It pays to be prepared
A knife attack can be a deadly encounter. A knife attack can happen in an instant and can change your life forever. So, if you’re serious about self defense, you’re going to want to run a useful knife self defense awareness drill.
But before we get into how you can do that, let’s first do a quick rundown on what exactly you should do when faced with an attacker who’s armed with a knife.
Maintain situational awareness
Firstly, and most importantly of all, awareness is essential for self defense. In a single glance, take in a full view of your attacker.
Notice every part of your attacker’s body. Be aware of his stance, his positioning, if he’s shifted one way or the other, and, most importantly, be aware of where his hands are.
Position yourself accordingly for self defense
Secondly, you want to position yourself in response to the attacker’s stance and body language.
If you suspect your attacker is concealing a knife because of their body language, then get into a position where you can quickly react to stop his hand as he goes to pull out his knife.
Make your move to counter the threat
Finally, once you’re in a good position, the third step is to strike your attacker with one hand, while with the other hand trapping the hand of the attacker that has the knife.
Ideally, you want to strike and then trap your attacker’s knife before he has the chance to pull it out.
Checkout this video on how to prepare for a hidden knife attack for more information and guidance on this critical part of the drill.
This technique allows you to take your first strike a lot quicker than if you were not keeping aware of your attacker in the way we’ve described.
By maintaining an awareness of the attacker’s body language and anticipating the possibility of him wielding a knife, you can greatly increase your reaction time, and potentially avoid a serious injury or even death.
You can practice your knife self defense awareness with the following drill:
How to do a knife self defense awareness drill
Firstly, close your eyes. Then, have your training partner conceal the knife somewhere on his body. Once he has done this, open your eyes very quickly and glance at his body. Take everything in in this glance.
From this one glance you then must try to guess where your training partner has hidden the knife. You also must explain the body positioning of your training partner by analyzing his posture.
This drill is great for improving your awareness, and for preparing against an opponent who has a concealed knife.
If you enjoyed this article, make sure to read until the end.
Check out the official video on Knife Defense from Code Red Defense to learn all about self defense against various knife attacks.
You’ll just live the jam pack strategies shared in this instructional video!
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Stay safe,
Patrick Viana
Code Red Defense