Your Knife Fighting Sucks

[@InkyDustMan]

"This isn't a rapier duel, it's a shanking." Honestly, I don't know how you continually make the most violent and aggressive topics and sentences sound witty and funny- Another great video.

[@1718bb]

Actually, a rapier fencer would win against almost any other style in a knife fight (except maybe foil :)).

[@tyrusmfrechs7025]

Because he’s afuck boi. That’s what they do

[@imaginative6315]

He's an autistic, sociopathic, edgy, agent of chaos

[@Appachoppa112]

Yeah fairburnes program pulls a lot from fencing

[@izzycirrus]

As they always say. Losers of knife fights die in the fight. Winners of knife fights die on the way to the hospital.

[@MaharlikaAWA]

Sometimes winners don't die.

[@Tutorp]

I prefer "there are no winners in a knife fight."

[@OldBadger1]

Very, very few knife on knife fights ever take place.

[@ericsierra-franco7802]

Defending oneself with a knife doesn't require that the person attacking you be armed with a knife. No more so than using a gun to defend yourself requires the attacker to also be armed with a gun.

[@alexyo2440]

They also say, ok boomer we have drone strikes now get with the times

[@-yeeyeetus417-4]

least complicated tf2 spy tutorial

[@RobKinneySouthpaw]

8:40. From working the ER I can attest. Not only is this information in our training, it is exactly what I see. Slashes go home to await an orthopedic consult about reattaching tendons/restoring mobility. Punctures go straight back to the trauma bay, and from there frequently to O.R. or the coroner.

[@edi9892]

Unless it's a slashed neck, then you probably won't see him in the ER... The same goes for someone opening a belly (stab and cut)

[@yyxy.oncesaid]

Correct.I was taught to slash,slash and slash

[@easternforeigners]

My knife instructor used a term “to dose an impact”. Thus, if you get to the flash, it is you, who decides, how lethal injures will be

[@connorperrett9559]

This was talked about by Renaissance and Early Modern sword fighters. They said a slash is more likely to immediately end a fight, but a stab is more likely to result in death.

[@christianc.christian5025]

@@yyxy.oncesaid I think a lot of people also inadvertently apply knife-attacks used against a group/multiple attackers to single attackers as well.

[@thefilmpoets]

The Keenan video where they used a red marker instead of a knife and tried to defend with BJJ was terrifying.

[@ArmchairViolence]

Not many people realize how easy knives are to use and how hard they are to defend against!

[@Kusina_at_Patalim]

Well said.... As Filipino who practiced since childhood until adulthood FMA and a medic servicemen in my country (EMT) and a knife maker for hobby , you got that straight on the point. Glad you have the guts and the balls to address that thing out... Love and Respect to you my friend. Support and love from Philippines.❤️

[@dasolemnvizitah4473]

Pun intended?

[@tyrusmfrechs7025]

As an FMA practitioner myself, I’d really like to know what point he was accurate on, in your opinion of course. Because all I see is rubbish, besides the hype over karambits.

[@BeefT-Sq]

@@tyrusmfrechs7025 He is right---period. You should name specific disagreements and keep your smears to yourself.

[@TREEfool]

Dude. Your delivery is incredible. You don't even need jumpcuts to be entertaining. Combine that with your logic and mythbusting skills and you have yourself a list of videos that I will always watch. Keep doing what you're doing!

[@tyrusmfrechs7025]

What did he myth bust? I just heard a string of general bullshit

[@BeefT-Sq]

@@tyrusmfrechs7025 You must have watched a different video. This guy is right !!!!!!

[@sharpshooter9407]

I'd love to have have the confidence of the guy who said he could beat you with a karambit, when you're armed with a longsword. The confidence, but not the stupidity.

[@raidzeromatt]

Not a long sword But he should really emphasize the armchair part lol Clearly never been in a real fight 'defanging the snake' is from a fake martial type of stick fighting *Fake experts myth busting other fake experts* Also no I'm not an expert But as someone who's had a knife pulled on him plenty of times I just want people to know this guy has likely never been in a fight

[@Avelcaine]

If there are corners to turn, a low overhang, or a broad pillar nearby, the odds shift dramatically. Urban environments strongly favor the wieldier weapon, and it doesn't get any wieldier than a knife.

[@BukodenNumatsuu]

@@raidzeromatt Fake expert... The man who explicitly states he is NOT an expert and explains this is why he will be using historical, practical, and medical data to form conclusions based on evidence? You know how many things have been proven to be fake/false and still largely believed and spread around as fact? When discussing a topic, should he not cover things that people have/would potentially bring up? Being thorough in covering the viability of all possible options in a video about what works better is a bad thing in your eyes because...? As a person who's had a shoe thrown at him a few times, I just want you to know that the entirety of your last statement is extra irrelevant, on top of the rest of your comment being ridiculous and irrelevant criticism.

[@tyrusmfrechs7025]

@@raidzeromatti agree, FMA comes from brutal village combat where laws really don’t matter in SE Asia. His points of keeping the weapon hand back and that a 3” blade can’t defang the snake is so wildly arrogant and ignorant. You can look at him and easily discern he’s never had his life on the line. I have absolutely no idea how such a butterball has this many viewers. “Oh his witticisms are so cute!” “His rapier and stabbing comment is soo funny.” It’s a channel of children and it’s disgusting

[@locky7443]

@@Avelcaine If you think a low overhang, or a broad pillar nearby changes the odds notably at all you have clearly not fought with a longsword before. Swords do not require that much space to use and it is pretty easy to adjust for obstacles. Might be different if we are talking a tight underground tunnel but that is hardly an urban environment. All environments favour weapons that allow you to strike first and to do more damage both of which are advantages the longsword has.

[@haydenrogers2915]

The idea that people think you can successfully use a knife without trying to kill someone is weird.

[@jaketheasianguy3307]

Well, it's possible, like how he showed near the end of the video. Show it to them and they MAY reconsider their choices and back off

[@haydenrogers2915]

@@jaketheasianguy3307 well yeah, but my point is that there are weapons thousands of times better for less lethal.

[@usmansubhani7482]

@@jaketheasianguy3307 Show them this video.

[@9usuck0]

Knives are scary. Because branding is firearm will usually end an encounter if you look competent enough to shoot someone. But a knife might just end in an escalation. Plus, I have met enough people who have used knives to attack people and they do not let anyone know they have one until its already been used. I no longer talk to those people.

[@viiltelijamurhaaja7225]

If you dont think about it knife is a good self defense weapon.

[@ToddCorley65]

One of my favorite paramedic quotes: "In a knife fight, the loser dies in the street, the winner dies in the hospital"

[@NDOhioan]

Maintaining a dominant position? Hitting someone while doing your best to avoid getting hit yourself? Ability to trap and control the knife hand? Using your lead hand to set up your rear hand? It's funny, the way you describe the principles of knife fighting, they sound an awful lot like core principles found in boxing and wrestling. But hey, those are just sports with rules, what could those possibly teach you about real fighting?

[@andrewweitzman4006]

We do know that English pugilism was heavily influenced by saber and rapier fencing.

[@necro-claud6370]

Also it's literally punches but with a pointy metal extension of fist. So no wonder

[@GeneralGeneral-o4i]

Knife fighting is boxing

[@charliedavis3931]

Knew all this cause I study HEMA, when you study the techniques and weapons used by people who actually did have to rely on them, this stuff becomes blatantly true. Straight daggers are just better than anything curved.

[@Sceadusawol]

When it comes to bladed combatives theory, I do think that HEMA does have the edge. ;)

[@biggidousthethird2672]

@@Sceadusawol gottem lol

[@TheJoedonbakerfan]

Fun fact: there were far more knife fights in the 19th century American West than gun fights, simply because guns were more expensive.

[@motorhead8890]

Wait till you read about argentinian gauchos

[@Appachoppa112]

From what ive read the gauchos are basically just south american cowboys/outlaws?

[@lyooyiylklykyokyklky]

One follow up thing worth mentioning - in critical haemorrhage, do 3 things while waiting for ambulance:apply lots of pressure and don't mess about with it, raising the wound high up if practical, and apply a tourniquet and don't mess about with it. Source: asked a paramedic of 15 years

[@ricardoaraoz717]

Actually if the haemorrhage is arterial (blood shoots up from the wound) pressure is all you need, if it is venous (blood spurts) then you need to apply a tourniquet if you can.

[@jacobbass8106]

@@ricardoaraoz717 you got it backwards, even if that statement is not necessarily true. I would stop giving medical advice on youtube since you clearly dont have any training or knowledge.

[@derekbootle8316]

My doctor can't hit a vein....in an office, without me moving, with a tourniquet, and my guidance and permission....good luck hitting one on purpose in a fight.

[@phuongvu527]

I'm pretty sure that dude was trying NOT to kill you though 😂 not the opposite.

[@brianreilly5103]

Thank you for the reality check. From my experience, there is more lousy training advice than good regarding knife fighting and defense

[@ReneADreifuss]

So much truth here. I must say that this is probably one of the best knife videos I have ever seen. While knife vs knife combat is vey much outside of my experience and purview. I found this to be extremely relevant to topic of knife vs unarmed. I have found that a majority of "accepted wisdom" is actually completely unsubstantiated by evidence. It is truly refreshing to see an evidence based approach to the subject. I learned a lot and I appreciate the work and research that went into this. Thank you! I think this is a must watch for any serious martial artist, though I suspect it will be ignored or discounted by most.

[@JamesThomas-pj2lx]

So, knife self defense step #1, use knife to open box of new gun you just purchased.

[@beepboop204]

id get in trouble for using my gun, not so much for using my knife

[@bryantaylor1572]

Better purchase would be a book like "How to win friends and influence people." Learn to use diplomacy so guns become obsolete (for self defense).

[@institches2750]

​@@bryantaylor1572 I like that tactical thinking. Plus, if you get really good, you can surround yourself with people who will throw themselves between you and danger.

[@spookyninja4098]

Learn Self Defense FROM knives is a must = Unfortunately 90% of Knife Defense martial art classes are Crap and never pressure tested. I have only seen 3 practical pressure tested videos on utube so far that really work. The US had 1035 knife murders in 2021 - that's 10% of all murders. More people die from Knives in Australia than any other weapon.

[@VDJ4500]

😂😂😂😂 100%

[@kodypaynter9111]

Great video! Ive worked as a police officer and now in a prison having seen bladed attacks I think you were spot on in your analysis and breakdown.

[@niscent_]

knife injuries are surprisingly less lethal than you would believe. we tend to overestimate them because of how gruesome the mental imagery of having strips of skin hanging from your body, getting a finger cut off, or the idea of the pain such massive cuts and stab wounds must cause. as you said, at the end of the day cuts are basically a non threat, even someone trying to slit your throat will struggle if he's not holding you in place, because your arteries are buried between your neck muscles and your windpipe (which is a pretty solid structure). stab wounds on the other hand are devastating, but very few won't allow you the time to get medical attention. get stabbed in the guts and intestine, or any part of your digestive system, even multiple times, worst case scenario you got a day before sepsis kills you. get stabbed in the liver or kidneys and your life may be totally ruined and you'll need medical treatment or a transplant for the rest of your life... within the next few days. ruptured spleen may cause you to bleed out pretty quickly, though ironically spleen bleeding is more sever when caused by blunt trauma than stab wounds. get stabbed in the lung and you'll still be mostly okay for a few minutes and stay alive for an hour thanks to the back up lung you're packing in the other half of your chest cavity, and it does already take some effort to get a good stab through the rib cage to the lungs. get stabbed to the other lung and you're basically on a 5-10min timer, still enough to get medical attention. and now what will kill you before medics can save you is: getting stabbed to the heart, you're extremely lucky already if your heart don't stop or become inefficient on the spot, and you may bleed out extremely fast if your aorta is hit, still technically speaking the trauma surgeon got 4min of heart failure to put you on life support before irreversible brain damage. and finally you can bleed out in a couple minute from artery injuries, femoral in your thigh, brachial in your arm (and under armpit), jugular in the neck, those are deeply buried between your bones and muscles and it takes a precise and deep stab to reach them. baseline is: it takes very little for a knife to place someone on a timer, but tremendous efforts to finish the job and actually bury them.

[@beepboop204]

stabs seem to be exponentially more lethal than cuts

[@niscent_]

@@beepboop204 they sure are, it takes incredible dedication and efforts to kill someone through knife cuts alone.

[@beepboop204]

@@niscent_ i also believe most of the ritualized self-dispatching also uses pokes more than cuts

[@easternforeigners]

knife, is a very complex tool to arrange training process. Also, if the person in not trained to fight, move and wrestle with bare hands, it makes no sence to explain fight with weapon. weapon training is a much higher level of fight proficiency. This is why, knifes are generally overestimated

[@beepboop204]

@@easternforeigners in a pinch, i do believe most humans will use their fist, or an extension of their fist, to strike downwards more often than not. its interesting to think about how punching eventually led to stabbing and thrusting, and hand weapons turned into spears and polearms, long knives and shirt swords, etc., etc. its intuitive enough, "the pointy end goes into the other person"

[@Benw8888]

Videos like these deserve way more views- they're extremely informative, and >99% viewers don't know this info.

[@paulpolito2001]

Probably the best "knife fighting" advice I've seen on YT. Granted, I'm just a random nobody in the comments; and that makes my opinion relatively worthless -- still, cheers and well said.

[@logosimian]

Knife fighting is worth understanding even if you have zero intention of ever participating (meaning you are sane), simply because people get stabbed more than they get shot, even in the shooty countries. Looking forward to any future "big knife" videos. I'm curious as to your take on the differences.

[@lerempartmidnight3077]

I have been studying this subjects for years , been in knife fights, tryed all the type of weapons you can imagine and i can say that this vidéo is the best i ever saw. Covert it all , no bs

[@usmansubhani7482]

I love these videos. No vagueness on what you’re trying to say, and proving a point when it matters. It’s much more communicative than whatever vague sophistry ‘Martial Artist’ use these days.

[@spookyninja4098]

Learn Self Defense FROM knives is a must = Unfortunately 90% of Knife Defense martial art classes are Crap and never pressure tested. I have only seen 3 practical pressure tested videos on utube so far that really work. The US had 1035 knife murders in 2021 - thats 10% of all murders. More people die from Knives in Australia than any other weapon.

[@Maodifi]

This is fair and needed. I'm an FMA practitioner, but any amount of time seriously thinking about this stuff makes it pretty apparent that: 1) knife fights are always a terrible idea, 2) disarms are hard to use and shouldn't be a primary goal, 3) defanging the snake should be a pleasant surprise, not an expected outcome. On the topic of limb disabling, I have a story that further supports your point. I accidentally chopped into my left hand a couple of years ago out in the woods while trying to prepare a log. It was deep enough that the blood splattered. However, on my way to the clinic, I used both hands to haul my log back to the vehicle. It hurt, but my hand worked almost as well as it had prior to the cut.

[@Tutorp]

I kind of suspect that blunt force is actually more effective at defanging than a cut. Unless you cut the inside tendons of the hand, the hand will still be fully functional, while broken or crushed bones will impede the function.

[@Maodifi]

@@Tutorp Agreed. That's why training to keep the inside parts of your limbs away from your opponent is usually done. The blade I cut myself with was pretty hefty, and the blunt force of the blade smacking into my hand was definitely the most debilitating part.

[@Eric3Frog]

That log must've been quite important to you. :) Glad you're ok.

[@Maodifi]

@@Eric3Frog Lol, thanks. It's a long story, but it would've been a pain (no pun intended) to schedule another trip out there for that particular tree type.

[@youonlylikeonce9592]

Great video. Definitely good food for thought. That whole thing about understanding knife offense as a prerequisite for understanding knife defense also makes sense. Some of those videos of attacks can be hard to watch, but if you're someone who's worried about a knife attack, I definitely think they could be useful to see (if you can tolerate them). That said, I wish there were more sports that involved simulated knife combat, especially with rule sets that allow wrestling and striking in addition to thrusts and slashes. Like with people wearing padded clothing and using rubber knives. I know that kind of thing exists, but I don't think there are nearly as many people who are actually great at that as there are people who are great at boxing, wrestling, etc. It would be interesting to see what else we could learn if such a sport actually became big. I know such a sport wouldn't be perfectly realistic, but I still think we might be able to glean more about real knife fighting and how to actually train people effectively. Also, there seem to be plenty of videos on the internet on untrained (or barely trained) people challenging pro fighters and losing. It would be interesting to see what would happen if a simulated knife combat sport became big and untrained people challenged pros to sparring matches. I just feel like we could learn a lot. Idk if that will ever happen, but a man can dream, right? :)

[@Eric3Frog]

The Dog Brothers gatherings are the closest to what you are describing.

[@RobDegraves]

The Romans researched on "volunteers" and found that a two-inch stab was more lethal than a two-foot slash. Obviously, that depends on where, but it's a valid observation by people who did a lot of stabbing.

[@ArmchairViolence]

Do you have a link to that source? Because that sounds like an interesting thing I would want to read.

[@RobDegraves]

@@ArmchairViolence "For the Romans not only made a jest of those who fought with the edge of that weapon, but always found them an easy conquest. A stroke with the edges, though made with ever so much force, seldom kills, as the vital parts of the body are defended both by the bones and armor. On the contrary, a stab, though it penetrates but two inches, is generally fatal. Besides in the attitude of striking, it is impossible to avoid exposing the right arm and side; but on the other hand, the body is covered while a thrust is given, and the adversary receives the point before he sees the sword. " Longer quote from Vegetius, 4th century

[@timothycheok7324]

I love the way you went about answering this problem. The research, the concepts brought in and tying it all together at the end. I love these videos.

[@blindjusticeandcommonsense2786]

Yes. There is one extra point (pun intended) to add about things like screwdrivers, ice picks, and even afro combs with a pointed handle. Whilst they are obviously stabbing only the range of targets is a little different. Blades tend to skate off the skull, where things like ice picks will penetrate. Side of the skull being the optimal for that. And of course, don't be doing any of that unless you are in a lethal force self defence situation.

[@bullfrogboss8008]

I like the idea of using a screwdriver for applying painful pressure in one point

[@kittencaboodle8124]

As an amateur killer who wants to go pro, this video was so useful!!

[@r.westerling4280]

Must see You made a perfect video; every second contains information, there are no empty words in your story, you cover every aspect of knife fighting I could think of and it is all well thought out. This is the best fighting instructional video I have ever seen.

[@gunnerhiro394]

A kali grandmaster said knife fighting arts (including kali) have become so stylized with so many fancy self defense moves that u can't even do it in knife sparring (with marking blunt blades) - let alone real life (where u REALLY don't want to get cut/stabbed). As they say, u can really do an AWESOME demo if u have an accommodating opponent.

[@cpiper6338]

Great video! There's a reason why the number 1 knife used by commandos for decades is the Fairburn dagger. Long, sharp point with double edges. I learned knife defense from a gentleman who taught at an anti-terrorist school back in the 70's. He called it PerSev. Perforate and Sever. And he always said, "There's a reason the 'P' comes first."

[@herculesbrofister265]

you can actually find old OSS (precursor to the CIA) tutorial videos of William Fairbairn demonstrating his "gutter fighting" techniques here on youtube. it is a lot of stabbing and thrusting.

[@elsewhereboy]

Mate. I have to say that this is the most realistic video I have ever watched. When it gets down to knives, You are fighting for your life . Full stop . End of.

[@CombatSelfDefense]

I’m waiting for the angry FMA fan boys talking about Bobby Toboada and other ancient men with no actual fight record.

[@Shacksies]

Except all of the FMA people commenting are saying they agree with these points and most of this is already fundamental knowledge in FMA. Also Bobby Taboada's style is almost entirely a stick/sword system for longer weapons and involves relatively little knife training compared to other FMA styles. It's just that none of AV's points justify his attempt to debunk knife training, and if anything these arguments prove the value of knife training.

[@dariusjavidan5609]

Excellent explanation. I always argued with people teaching knife defence that most techniques simply wont work in a pressure situation. And you are better off using the knife simply as extension of your fist. And best skill to teach would be distance management and quick movement which can partially negate size difference. (unless stuck in a confined space) which is a totally different game and significant size advantage will almost always prevail).

[@MrWayne1701]

GREAT post! I had one piece of advice from an old biker I once knew, "if youse'r usin' a folder, go fer dere belly or t'roat, so's ya don't gotsta deal wit dere ribs"...Which made sense to me, but I DIDN'T ask him how he knew that.

[@LittleJimmy835]

That “front hand to control, rear hand to attack” stance for knife fighting is pretty much a classical boxing stance, as is the strategy of using footwork to achieve the outside angle. It really looks to me that learning boxing is the best thing you could do to be a knife fighting expert.

[@magritteetmoncouteau]

Hi, forensic pathologist here... just to say that you're absolutely right from what I know Great video and great content Greetings from Belgium

[@williamcryts5337]

Fiore has quite a bit about reverse grip knife fighting. Its strength is its defense, its usefulness in the grapple, its leverage and usefulness in very close thrusting especially from above. I use to be in armed security and one of the things mentioned during training we should do was watch actual footage of suicides, murders, fights, shootouts, drug overdoses etc etc. Just so we would desensitized enough to reduce the risk of freezing or getting our OODA loop reset. I watched a lot of footage of knife fights. I can only think of one where the person used the reverse grip effectively. The grapple match was like 3 minutes that ended in the victim knocking over jugs of water causing him to slip and allowing the murderer to overpower than thrust in his clavicle. he then used his knife as a lever to pull him down and finished him off. using the knife as a lever is also strangely rare. The saddest thing about this encounter was when the subject used the knife as a lever to break open a cash drawer. it had money AND a gun. The victim wrestled for his life and the entire time a gun was within arms reach yet secured. To this day I wonder what the background story was. The subject had a sort of deep mabu horse stance the entire time and used the knife in a way I never saw in fight footage. Even when he was leaving he walked that way. I assume due to the water on the ground? who knows. If Im allowed to make a wild claim the only people you need to worry about a reverse grip from would be butchers and a small percentage of fiorist who like knife fencing. Butchers keep their knives sharp, use them often and also understand how to use them as lever to reliably move carcasses around. This technique can be used on humans but you never see it. The average "knife fighter" in the modern era would use shiv sewing machine thrust to the gut or rabbit punches with the shank to the ribs and back of the neck. They have no concept of using it as a lever or blocking with it.

[@WengerdRW]

You guys seem like an awesome group of guys to train with. That's some good real-life knowledge in a way that makes sense and is understandable. I dont train at all, so the no conflating and simple explanations are easy for me to understand. Love it. Great video.

[@sticksnstones5407]

This guy has convinced me to start carrying a fork.

[@sammyli9456]

This is best VDO i have watched from your channel. I learned several weapon forms like Thai swords, Jian (Chinese), Katana (JP), Tonfa, spears for the athletic purpose. Sometimes I have sparred with my partners by those weapons just to assure my understanding to their practical application and the force line which is to encourage correct practice. In spite of my several weapon skills, I never thought about practicing knife for either self defense or athletic purpose. 🙏 Thanks again for your dedication on the illustration in depth about knife use which cannot practically establish a self defense purpose.

[@guyfawkes5012]

love your gf's slightly awkward/uncomfortabe facial expressions in the demonstrations, she is adorable!

[@ObservantPiratePlus]

Just subbed to your channel. Your philosophies, advice and techniques mirror my own that I've had for years. Basically you confirmed everything I already knew was true. Awesome job!

[@fredeuhrbrand3789]

This is great - I will refer and link to you when these discussions come up - as always thorough and easily accessible :-). I will add: I have also looked at a lot of knife assault videos - and more than technique - the criminals seem to be relying on strategy - in this case, the element of surprise. Sooo many videos of people getting stabbed while being unaware. I think if you really are a self defense nerd or have a real need for self protection - your hours spent studying are more effective if you don't start with technique but situational/strategic analysis and Then potentially move on to technique. Cheers

[@Shiresgammai]

Excellent as always. This is pretty much the only good video (aside from Bae313's videos) about knife fighting which I've seen on KZbin. Most videos about this topic are horrendously delusional.

[@davemay8747]

Articulate and well researched as usual, presented with a nice sense of humour. Definitely deserves a larger following.

[@jeice13]

"Karambits are better than longswords" Armchair violence, 2023

[@garynaccarato4606]

When it comes to opening boxes this is true however that's not really the point of this video.

[@jeice13]

@@garynaccarato4606 22:14 is the timestamp

[@nef36]

22:13 "I give you two minutes before he's inside" Oh, you sweet summer child. *The fight will not last that long.*

[@alexandrostheodorou8387]

This dude deserves way more credit. You basically confirmed what I always knew.

[@snehithabraham9907]

Bro I appreciate the level of research and grateful for the information, but damn, you really sat through tons of footage of people just dying and getting stabbed. That's nuts

[@Swordsman_HEMMA]

"Everything your instructor is telling you is wrong!" But... But everything you just said IS what I'm telling my students 🥺 No but fr, as a dagger instructor: if you spend enough time reading HEMA dagger texts, watching Active Self-Protection, and sparring with knives, it becomes pretty self-evident that everything you just said is pretty accurate. The ONLY thing I disagree with is your emphasis on circling around your opponent. This is an excellent strategy with longer weapons, but I find that with knives, your priority needs to be on controlling your opponent's weapon via grappling before making your own strikes. But, I don't think this is you being wrong, just a case of two people with good information coming to different conclusions based on their personal style. Another great video, as usual.

[@ArmchairViolence]

HEMA people largely know these lessons. I was more referring to people that teach "reality based self-defense," because it's ironically almost never based in reality. And getting to their side isn't really about circling, like you would do in a sword fight. It is more about cutting an angle, like you would do in a boxing match. I think we agree with each other, I just didn't communicate it clearly enough.

[@vanivanov9571]

Can tell you from my friend who survived defending himself with a knife that one should neither circle nor focus on controlling the knife hand. If you try to control the knife hand... often y'd just get cut, mugger swaps hands, he shoves you off, or beats y'. And you don't really want to circle, since that's slow and they can easily react. Armchair actually did describe fairly well than you need to grab the guy and get behind the shoulder. But don't grab the arm, grab them by the shirt and pull them off balance while moving behind their shoulder.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

​@@ArmchairViolence i see! That's about right.

[@bigcconservativeguy2534]

The majority of people in this world are right handed and will circle right to left. Years ago I trained myself to be fully ambidextrous and can switch back and forth at will. The simply fact of circling as a lefty, from left to right, is enough many times to mess up even the most skilled opponent as their feet just don't know what do do automatically like mine do. All you need is a split second of clumsiness, inaction/confusion and there is your opening. It's why even highly skilled boxers have difficulty with southpaws.

[@dzerzhinskyironfelix5217]

​​@@ArmchairViolencemy friend, I want to ask you a very difficult question, what to do if the knife does not have a guard (the only one there was/in my country the guard on knives is illegal), because the hand will slip onto the blade. and next to the heart are the ribs and one more question, what to do if the knife does not have a tip (for example, in Egypt, all knives have their tips cut off) With love from icy Russia

[@Chris-uo3rj]

Extremely well thought out and described. Thank you

[@8Phobos8]

Finally someone with common sense and down to earth about real fights! I love this sociopathic guy! Going to watch his videos for sure

[@SpidermAntifa]

Saber grip IS less secure than hammer grip, but hammer grip can still be stripped with the thumb gate when you use a training dagger that won't bend lol I've used both, got stiffer training knives when we realized we couldn't use thumb gate disarms.

[@johnandrewserranogarcia7223]

"Nobody has survived enough knife fights to get expert status and live to talk about it." This KZbinr has never heard of Lieutenant Colonel William Ewart Fairbairn. He created the world's first SWAT team in China, where he was in a ton of knife fights Then he helped the British form the SAS hand-to-hand program and the USMC hand-to-hand program.

[@dannytv7825]

Well, this dude just edgy, pretending he's an expert

[@ja66565]

This clarifies a lot of things on the knife fighting conversation

[@WO0Odzy]

You're just making more a fighting nerd everyday, I hope you are happy. (You should, congrats on this amazing channel!)

[@iotaeta-pi2770]

My Drill Sergeant had two confirmed combat kills by knife. But that was done by sneaking up behind them. Otherwise, he used his rifle 😊.

[@bigcconservativeguy2534]

Precisely! I was going to mention that stealth approaching from behind and stuffing your off forearm in your victim's mouth while using your knife to quickly and repeatedly stab the person (knife in the icepick grip) in the chest with 0 chance of any harm coming to your own person. This however is well outside the theme of this video as it is really in no way self defense and definitely more of a combat skill/tactic thing!

[@iotaeta-pi2770]

@@bigcconservativeguy2534 And my DS had a strange, almost other-worldly way of moving. Once, he just strolled halfway into the barracks before anyone called out "at ease". We figured he could knife half the platoon in our sleep before anyone noticed! 🤣

[@theanarchistvigilante7044]

Fairbairn Sykes knife is a very cool and neat knife. Perfect for thrusting movements.

[@methomps01123]

Yeah, I gotta say I'm pretty much on board with everything from the video. I am currently trying to introduce some more reality based stuff to my clubs (fillipino style) knife defence curriculum and we'll see how much shit this video stirs. When it comes to attacking techniques there is something I've noticed from sparing with them (For context I train HEMA and we occasionally spar with period rondel daggers and more modern blades). Namely it's the first time I've found myself using old Wing Chun techniques. Like 20 years ago I took Wing Chun for a year and a bit but fell out after it became apparent that it wasn't particularly effective. However, when sparing with knives the Wing Chun style simeltanious block/strike is actually useful. It's by no means a guaranteed win (I think I've had a half dozen exchanges in all of my sparing that let me cleanly attack an opponent without getting cut up in the process) but it is a viable way to approach attacking while staying safe with a knife.

[@williamsmith8790]

Because it’s a weapons based art. The butterfly swords. All the old systems were designed to support your weapons deployment.

[@methomps01123]

@@williamsmith8790 I don't know about all of the old systems, but I would certainly say I have more appreciation for Wing Chun as a weapon art after knife sparing. It seem by far it's most useful configuration.

[@davidmc8478]

Great video. Two anatomical things, one is that hitting a major organ usually kills through massive haemorrhage so that’s another circle. The exception is an intestinal wound that causes bowel leak and infection which kills over 3 days without medical attention. The second is that a knife thrust compresses tissue during the thrust so knife wounds penetrate deeper than the length of the knife. This just makes it more scary.

[@inexperiencedknife]

This videos gonna be played in a court room

[@clarkethedark]

How is your channel only 16K subs is beyond me. Ten times (at least) better content then some other much larger channels...ugh. I guess a few more months and you'll be at a few hundred k ;) Thanks for this!!

[@tyrusmfrechs7025]

Trash that’s why

[@academiacadejo3266]

To paraphrase James Yeager, "The root of the word knife-fight is "fight", not knife." You need to learn how to fight.

[@laplaceZ3ro]

this is such an underrated video bro, if you die then this world would lose SO much high quality knowledge, dont die any time soon bro I still have a lot more to learn from you

[@edi9892]

Great video! I almost completely agree. However, a few things, I'd like to point out: 1) Knives are VERY common for self-defense in many places in Europe, because weapons are forbidden and knives, even if illegal, are easy to carry (far more preferable and easy to obtain compared to guns). If the defender draws a knife, there's usually no fight and thus no video for you to enjoy... 2) I agree with the general assumption that stabs are preferable, but a few cuts can make a huge difference: a) the good old throat slice. It really surprised me that you didn't see it in real videos. I've seen it a bunch of times in real crimes on tape. b) slashing across the eyes (pretty obvious why) c) if the target doesn't wear much clothing, or you got a talon-like blade, a slash across the belly can be VERY nasty and disruptive... d) Cuts mostly happen defensively. I've seen IRL someone punch into a knife and it completely peeled off the skin of his forearm! 3) it is possible to end a fight in one stab, but it's rare IRL. Depending on the blade length, shape, and overall sturdiness, the following targets are possible: brain, neck, spine, heart, and almost instantly: the main artery in the belly, shoulder, or thigh. In the case of really long blades, a stab through the guts can reach the heart and the same goes for stabs to the armpit or down the shoulder. 4) When you threaten someone with a knife, you must mean it, or you'll get disarmed! Don't just stand static and present your knife, or you'll be a very easy target for someone who doesn't fear you... The sad truth is that even a 1-inch blade can kill, but it doesn't deter hardened criminals, unlike a 12-inch blade. Thus, most knives are meant o be felt and not seen (Marcaida was right on that one)

[@jephilologist]

Really good criticisms here. His first couple of points reek of survivorship bias- which you nicely point out. Just because stuff was caught on video does not mean that that's the only way reality plays out. Plenty of real things happen without getting caught on video. You also nicely point out that cutting is more defensive- and you are correct as well. The cutting is done as a deterrent or barrier not as a reach out or fight ender. The fight does not have to end quickly- with a downed opponent due to the knife. The fight may end if you are able to point out to the assailant say, that either, it is not worth the trouble, or that they are already bleeding, and appeal to them getting shocked at their injury- which can backfire, but leads to the last point: Knife fighting on the street (i.e. criminal activity) which he cited, is not really "knife fighting" per se (in a duel sense or warfare sense). Most of it is really just "wrestling with a knife in one hand" (self-defense) or "a HIT using a knife" (hit as in, assassination attempt, knife assault). Regardless, there needs to be a tactic to prolong or detract the fight- either skills to avoid attacks (i.e. footwork), or skills to relieve/suppress violent pressure (like grappling), and de-escalation or posturing/signaling. The shorter the weapon, the more important these become- such to the point that it blurs whether it should even be called "knife fighting" to begin with. Downing your opponent with a knife alone likely won't happen quickly- so you need other skills to make it work. Heck, even in a knife HIT, the hitman needs to disengage and escape after the hit. Deterring your opponent using a knife, however, is a chance that some people take- for good or for bad- and plenty of it happens in obscurity, like the successful hits that don't make it to the news rounds or video reels.

[@edi9892]

@@jephilologist Thanks.

[@dzerzhinskyironfelix5217]

​@@jephilologistRegarding restraining the enemy with a knife, I want to add: you should look like a sick bastard, demonic fire should sparkle in your eyes, you need to scream loudly to scare the enemy. in one series I saw how someone defending himself with a knife, even before the baking sheet attacked, cut his left hand to look crazy

[@Mulligatawney]

Piper knife system is basically almost all these points, albeit with a reverse grip and lots of footwork to get the outside angle. It's based on studying knife attacks in South Africa

[@thenoxz2924]

There are no words that can thank you enough for providing footage of real attacks so we as viewers can analyze them and train based on them, not based on some bullshit seen in most self defense schools. I watched your other video about BJJ Self Defense sucks and I loved that, this is your second video I watch and you earned so much respect from me immediately I am seriously considering subscribing. From the bottom of my heart thank you dude for keeping it real, for showing reality, unfortunately we have so much delusion about self defense especialy when it comes to knives. I would definitely love more videos with more analysis on real attack situations and with the playlists from the footage analyzed. Big handshake mate take care.

[@Shacksies]

You don't understand "defanging the snake". It's primarily targeting the fingers of the weapon hand. And yes, slicing someone's fingers with a knife will usually make them drop whatever they are holding, or as shown in that video, at least make them have to switch hands. Possibly the only reason that guy didn't drop his knife is because of the karambit ring keeping it secured on his finger (the intended purpose of the handle ring on karambits).

[@Mightylcanis]

That bit about knives not being good against armored opponents is technically true.. since knives aren't daggers. But my heart weeps for rondels and bollock daggers (even though quite a few of both of those types of daggers are often single-edged, and could easily be called fighting knives.)

[@QBALL85]

The only sources I trust for knife fighting is prisoners and Native American fighting styles. I once read a book in knife fighting when I was in high school and the opening lines was, "If you've never been in a knife fight, you don't know shit about knife fighting." That always stuck with me. And I don't intend on ever getting in a knife fight therefore I'll never be an expert on it. I suggest listening to Michael Thompson and hear his stories from being a leader in the Ariyan Brotherhood. Great source material.

[@Cachi287]

For becoming an aryan?

[@cahallo5964]

​@@Cachi287embracing r*tarded skinhead nationalism to get slightly better at something I'll never do sounds fun I think

[@Bodyworkshop-x8m]

Why this man has a little amount of views is very weird he’s logical and strait to the point

[@charliedavis3931]

Having watched the video and having looked at a manual or two, I will add that I think the Icepick grip is great when grappling in really close ranges and in a quick draw when the dagger is hanging from the belt. It may only be a split second faster but that second can be so important and it is a stronger motion because the attack is closer to the body. I don't disagree with what you said, but I like using an icepick grip when the dude is closer to me.

[@Char-hx4rb]

This video is basically a seminar in debunking common presumptions with actual research.

[@kaischreurs2488]

3:23 tis but a flesh wound.

[@PayJ567]

One of your best videos in one of your best "series". Well thought out and well put. Love and comment for the algo

[@repressivethoughts]

I think there are two distinct circumstances you may find yourself in if you are talking to someone that claims to have thousands of hours of experience in life or death knife fights. The much more common scenario is you are being lied to by a liar that lies a lot. The second scenario is a violent psychopath with hundreds of victims just admitted to their crimes and is now intending to make you their next victim.

[@Leftyotism]

14:14 I have seen muggers leave a person alone after he switched from reverse grip to forward grip. He had multiple muggers around him, but a car as cover to one side. Or maybe it was because he looked at the guy directly and was moving towards him after he changed to a forward grip. Crazy stuff!

[@grailknight6794]

You forgot clothing, clothing can 100% make knife slashes completly useless, while stabs are still effective, other than that, the only effective cuts ive seen are that were taught in bowie knife fighting, were you use a triangle step to to get the angle while at the same time cuting at your opponents arm... not to disable the arm but to use it as a stop for theirs like a block with the benefit of doing some damage while blocking which you would follow up with a stab or a hand trap then stab etc. Good video

[@vanivanov9571]

Depends. Fairly short knife, and winter coat, you can get really minimal penetration, and so little bleeding/effect. Of course, the sensible thing is just to go for vitals like the neck, or you stab and cut in underneath the shirt/jacket, which makes the intestines more prone to fall out. I remember being disturbed when the knife-vest I was given was very vulnerable to exactly that.

[@unifedgongfu]

a few things: 1. its much easier to stab than cut with a knife, since slashing smooth movement require coordination and better training. so its les common on the street to see a trained knife wielding. 2. slashing (unless it slash the throat or cut an eye) is usually be using as diversion or attrition, to prepper the situation for a stab. 3. forward hand holding is good for knife vs knife fight, so you can keep distance and try avoid getting ER. rare hand is against unarmed or non bladed weapon. the forward arm can hold a shield, a backpack for example.

[@garynaccarato4606]

If your going to build your knife fighting strategy around cutting then your'e most likely going to need a fairly big knife which possibly borders on the size of a short sword.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

Or maybe you are planning for something unusual and out of the box. Hear me out: People that actualky have such plans could actually be thinking about fighting unarmed opponents, grappling them until they get a really dominant position and then bring out their knife. Or maybe they are planning to use those big swinging motions to scare their opponent rather than to hurt them. Maybe they are planning to use knives while chasing people on a bike, i definitely wouldn't be always stabbing if i'm going fast in a bike, i would pass them real fast while doing a cutting motion at them! I might sound like a psychopath after that last one, but my point is that the possibilities are endless. I was taught that something is one way or shape, until it isn't~!!

[@batteredwarrior]

Khukuri, parang, bolo or machete essentially.

[@leonemaledetto1500]

Came into this video thinking I didn't know anything about knife fights, but actually I knew more than most martial artists? Thanks Lindy beige!

[@Adam-sp8pl]

In b4 this gets taken down by KZbin 🤣

[@fawazahmed4978]

wow thought this would be a channel with 1m+ subs, super good quality

[@jaketheasianguy3307]

Hand sniping is legit in knife dueling, but you have to be a moron to expect the other guy to drop his knife the first time you sniped his hand. Also, why bother with tendons and veins when fingers or the entire hand are bigger targets to attack. If you can consistently snipe your partner's wrist in sparring, cutting their fingers consistently is possible In murder context with someone really want your head tho, hand sniping almost never happened, don't expect it or attempt to do it from the get go. Do whatever he said in the video instead Edit : Jesus, I know people like to defend Karambit and I get that but saying they could use karambit to do this and that against longsword....

[@beepboop204]

"attack that which is presented to you" or "offend what offends you" sorta logic

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

​@@beepboop204 yeah, attacking their limbs is completely fine, but it sure won't easily incapacitate them.

[@beepboop204]

@@jestfullgremblim8002 ive found in my own experience, "its the thought that counts" motivating them to leave me alone

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

@@beepboop204 what? lol

[@beepboop204]

@@jestfullgremblim8002 trying to stab people has historically been sufficient to make them stop trying to rob me, stop trying to jump me, or because i make sure to carry oversized knives, attack me with their smaller blade. ive never stabbed or cut someone, but ive tried. and theyve run away after

[@athallahhafidz7689]

Nice analysis! I love these facts. It would be great if you can also do some analysis for why "Celurit", an Indonesian weapon, are widely used by criminal gangster in their act, especially these days recently. Keep up spreading facts brother 🔥🔥🔥

[@drachimera]

So the argument is “I watched a couple dozen knife altercations on KZbin and now I am an expert on knife fighting”. Isn’t that like saying I watched a couple dozen fist fights on the street and now am an expert in MMA? Regarding stabs vs slashes, of course stabs are more effective! However, slashes are useful because they setup stabs. An understanding of where limbs are and ‘traffic’ is important because you can’t stab the body with limbs in the way. If I said “don’t learn an uppercut because I watched dozens of fist fights on KZbin and it never came up” you would laugh at my ignorance and probably explain the importance of the uppercut in how it gets through a good guard. Knife fighting is no different, a good system has different strategies for what your opponent is doing. Small sample size “evidence” is really just anecdotal. Medical evidence ignores what happened prior to the stab…. E.g. how the opening was created. Sparring with non-lethal “knives “ is a very helpful tool in understanding knives.

[@ericsierra-franco7802]

Completely agree!

[@StealthScouts]

AV you are literally the best! Freggin love your videos and way more informative than anything I've seen KEEP IT UP !!!

[@9usuck0]

That is a false statement. The fact you think no one has had enough fights with knives to be in your words "an expert" isn't something you can say with so much confidence considering how many rural areas have many people who carry knives often. I'll agree no one who talks about it has that experience, that doesn't mean no one does. You seem to have the idea that everyone who can also wants to be famous and talk about it. That is a limitation in you judging the world by your own personality. You could assume a lot of people who can, also tell. But not everyone does or wants to. Side note, why are people stupid enough to fight with real swords. That is almost as stupid as airsofting with real rifles. I do agree with how focusing on cutting limbs as your strategy is bad and knives are best used to stab. A knife is as easy to stab as it is for you to punch. Thrusts are also much easier to do, you do not need training to understand how to stab, but cuts are hard to train in a way you don't just hurt yourself and they are way riskier for no real advantages. Lethality I almost fully agree. Knives honestly scare me the most out of most weapons. They all very much scary me, but I've been attacked by someone trying to stab me with not a knife and it wasn't fun. Again, mostly I just have problems with your phrasing and always talking in absolutes. Those are just problems with the fact you are still younger. Hopefully.

[@9usuck0]

I don't think you need to be stabbed a bunch to have a good opinion on knives. I mostly agree with you and my teachers would as well. They never talk about knife defense like they will teach you how to be a super hero. Its very much, "survive it" based. I just think, with most of your videos, you are young and think you know everything because you've "done your own research." But you tend to think that with fighting and killing everyone who can has their experiences to find. They don't, a lot, who knows how many, do not talk or write these kinds of things off. Maybe because of culture or their lifestyles. You can't assume ever killer tells people or shows people how they use knives. Just the ones who got caught.

[@beepboop204]

using semantics to make a point. its like saying that being a boxing expert will lead you to having success in a prison riot. maybe.

[@9usuck0]

@Beep Boop are you saying that I'm using semantics to create an argument? Because I'm not. I'm not arguing a point, I'm arguing that he is making a point ignorantly on a subject you can't have all the information on. Not only that, but there is not really a way to accurately measure how much information we lack. No one has a list of every person who kills with knives. I think his research is good. He can probably find a lot of the data needed. But subjects involving violence have an inherent concealment to them.

[@izzycirrus]

> The fact you think no one has had enough fights with knives to be in your words "an expert" isn't something you can say with so much confidence considering how many rural areas have many people who carry knives often. If someone is apparently 'expert enough' to know how to win knife fights often... they're probably a maniac with a knife targeting unarmed people. The entire point is that knife fights in true self-defense situations usually don't happen multiple times to the same person, much less to the same person without them becoming critically injured, dying, let alone letting them live to teach others how to fight with a knife.

[@9usuck0]

@Cirrus congratulations, I already understood his point. It's still wrong in the ground of his absolute phrasing. You can not simply know off your own inability that no one has lived that life. Just because no one has written it. Almost all knife fights happen, just like with most fist fights, with untrained normal people. Even killers just have success with "just start stabbing." That isn't enough information to say with absolute confidence that people otherwise exist. I'm assuming you're probably close to his age. There is information we know, information we don't know, and a mix of how much we know on both of those. Don't assume someone's life experience just because you might find it absurd from where you're from. That's my only point. He uses absolutes far too often about a subject he has to look up on the internet.

[@piotrnowak7730]

I agree with almost everything except for a few minor exceptions, especially when it comes to fighting a bigger opponent, in my experience speed plays a significant role in a knife fight and we all know that smaller is almost always faster and range is more important than size. apart from these obvious details, the mental approach is of great importance because most sane people are afraid of stabbing anyone even in self-defense, that's why they don't have a knife with them at all, which effectively eliminates the possibility of defending themselves with it.

[@bigcconservativeguy2534]

BTW, just discovered your channel and am now a new sub. Found your accurate info and humorous delivery quite refreshing!

[@jaggedskar3890]

This was really well presented and on point - so to speak.

[@InfinitGamerChannel]

Your channel is so underrated, I hope more people will watch it in the future. Keep it up, bro!

[@CanIbeWithThee]

Your channel is AWESOME ❤ I'm happy to have found it. Gladly subscribed.

[@imjustsam1745]

This video has taught me I'm old enough and eccentric enough to carry a hardwood walking stick. Knives seem like terrible weapons.

[@godwarrior3403]

All really great and scary info. As always, training will be a determining factor guys. Watching this video and getting this knowledge is good, but get some practice knives and train against actual resistance (meaning train with family or friends, practice your techniques, and spar at least sometimes in a way where you're actively resisting each other) if you want to make this part of your self defense game.

[@jimmyjam-vc6rf]

Lol dude i was searching for this other day and it was driving me crazy just to know how people die by pokey things. Thank you for making this!