts are continually appearing. From Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA to traditional martial arts like Karate, Aikido and Wing Chun; each martial art offers its own approach to this popular and controversial subject.

This article provides pragmatic advice on the process of training a realistic knife defense by combining regular judo or Greco-Roman wrestling training and then combining this with practice using the framework and methods outlined in the STAB knife defense program.

For the purpose of this article, the early UFC demonstrated quite clearly that traditional martial arts simply don’t work in a “live” environment involving an enduring opponent versed in a competitive combat sport: BJJ, Judo, Sambo, Thaiboxing, Greek and Freestyle. Wrestling and Boxing. From this, two other conclusions can be drawn:

1) Traditional martial arts don’t work against you in what was almost a true “anything goes” environment.

2) Therefore, traditional martial arts would be completely useless against someone armed with a knife and intending to stab you.

From here we are much closer to our goal of practicing and preparing to defend a realistic knife defense situation. Two mechanisms are now required:

1) A realistic delivery system for defense against knives.

2) A theoretical program that takes into account the specific dangers of defending against a knife attack.

A realistic delivery system must relate directly to the scope and nature of the combat that will take place. With knife defense, we are really discussing the skills, techniques, and attributes developed through the art of grappling. Two specialized combat sports stand out in these areas: judo and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Although there has been much debate about gi and non-gi training, training in any of these arts will improve your grip in a fight more than any other martial art. Both of these arts generally require long periods of grappling during competition and competitive combat. Hand-eye coordination, hand reaction time, strategies, movement, among other attributes will be perfected. And the required control of the knife-wielding arm would surely be best achieved in a two-on-one style position? From my own experience in judo, it is often extremely difficult to make clear contact with a high level judoka’s hand during randori; my best efforts to strike with a grab to the neck or even the elbow are often narrowly deflected before being thrown hard to the ground. From my observations of footage of Greco Roman and Randy Couture in the UFC, the hand control and grip in evidence is clearly on the same level as judo.

However, neither sport will directly address the very specific needs of a knife attack. It is evident that a curriculum and a theoretical plan are required to deal with such cases. Having seen numerous DVDs specifically related to this area, my personal recommendation is Karl Tanswell’s STAB (Strategic Tactics Against Blade) DVD. Karl uses Greco-Roman wrestling positions to provide this framework. While I must admit that Karl has been my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach for several years, I can honestly say I haven’t seen anything that compares (please contact me if you think you’ve seen a better DVD on this subject and I’d be happy to see it). I will review on this site and my other websites and blogs) on the topic of realistic knife defense. There are a number of reviews of this work that remain on the internet and I won’t repeat them here, but it is an extremely simple and pragmatic approach to knife defense.

In conclusion, combine regular practice of Judo or Greco-Roman wrestling (wrestling would also be an excellent substitute) with the theoretical framework of the STAB Knife Defense DVD, and I think you have the best knife defense training protocol available.

Glyn Dust

Copyright 2007 Glyn Powditch