Holding knives are very effective weapons for self-defence in a close combat scenario. To properly train you for its usage is key to your safety when your life is in danger. From holding knives to how  to position your body and how to move in order to exploit your opponent’s open spots and weaknesses is very important and can give you the fighting edge you need to save yourself in combat. Holding a knife is key to utilizing your weapon’s full potential. A blade must be sharp and easy to grip onto so that proper usage can be done for one’s protection.

Fist vs Knife (self-defence)

If you’re talking about a weapon, your fist is a deadly weapon too. Unfortunately, to convert your fist into a deadly weapon you need to undergo an enormous amount of training which is going to be very gruesome and hard of you. You don’t have that kind of time, no one does. That’s where the knife comes into play. A knife can be treated as an extension of your arm. Now, instead of having an untrained fist at the end of your arm, you have a best folding pocket knife like the ones offered by Gladiator’s Guild in their knives collection.

Extend your Arm

The knife is an extension of your arm. Instead of having a fist that doesn’t to much damage and takes a lot of effort, holding the knife in such a way that it points out towards you opponent will deal him more damage than your ordinary fist. The power of penetration in a knife fight is a very key element in dealing with a lot of damage to your opponent while saving yourself a lot of energy. Whether its self-defence or whether it is a one-on-one combat situation, having the skill will get you to victory if you know how to properly hold the knife so that you can execute your techniques with ease and efficiency. Using a knife to kill a person might seem easy to you but that’s not totally true.

The human body isn’t that weak to cuts, penetrations and slashes. Sure, it deals a lot of damage about killing someone with a knife is hard unless you train with a special technique targeting only certain areas as an assassin does. Therefore, your aim should be to not kill but to only disable your enemy completely. The grip on your knife matters a lot. The way you hold your knife should be perfectly compatible with your fighting style. Reaction time in a knife fight matters a lot. Survival depends on this factor. A mere 1 to 2 seconds of delay and your opponent can take it all away. In order to react this quickly, the grip on your knife must be secure so as to not let it slip during combat.

Treating the knife as an extension of your arm gives you a clear advantage in range. Where once your arm was limited to a blunt punch, now it has been extended by a sharp length of a knife’s edge. There are many methods of holding the knife depending upon what you need to achieve with it. The best way to hold a knife in a one-on-one combat situation is to grip the knife heel while having the blade face forward towards the opponent. This extends your reach to the opponent and can also deal more damage with less effort as compared to an ordinary fist.

If you’re targeting someone and you need to hide your weapon from the eyes of the crowd you’re traversing through, then holding the heel of the knife such that the knife points upwards and touches the back of your hand while keeping your arm straight is the key to hiding a knife for a surprise attack. But the best way to hold the knife is to keep the blade facing the enemy while keeping the heel closer to your body. This way of holding the knife involuntarily signals the opponent to come closer to attack you, thus getting him in your attack range where you have the upper hand with good technique.

The Takeaway

Hunting Knives are formidable weapons. And using them for self-defence means that you have to be prepared for a fight that can be lethal to you to the point of fatality. Taking care of yourself by mastering the technique and keeping your senses sharp. To always keep in mind that this is only for self-defence and not for taking a human life.