Reality based… Knife Defense Training for Military/Police classes (PART-1)

Author: Odhinn  Kohout

   

 

A term that I constantly hear regarding knife defense training is “create space.”

To many students this has almost no context and has become a mantra repeated over and over instead of addressing the problem head on. I tell my own classes that if I need to tell you to get away from an attacker who is attempting to stab/slash you, then training may be the least of your concerns.

What if…there is no space?

What if… you are pinned up against a wall or wedged between furniture in a cramped apartment?

I can come up with a myriad of example but it is a moot point. You knife training MUST incorporate the seemingly hopeless situation of restricted surroundings when facing the blade.

Military/Police self-defense should be geared toward the worst possible situation that you can dream up and NOT the everyday mundane aspects of your job.

 One of PRATT’s learning theories DEVELOPMENTAL-develop a more sophisticated cognitive mindset as it relates to the content, readily applies to this subject matter and should be incorporated.

I use hostage situations as a basis for one component of my programs because they could happen and are difficult to solve. Trapping your students and jamming a steel training knife against the skin on their throat gets their heart rates up and forces them to remember what you have taught them under stress. It is incumbent on you as an Instructor to set the pace for your students and challenge their thinking. This thinking “outside the box” or abstract conceptualization will make training much more enjoyable for your Officers as they will feel that you are trying to provide them with practical solutions to real dangers that they may have to face.

One easy change that you can make to improve your next teaching session is to replace your black rubber training knives or red plastic ones with a realistic metal training knife. The last time I checked, there were no in-line-of-duty service deaths to our Officers with “colored plastic” knives as the weapon.

Over the course of training when your students become accustomed to working with a shiny metallic knife you are assisting them in creating realistic skill-sets and a cognitive mindset which can be called upon under extreme stress. I there more of a safety aspect to consider when training with a metal object? Yes, but there is more of a consequence when an Officer is ill prepared both mentally and physically and the attack is a real one.

Special Operations are constantly pushing the envelope when it comes to training and this mindset can successfully be used regardless of class. If you do not provide stress inoculation in your training program then you should have no illusions that the tactics that you are teaching have little chance of being successful when your students may need them the most