When confronted by someone with a knife, you have a chance of being wounded or killed. Fighting is the last option because any mistake could be deadly. If you're being confronted by someone who only wants money or other property, it's best to cooperate. If their intent is to hurt you, your priorities should be:
1. Get away
2. Use your environment (ie get a car between you, or find a weapon)
3. Fight
![]() |
![]() |
| Face your opponent in a relaxed stance. By protecting your face with your hand, you increase the likelihood that your opponent will strike to your mid-section. | As your opponent lunges in with a right hand strike towards your mid-section, pivot back on your left leg. Grab opponent's right wrist with your right hand, starting an arm bar with your left forearm. |
![]() |
![]() |
| Wrap your left arm over and then under your opponent's right arm, grabbing your own right wrist. | Pivot at your waist, bringing your opponent's arm back near his body. Continue for the takedown. |
![]() |
|
| Once on the ground, continue pressure on opponent's wrist to force him to drop the knife. You can lean your forearm into opponent's jugular to induce unconsciousness. Do NOT apply pressure to the front of the throat where you could collapse the trachea (windpipe) and kill your opponent. |
It is especially important to practice knife techniques quite a bit
because mistakes are costly. Grabbing your opponent's wrist may be difficult,
and practice will help. Once you control your opponent's knife hand, you
are holding on for your life. If the technique falls apart, hold on to
that knife hand, modify, improvise, and do whatever it takes to disable
your opponent.
It's very important that your opponent try to stab you, so you can have
realistic practice for these techniques. Do NOT practice these techniques
with real knives. Also, be careful sending someone forward with their own
momentum and then reversing direction. If you're not working together,
injury may occur.
Return to Move of the Week index