How to defend against knife attacks... or not. (Which knife defense techniques actually work?)

The vast majority of knife defense techniques are bizarrely ridiculous, and will usually leave you filled with holes... which is crazy. Who would teach a method of defending against knife attacks without actually TESTING it?!

And yet, the Bullshido persists, throughout some of the most popular knife defense styles in the world... like Kali, Pekiti Tirsia, Krav Maga, Systema, and just about every other style that I researched and tested.

So, the purpose of this video and the entire free training program that it introduces is to cut through the nonsense. You will be able to tell which methods of knife self defense will never work, you will have all of the defenses to knife attacks that ACTUALLY DO work, and you will increase your chances of surviving something like this dramatically.

In a knife fight, nothing will ever be 100%... but if you can win more times than you lose, you're doing a great job.

Check out the free course, learn some REAL knife fighting skills, and let's put an end to the BS.

[classyassmothafucka]

If someone comes with a knife, you aren't likely to escape unscathed. That's just how it is.

A knife isn't only sharp... but it also has the full power of a punch behind it potentially... and if they miss, they'll do it again... and if you redirect their stab, they will just slash... if you dodge and kick the assailant away, they will return.

The only effective ways to defend against a knife is to
1. Gain FULL control of their knife hand and isolate it (Kumura and omoplata are good options for this)
2. Break the knife wielding hand, or wrist
3. Incapacitate the assailant with a direct hit to the nose, throat, or groin and get the fuck away

Think about it like this... A knife is a punch with a blade at the end.

How many boxers do you know that can win a boxing match while dodging ALL punches?

None... that's how many. ESPECIALLY if they are trying to enter the fray and claim the weapon at the same time.

At a close distance, a knife is more dangerous than a gun. With a gun, at least when you redirect the gun and clinch the assailant, the gun is incapacitated. A knife, on the other hand, is ready to slash you up.

[RangerBandit]

0:42 never laughed harder at a YouTube ad

[BURNiBURNs]

I love this ad... so much so that I searched for it after seeing it on another channel! Lol

[aarongadzi]

What to do in a knife fight:
1. Run.
2. If not run, use gun.
3. If run or gun not possible, prepare to get a whole lot of stitches trying to break the dude's arm... and probably die in the process.

[dtpc]

Love this dude. Been a member for years and have given him some money. I WILL be giving him more. He TRULY gets it and has helped my head movement tremendously. Love you Trav!!

[dknollRX]

Where has this guy been? I’ve been subscribed for years and just saw he started posting stuff again.

[scottdavidson]

There isn't any fully effective way to defend against an oncoming knife attack. One would only have to make one mistake despite what kind of training a person had. The best defense is to back off and live to fight another day.

[believer]

Best defence against someone with a knife is to RUN!

[davidvictor]

One of the most important things I learned from Traditional Silat about self-defense from sharp weapons is never to try to disarm the opponent's hand, because the basic concept of a sharp weapon is an extension of the human body (especially Hands). The only way is that we fight it with the possibility of our body parts being injured or opening an escape route for ourselves, it can be in various ways depending on the circumstances and the situation.

[amberhayes]

I was watching a different Self Defence thing when This video came up as an ad. I have never been more impressed with YouTube's ads. Thank you sir.

[sumairrana]

Well there’s many things wrong with the information in this
1) defending against a knife is EXTREMELY difficult, and you WILL get cut
2) the striking the hand techniques work because a person actually using a knife will never grip a knife that hard, it’s practically impossible to actually grip a knife that hard and attack properly at the same time,
3) YOU WILL GET CUT but the whole idea is to rather than get cut deeply or stabbed in an organ, you would instead escape with superficial cuts that won’t do much harm

[dynnlopez]

FYI man. In FMA you really have to quickly poke the opponents eye or hit the face to create distraction after you block and grab. after that you create an angle where you can break the arm and for sure the knife will drop. This what makes kali a dangerous art and it's being used by some military forces all over the world. You can hardly disarm a knife when your partner grips it hard and you're just doing a demo. The actual thing is the one that works. Most of what you saw in yt are only principles, drills and basics that only applies to an average opponent. However you can still apply it depending on the angle and position of you and your enemy. In FMA, you need to master all the techniques and practice on improving alertness before you realize it's effectiveness. That is why Kali is not for lazy people who just wants to feel good in learning martial arts. Most people end up going to gyms that teach "feel-good" martial arts. I hope you're not one of those teachers, brotha.

[subhrajyotiroy]

Attacker stabbing me with a knife
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Me: wait, let me click the link below first

[psycho]

It's not free it's 100 dollars...

[daniel-zhnjyny]

The best defense:
-That's not a knife. This is a knife !








(for the younger demographic: it's from a movie named Crocodile Dundee)

[reikosuzuka]

As a retired tactical instructor, ive seen combat with knives. Ive defended from knives. and ive easily removed knives, in highly dangerous situations.

Why i was able to do this is i have no dedicated knife defense tactic.

Knife fighting tactic, yes... defense, no.

To overthink the removal of one specific object over all others, kind of deadens the ability to be reasonable about it. It gets pretty fancy, dont it? THe movement of one i have in mind....was the knife was removed when the attacker was coming at me...at the greatest extension....then i simply had it at the attackers throat, waiting for the deadly aggression to end. All i needed was the arts i already knew, which were rooted in aikijutsu. It was so fast, the attacker was subdued quicker than the attack was made.

You cant spar knife violence. Its not a thing that can be faked while learning.

Nobody holds a knife the way they do when ready, in actual conflict.

and nobody is more ready for armed conflict, than they are prepared for in their natural combatives...and to be honest, its all in the basics.

control at the wrist. In basic training of martial principles, its at the wrist that we start to gain control of the hand. Do that and anything in it is yours. Anything. Knives arent mystical objects that are special.

good luck, posers.

Nobody on fucking youtube needs to know how to fight with knives. Its the last weapon and rarest weapon i ever taught anyone, cuz brains in people are stupid about them. THe fear of being cut makes them fools, or fear makes them rely on them needlessly. You gotta get all your know how without knives. There is no fake cut. Good luck knife training with fake combat focusing on them. It Doesnt work. The threat of the knife isnt the edge. Its your stupid mind. If you get in a knife fight on purpose and get cut...fuck you..that's your fault for being a damn fool. The reaction and speed it takes to be skilled at knife defense requires one already be combat sensitive and sensible. Otherwise, you goddamn stay right the hell away from knives. If one is at you.... get the hell away from it. most fools tactics show the person actually standing there to fight the knife guy. Wtf for? you dont need that knife. Unless you have business to stand there....learn what cops have to. find that out, and leave it alone otherwise. Rape defense? Well if youre a woman you could be at risk of rape and if youre wise youll dedicate to learn how to defend your sorry ass before anything happens. Stop breeding losers who cant survive.

knife tactics for defense are a quick fix for stupidity. Just say no....and actually dedicate to lifesyle of being safe.

im in one of my ...im autistic and sick of again....

[LORDVADER]

Systema Spetsnaz works. You are just way too slow. Just like 1:10 of this video. Your job is to grab the wrist of the attacker NOW. if you are FAST enough to do it will work. Basicly you stay outside of knife radius. Attacker is forced to extend arm forward to reach you. At that precise moment wrist holding the knife is vulnerable. If you grab the wrist holding the knife you won. Attacker cant stab you in the guts because your hands are infront of you and you are far away. There are excercises and trainings to boost your speed. Its very difficult for the attacker to move and stab at same time. Depends on that how fast you are. Use hands and keep your body away. You cant reach my stomach or chest. You must extend your hand with the knife far away.

[RANCE]

I agree. My dad, my uncle and I train in knife combatives so I completely understand where you are coming from. While I agree with what you are saying, it still doesn't hurt to know some of those knife disarms. In a fight, you have to expect that anything can happen. You might get lucky with a bs disarm. My basis for surviving a knife fight is always run away if you can. Nothing cowardice about wanting to survive. If you are unable to escape or trying to protect loved ones, the best thing you can do is to grab control of your opponents knife hand/arm with both of your hands. Next best thing to do would be to disorient your opponent but that would have to be done quickly because your opponent still has a free hand. So once you've gained control of your opponents knife hand/arm you'll have a split second to do something. Example: punch or backhand to the face or kick to the groin. Because what also happens is that your opponent will stiffen his entire body making it harder for you to perform a disarm. So once that is done then you can proceed to a disarm or perhaps even a takedown but keep in mind that with a takedown, he'll/she'll still have the knife so be sure to run away after you perform a takedown. I highly doubt he/she will run after you with a drawn knife.

[Riqtube]

So coming from FMA, I did check out (and pay for) Trav's program. He did have some very good points on how knife defense is RIDDLED with flaws 😄. In the FMA I was taught, we earned and drilled blade defenses from EACH posture, not just standing like most systems I see. <-- I was looking forward to seeing that and was a bit disappointed that this part was missing in his system.

Overall, I was impressed that he did his homework. Plus, c'mon...it's Trav. Just on entertainment value, who's NOT clicking a dope Trav video on fight tips!? 😁

- Postures above -
Standing
Kneeling
Sitting

Sit vs standing, kneeling, or sitting
Kneeling vs ""
Sitting vs ""
Tight space vs ""

Head/Shirt Grab
Arm Grabbed
Guard (top & bottom)
Half mount
Mount
Stairs (above)
Stairs (below)
Back to wall

[AnonymousVox]

The brutal honesty here is a FANTASTIC and effective marketing approach.. Truth sells.