Learning to survive a knife attack

Systema has numerous drills that cover the area of knife defence. These not only cover situations where you are stood with an attacker stabbing at you, but also move into areas such as fighting from the ground and in confined spaces. This article will discuss some of the drills used and their progression.

Weapon touching the body

When learning defence against the knife we start with the weapon touching the body, then increase the range as the skill increases. This is the exact opposite of hand to hand drills which tend to start at a distance then move closer.

The reason for this is that it is important to educate the body to move from the direction of the knife so that it does not freeze and resist the pressure from the knifes tip. In a situation where this was to happen the knife would cut the tense muscles easier than they would a relaxed muscle.

A simple drill used to educate this response is to have a partner poke your body with the tip of a knife. Move with the pressure of this so that the knife is allowed to flatten against the part of the body being poked. Like all drills this needs to be started slowly before moving onto more challenging drills. These include having two people stabbing or your eyes closed during the exercise.

Once able to do this you need to practice working against the attacker who simply holds the knife against the body or throat. From a self defence perspective the majority of attackers use a knife as a threat and will either brandish or hold it against you to get what they want. In this situation it is essential that your movements remain relaxed and smooth. If you snatch at the weapon or move sharply away from the threat the attacker is likely to cut you instinctively due to their heightened state of anxiety.

Your first movement need to make you safe. This can be achieved by moving the knife away from the area it is threatening or by flattening it against the body. Once in control of the knife you should maintain this throughout the rest of your response.