Being prepared for a knife attack is 50% physical and 50% psychological. Most human beings fear the unknown and that is especially true of a knife attack. Because we are unfamiliar with the mechanics of a knife attack, it makes us feel uncomfortable and squeamish. It’s up-close. It’s personal. Potentially ending in loss of blood, life or limb.
“Either you control the threat or the threat controls you.” How can you control a threat?
You control a threat by either avoiding it altogether, mitigating its impact or defending against it. Failing avoidance or mitigation, you are afforded only three defensive options in any knife attack and they are take flight – get away quickly as you can, fight – do what it takes to stop the threat or allow you to get away, or freeze in place – surrender to your attackers. Flight, fight or freeze – there are no other options
Scale of Injury
If you’re caught in a knife attack it is imperative to keep your bodily injuries, and that of those with you, to a minimum. As with any physical altercation, injury plays a significant factor and to minimize your personal injury it’s critical to understand this at a deeper level.
In any violent physical altercation, there exists the potential for five levels of injury referred to as the Scale of Injury. At the lowest end of the scale is no injury, which is of course the most desirable outcome in any scrape (Level 0). The next level up from no injury is a minor injury such as scratches, cuts, or abrasions (Level 1); these are uncomfortable but still better than the next level up on the scale, which is a recoverable injury (Level 2) such as a broken leg, broken arm, broken nose, and the like. Up one more rung on the scale (Level 3) is a permanent injury which would include such horrific results as blindness, paralysis, or loss of limb. The last and final step in the Scale of Injury is (Level 4) a fatal injury causing death. Your goal in managing any knife attack is to keep your injuries as low on the scale as possible. Anything greater than Level 1 on the Scale of Injury renders you combat ineffective and a detriment to yourself and those with you.
Reaction Time
“Hey, I’ve got my gun, I’ll just shoot him!” Sure if you’re already in condition yellow[1], aware that you are the target of an attack, can see your assailant, identify him/ her/ them as a threat, make the decision to shoot or not to shoot, draw your gun from concealment (cognizant of your backstop), deliver precise and multiple combat effective round placement and all in 1.5 seconds or less then yes, you can “just shoot him.”
However, the sobering reality is that a conditioned military age male between the ages of 18 and 32 at full stride can close the distance of approximately seven to ten yards in under two seconds. Assuming that you are assaulted by a single attacker with a knife and given that the average Unit of Human Reaction Time[2] is .25 seconds, here’s the math:
Step | Knife Defense Using a Handgun | Time in Seconds
|
1. | You happen to be in condition yellow and notice a guy with a knife | .25 |
2. | You observe that he is moving rapidly toward you and is about 10 yards away | .25 |
3. | You orient to the fact that you are a target and that this is an actual physical threat | .25 |
4. | You decide to shoot or not to shoot – in this case your decision is to shoot | .25 |
5. | You act on that decision by clearing your concealment garment | .50 |
6. | You defeat any holster retention devices | .50 |
7. | You draw your handgun from your holster | .75 |
8. | You present your muzzle toward the threat | .25 |
9. | You identify and consider your backstop as | .25 |
10. | You align your sights and | .25 |
11. | You execute a perfect controlled trigger press without disturbing your sights | .25 |
12. | You deliver multiple, precise and combat-effective round placement | .25 |
Total response time with no mistakes and under duress: | 4.0 |
Figure 1. Human Reaction Timetable
Let’s further assume that your assailant positively reacts to your round placement. The total amount of response time if performed flawlessly and under duress per the above conservative timetable comes out to 4.0 seconds versus 2.0 for the actual knife attack – yes, twice the time. Even if by some miracle you can pull it off, what about those of us mere mortals who don’t train six hours a week and fail to perform flawlessly?
Any non-ballistic weapon such as a knife, requires close-distance contact to be effective in raising your Scale of Injury. The relationship between distance and Scale of Injury is similar to the relationship between distance and reaction time. The less the space between you and the threat, the less time you have to react; conversely the greater the space, the greater the amount of reaction time – this concept is known as the Reactionary Gap.
Time is a critical factor. The longer you stand toe-to-toe in front of a spinning lawn-mower blade the greater your chances of incurring injury and falling further behind the action-reaction power curve. The quicker you take control of the situation, the greater your odds on keeping control, getting to your gun (if you have one) and gaining the initiative to move yourself and those with you to safety.
Controlling the Threat
To gain control of a “knife fight” you must gain control of your immediate environment. To do this you must first control your time and space. We know from Reactionary Gap, the more space you have, the more time you have to react; the less space there is to work with, the less time you have to react. More time and more space afford you more options and greater opportunities (to include presenting a firearm). Less time and less space relegates you to less options and less opportunity to solve the problem.
“You gain control over your opponent(s) by securing for yourself the most options and greatest number of opportunities. You accomplish this task by gaining more time and more space. But exactly how can you do that?”
By assuming control of the physical components paramount to your defense against any knife attack: Distance, Position and Movement.
Exit or Equalize
The very best defensive option against any knife attack is distance. The old adage “distance is your friend” is your first and best defense. By immediately moving away from the threat you have increased space, which buys you time which affords you more options to solve the problem. However, it’s not always possible to put space between yourself and the threat. Your next best bet is to place objects between yourself and the threat. Obstructions such as cars, trees, trash cans, your ex-wife’s attorney, furniture, mailbox, etc. Force your attacker(s) to move around them which in turn buys you more time to make more distance. More time and more space buy you more options, including getting to your gun.
Creating more space to include using obstructions to buy you more time, works great in open spaces such a parking garages, open outdoor plazas, in a mall, etc. However, these options may not be available to you in certain situations. Engaging a threat in confined areas such as crowded restaurants, hallways, stairways, elevators, etc., present a problem when creating space (or using obstructions) is not an option. The second component of controlling any fight is position. Failing creation of distance (to include using obstructions) you have the option of changing your physical position relative to your threat.
Imagine you’re standing directly in front of your opponent with a knife in his hand at conversational distance. We call this “Position Zero” which is not a very good place to be because you’re already at contact range and he’s got a knife in one hand, he can punch or grab you with his other hand, deliver elbows knees round-kicks and a head butt and all without the need to move his feet. Most law enforcement professionals are taught to move to “Position One” which, although still at contact range, is to align your belt buckle with his left arm. A more advantageous position, because it negates the reach of his right arm and right leg, position one is the standard for conducting field interviews.
Moving forward, standing directly next to your attacker facing his left shoulder is labeled “Position Two” as this places you in an even more advantageous position. Ultimately, the dominant position in any fight is getting to your opponents back or “Position Three” which places you directly behind your opponent facing the back of his head, exactly opposite Position Zero. Position Three is the best physical position you can be in any fight.
If you can’t change your distance from the threat or use obstructions, then fight for the higher numbers, that is place yourself in a position of advantage. The lower your physical position (Position Zero) relative to the threat the greater your Scale of Injury. The higher the position (Position Three) the lesser your Scale of injury. Fight for the higher numbers.
Lastly, stay mobile. A moving target is always more difficult to hit than a stationary target. Someone chasing you with a knife will have a much more difficult time making contact with your body when your moving and changing direction.
You are at a horrific disadvantage with your bare hands versus an attacker swinging a knife. Immediately get something in your hands. It can be a book, your backpack, a trash can, a rolled up jacket – anything that can protect you from that sharp blade. Even if you need to smack the knife away with your bare hands, don’t just stand there trying to reach for your holstered gun while getting stuck like a pig. Your end goal is to keep moving until you can either create enough space and time to take flight or gain access to your firearm.
Your Best Bet
Looking at it as a threat progression, the very best knife defense starts with avoidance of the threat altogether. The sooner you can see it, hear it or smell it coming, the sooner you can step off those railroad tracks and avoid that freight train altogether.
Failing that blip on your radar and at less than ten yards, odds are you’re probably not going to be able to “just shoot him.” Your best bet is to take control of the fight as soon as possible by creating distance, or changing your position, using things like obstructions and improvised hand-held weapons of opportunity to create a temporary barrier and stay mobile.
Your best option is to take flight and get out with the lowest Scale of Injury possible, or fight your way to a position of advantage where you can either stop the threat or take flight. If you take away only one concept from this article, remember to exit or equalize and keep your Scale of Injury low.
[1] Colonel Jeff Cooper codified alertness levels into four colors of escalating degrees of preparedness. This color code system is a mental process designed to help you avoid a deadly threat. Condition white is completely relaxed and unaware of what’s going on around you. The next level up is condition yellow, where you remain relaxed, but are paying attention to what’s going on around you. Condition yellow is NOT paranoia but simply raising your awareness to a level of attention that will prevent you from being totally surprised by the actions of others.
[2] Bill Rogers coined the term “Unit of Human Reaction Time” which is the amount of time it takes for the brain to cognate and send responsive electrical impulses. The average is about .25 seconds. You can find yours by going to the range pointing your handgun downrange (don’t worry about the target) take up any slack in the trigger and at about an ounce away from breaking the round ask your buddy to hold a shot timer to your ear and when you hear the beep break the round. The time displayed will tell you your own personal Unit of Human Reaction Time.