Upon mentioning to Babelicious Capri that I would soon be giving a knife defense clinic to a self-defense class, she immediately wondered out loud how different defending against a knife attack would be for her than for me. What follows is the basic answer, which necessarily sets knife defense parameters.

The knife is used for three things:

1. Threat

2. Escalation

3. Effect

Threat: The knife is not as commonly used as a terror weapon as is the gun. The use of a knife usually demonstrates stronger intent than the gun. Women are usually threatened at grappling range through the use of the free hand to hold her and the touch of the weapon to gain compliance.

The knife used to threaten a man is usually brandished beyond arm’s reach. Such situations are usually open to non-contact disengagement measures.

Escalation: A woman may face escalation when not complying with a threat. There will usually by a verbal reminder and/or increased blade contact before use for effect is reached. I have not documented a case in which a man escalated to blade use from empty hand because the woman was uncontrollable or defeating him. But, with the emasculation of America, more men than previously have been carrying knives for the simple fact that they cannot fight. In light of this sorry state, a woman trained in combat should be prepared to be treated like a man in terms of blade escalation.

Men who face escalation with a blade are generally the dominant combatant in an altercation. The people most commonly facing blade escalations are bouncers and private security. The person who escalates to blade use, either while in contact with an antagonist or upon returning with a blade to attack or confront the antagonist, is immediately going for effect and may well overuse the weapon.

Note: Male combatants in protective roles are likely to have to deal with disarming a knife threat against another party, which is not self-defense, but a form of justifiable aggression and is beyond the scope of this piece.

The man who comes to a woman with the intent to harm with a blade, is almost always bent on murder and must either be escaped or engaged with a superior weapon by the woman, otherwise it’s pretty much a butcher job, an “OJ Simpson Situation.” Strikes against the woman will be almost exclusively frontal. Knife defense for women should focus on awareness, evasion, flight and armed countermeasures against men, understanding that unarmed countermeasures are likely to be ineffective.

Note: When a physically superior combatant further stacks the odds with a knife, unarmed counter measures are generally doomed.

Men who attack men with knives almost always use a stealthy hand, with most attacks coming from a hidden right hand and/or from behind or at an oblique angle. While the hand will be stealthy in most cases, the target access may be rapidly aggressive. Knife defense for men should focus on awareness of the hidden hand, armed and unarmed countermeasures, as well as the use of knives, so that they gain an intimate appreciation for the mechanics and psychology of the weapon.

With both men and women, facial slashes and stabs may be expected as punishment for a successful initial defense, so care should be taken to train for face and neck strikes.

In cases of female on female edged weapon attacks, facial slashes and slices are to be expected.

In cases of female on male attacks, back stabbing and stabs of seated and prone men are to be expected as advantage is sought.