[MakarovJAC]

Hello there, I`ve thinkin' for a while on this. When usin' a knife as a weapon people tend to use it this way...

Example image 1

This way, with the blade above the thumb. I think this way is kind of uncomfy, but also less effective. Why? We can say that all movements of our upper limbs goes straight to our torso, or at least, they works better on that diredtion.
At this point the arm's movements must be suited exclusively for the blade. Any other attemp to move the limb may be uncomfortable or dangerous. So I started to think, why can't be a knife better used this way...


Example image 2

With the blade below the thumb, this "Mantis handle". I think in melee, this position gives you a better performance of both your weapon, and body movements. Let's say you are tryin' to assest a series punchin's. You may either hit your foe in the side of it's head. Or seriously injure it with the blade. Also, your blade won't become a risk of injury for you if you ever miss a hit or lose balance.

Why? Well, in my point of view, the blade is always lookin' out of the body due to the wrist's natural stance. In addition, I think the hand grip (sorry, got problems here with the translation) gets stronger. Since any force exerted to the blade won't fall over the thumb, but directly in the palm. Which, IMO, works for a backin' instead of a point of pressure, like the thumb should be.

So, you can both hit with your fist, slash with your knife at tthe same time, then use a stronger block with the blade in case of your foe havin' another weapon (I think if you get enough close to a guy armed with a gun, you can move the gun away from you with the blade).

that's what I think about it, since many times I've seen soldier trainin', the tend to use the knive with the blade above the thumb. Otherwise, the knife is to big to be weilded downsided (for example a machete).

[Franciscomv]

Reverse grip (or "icepick" grip) has its uses, in fact some fighting systems are based heavily on it. But you do loose a lot of reach and slashing is a bit harder and not as effective.

There are a lot of different grips and techniques, most of them have something good going for them. The only way to find out what works for you is finding a good place to train, with well prepared instructors, where you can do some proper force on force training.

I was surprised by what I learned about myself and my prefered weapons, I had no idea kerambits would suit me so naturaly until I started training with them.

Anyway, I'm a total amateur when it comes to knife fighting. I've only been practicing seriously for the past couple of years. If you're in the US, you've got access to some awesome schools and instructors.

[Scare_Rab]

A mate is flying in tomorrow & we're off for a few days - adventure:
taking the kayak and knives too - as always.

He is off to Afganistan later this month, working.

We will be doing some training...

I purchased two *mother_BIG* felt pens, one red; one black.
We'll train:
un-armed Vs Knife (one has nothing - the other has one pen )
Knife vs knife (each has a pen)

Method:
hold the BIG felt pen like a knife.
move.
after 30 seconds...
find & count the ink marks.

defensive 'wounds' ; eg outside forearm
major injuries - slashes to limbs
death strikes - marks to the side of the neck. punctures to lower abdomen

Anyone had experience with this method?

[Franciscomv]

Originally Posted by Scare_Rab

Anyone had experience with this method?

Check that the markers won't spray ink all around when you shake them around. I tried this with some of my training buddies at the gym and it got quite messy.

I like rubber training knives for force on force training (Cold Steel has several styles, and they are cheap) or folding trainers with dull metal blades to practice drawing and opening them under stress (since most of my EDC knives are Spydercos, I use a Spyderco Endura Trainer). You can feel the hits from this knives, they'll sometimes leave a bruise but won't hurt you. Just remember to wear eye protection!

You can put chalk or something like that on the edge of the rubber trainers, it shows pretty well on black clothing and washes easily.