Methodical knife training

 It is a known fact that the lack of a technique or a system in any affair means no result. The most vivid example is a combat unit where no result means death of comrades and mission failure. So if we talk about a result from the military point of view, that means where there is a result – there is a technique. And these techniques will always exist, because the result is needed. I think this is exactly what some schools lack on some reason or other. Here is a knife. Here is an enemy. What's so difficult about killing him? To be honest, everything is difficult: from the unknown situation (where and when the knife will be necessary) to inner parameters (reaction speed, precision and variety of actions).

Example: there is a shot in close contact to you. You seem to understand everything, but your body stiffens, your breath becomes more frequent and unstable, your hands disobey you. These are psychophysical barriers that affect your actions. And if you add pain, death fear and something else – you'll get a situation in which very few people can act quickly and clearly. The aim of a technique is to minimise psychophysical barriers by arranging the simplest and most primitive actions for the fighter.

Jumping ahead of myself I can say that the most difficult thing is to teach a fighter to choose actions rapidly and to switch from one action to another. Again a military example: there is a fight, you shoot, come closer to the opponent and suddenly run out of ammo. You pick your gun and continue shooting. If this happens in a room and your opponent comes closer and escapes from the firing line, it would be better to strike with a leg and to shoot again. It will be necessary to apply your knowledge of close fight and maybe to pull out a knife. This example is necessary for understanding and not for the reflection of truth. The question is how to make your body do all this under stress and emotional pressure. The answer: to rely on your survival instinct which makes your body protect itself with any means varying them according to their effectiveness.

This instinct is also necessary when an ordinary attack turns into a murder attempt. Civil example: the opponent starts attacking you with fists wanting to hit you in the face, but then he suddenly pulls out his knife in order to kill you. In this situation you must notice and react to this change immediately. Strange to say but there is also a methodological approach in such a situation. I know three such approaches. There are three schemes, two of them suitable for everybody and one only for people with experience in order to improve their results. So two schemes for any level and one for profies.

I will review these schemes in the context of knife fight. Notice that these schemes can be applied to any type of close fight, both with weapon and without it. These are universal principles. I named them as follows: 

1. Technical domination or mechanical duplication
2. Special training
3. Fighting practice

  Let’s consider the first scheme. Mechanical duplication.

The main idea of this scheme is to constantly repeat the elementary actions while the external conditions grow more complicated. In the knife fight it is an explanation of the scheme "cross-prick" and scheme "three crosses". Reproduction of these schemes goes in following ways:

a) On air, slowly easily, slowly with pressure, quickly easily, quickly with pressure, quickly with pressure and accent.

b) On air with a heavy subject, dumbbells for example. And on points: slowly, slowly with force, quickly, quickly with force.

c) On apparatus. To a tire cover, a log or any other training device. Slowly, slowly with force, quickly, quickly with force.

d) In different external conditions. In snow, in water, in a dirt, during a rain, on ice, and so on. Two main training principles are suitable: either at once on extraction and a cross-prick, or at first on a reflex, and then already knife extraction. So there are two possible schemes: extraction and then a cross-prick or at first the action reflex (with accent on a cross-prick) and then already extraction is put.

 The given method has a number of bases:

1. It is always necessary to work on a different surface: that gives skill of stability.

2. Minimum of actions and a maximum of repetitions. That makes the workout more effective.

3. It is necessary to continue one action repeatedly. That means the duration of one action is necessary. The longer this action, the better.

Certainly, the workout should include some movements. At first on a step, then on free movement.

Then, instead of sport equipment start to use partners. But still, the «tired» figther must work with the «fresh» instructor or the partner. The objective – constant overcoming of unwillingness to carry out monotonous actions.

Example:

1. One day: a cross-prick on air. Three hours on a place, three hours on a step, three hours on free moving.

2. Two days, being at a stop, work on tire covers. Further: Three hours and three hours, work on tire covers in a free mode.

3. Work with metal pipes, dumbbells and sticks on air all the day long, or half-day.

And so on.

 Second scheme. Special training.

The essence of this method is simple, and exactly this method has took hold in our army. It is often called "training through pain". The fighter does the maximum quantity of exercises from passing an obstacle course to climbing on a tree or a rope. The overall objective is to carry out a cross-prick or high-speed blows with a knife while passing the obstacles or between them. The actions with a knife are specified by the instructor. The process is organised so that working with a knife is always easier than with passing obstacles or doing special physical exercises.

So you are crawling in the dirt after climbing on or off a tree, carry out pricks with a knife. The aim is just to make them. The decision is so simple and effective that the body performing difficult and specific actions easily copes with knife application. This process solves a lot of technical problems, making the use of a knife in conditions of maximum physical exhaustion to an instinct. You must do it and there is no other choice. We call it «natural selection».

 Third scheme. Fight practice.

              This scheme though intended for people with experience – well, let’s say, professionals –has also a secret. This method can be used for individual training of beginners, but only individually, constantly regulating pressure and contact.

The idea of this method is in stage-by-stage chain of educational fights where new features and technics are shown. Starting from training fights «knife-knife»: only cuts, cuts and pricks, cuts and pricks except a head and so on, till working off full contact fight with hands and feet, with the subsequent use of weapons. All this can be carried out stage by stage. And a basis of such preparation is practical workout at the full capacity and speed, using equipment, the situational moments, minimising of number the used technics. The aim is to expand the training process as much as possible, removing all possible barriers which obstruct the instructor’s work with group.

Summary. The fight practice is a training through fight when the trainee learns from his mistakes under constant control of the instructor.

I would name it «dream of any beginner», but it is necessary become worth o à such a dream still.

Often these methods are used «in a mix». But the problem is that inconsistency or unconvinient training, giving up without reaching the end may dissapoint both trainees and instructors. The patience and once again patience, and all will be fine. Remember that the most important thing is to reach the end, instead of stopping halfway.

-          Upper cross – the trajectory between the left clavicle area and the right part of chest and between the right clavicle area and the left part of chest. The crossing of these two trajectories is the location of the sternal notch, the bottom of the throat under the Adam's apple. The beginning, the end and the crossing of these trajectories are the locations that can be attacked. Zones of damage: right and left cut in the sidepiece of the neck, prick with reverse grip in the clavicle area to damage the clavicular artery, and finally - prick in the crossing of trajectories under the Adam's apple which can lead to trachea damage or – in the case of stab injury – damage of three vessels. Left pricks in the heart area and right strikes in the lung area result in damages of the heart, lungs, large vessels and nerve plexuses. The deeper the prick – the stronger the damage.

-          Middle cross – the trajectory between the left part of chest and the liver and between the right part of chest and the spleen. The crossing of these two trajectories is the location of the solar plexus. Cutting soft tissues is not effective. Pricks in the chest are similar to the described above, prick in the liver (on the right) must be all the way deep in order to damage the hepatic artery and the portal vein. The prick in the spleen (above the elbow bend) causes arterial bleeding.The prick in the solar plexus is more effective in case of hard damage of the coeliac plexus, abdominal aorta and postcava.

-          Lower cross – the trajectory between the spleen and the inside of the right hip and between the liver and the inside of the left hip. The crossing of these two trajectories is the location of the groin. The damage of the liver and the spleen has already been described above. Cutting the groin, the penis or the scrotum causes great pain, pricking in the groin leads to damages of iliac vessels. Cutting the inside of the upper third of the hip leads to damages of the femoral artery, vein and nerve.