Knife Attack - How Common Are They and How Can You Stop Them?

By Paul "Batman" O'Brien 

B.A., N.C.E.H.S., Dip. Acu., Cert Clin. IMed., Dip. Adv. OBB, Dip. CHM, Pn1, PN-SSR, PN-NCA, M.AFPA., M.C.Th.A.

We are going to talk about a knife attack. 

This next series of articles may be the most important writing of mine you ever read. What I am going to share with you in this series of articles, and most certainly in the book that they are based upon can literally save your life and the lives of those you love. That’s not hyperbole or exaggeration. It’s a fact. This information has saved lives. 

Self-Defence Through Physical Preparedness

I am going to be talking to you about a knife attack. 

About how people can take an everyday item and turn it into a weapon to threaten you. To intimidate you. To cut you. To stab you. To kill you. And I am going to give you the strategies needed to deal with this and resources on how to fully protect yourself from a knife attack. 

You may ask - why - on a fitness site am I writing about this topic. It’s simple. This is one of the primary reasons I got into fitness and strength training in the first place. I wanted to be fit enough to run away. I wanted to be strong enough to be able to stop an aggressive assault. I wanted the strength of mind to endure pain. I wanted to look strong and physically big enough so as to intimidate cowards that prey on the weak. I didn’t want to be weak. 

These are all reasons why I stepped into the gym. It’s a HUGE part of why I studied the martial arts - and that in turn led me to better ways of training. Because I wanted to maximise my physical potential so as to maximise my chances of survival.  This application of self-defence through physical preparedness has given me so many more gifts though. 

FACT: Strength Makes Life Easier

Life is easier when you’re strong. Carrying shopping or moving furniture or a TV is not a chore when you’re strong enough to lift a car. Changing a tire, opening jars and cans, fixing things around the house. Much easier. Sprinting for a bus, running up a flight of stairs, all much easier. 

Not having to worry about sitting on a seat, or worrying about the space you take up on public transport or getting into a swimming pool or the sea at the beach. So much easier. 

Not having to worry or dread social situations, not being afraid of walking home at night or going into a bar. So, so much easier. 

Life is just easier and a lot more enjoyable when you are in good shape. When you are strong. When you are fit. This is why this site is dedicated to getting you strong and in shape in the fastest and most efficient way possible. It is safer being fit and strong too. And that, that key aspect of fitness is what I want to talk about today. Your safety. 

...you could save more lives...

Now, truthfully, knife attack articles are something I hate writing. I hate them because they could all too easily come off as click-bait, or scaremongering. Taking advantage of people’s fears in order to “sell product”. Stoking the fires of suspicion, social injustice, racism etc and taking facts out of context in order to manipulate the audience. I’m not going to be doing that, I’m going to give you the facts and you can make an informed decision. 

I debated writing and publishing this knife attack series with my wife. I didn’t want to “take advantage” of the knife attack climate. But here is the thing she said to me. “It might be uncomfortable for you, but you’re not forcing anyone, and the fact is - the information you have, has saved lives. By writing about it and sharing it you could save more lives”. And she is right. As always. 

And then Friday happened. 2 days ago,

“Five people were stabbed in the space of two hours on Friday night in a spate of knife attacks across London. (1)

That’s the Sky News headline. The Guardian reports, “Five people stabbed within two hours in London”. The paper also reports that; 

“Knife crime in England and Wales reached an unprecedented high in the year to June, increasing by 7% on the previous 12 months, according to figures released last month.

Police-recorded offences involving a knife or sharp instrument rose to 44,076, the Office for National Statistics said, the highest figure since 2010-11 when comparable data began.

Almost half the offences were stabbings, 43% were robberies, with the figures also including rape and sexual assault”. (2)

The BBC reported earlier this year that - 

“There were 43,516 knife crime offences in the 12 months ending March 2019.

This is an 80% increase from the low-point in the year ending March 2014, when there were 23,945 offences, and is the highest number since comparable data was compiled”. (3)

And this is not just confined to the UK. 

Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan for failing to curb knife attack violence while retweeting a post by right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins. Hopkins, in her typical venomous inflammatory style, denounced London as "Stab-City."  (4)

However, looking past the petty politics to the facts, London has far less of a problem with violent crime than many major US cities. According to crime statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), knives are consistently used to kill people far more often than rifles are used. The numbers aren’t even close. In 2014 the FBI showed that there are five times as many murders committed with knives than were committed with rifles last year. Though knife attack numbers still pale in comparison to handgun violence.

Reality Check...

The reality is the world can be a violent place. 

The context of all this however is that the chances that YOU, personally, will be a victim of a knife attack is relatively low. 

And you can make that small number even lower, and reap huge additional benefits by improving your strength and fitness. This website and my programs give you plenty on that. But we need to look at the other side of the equation. All the strength and fitness in the world isn’t going to matter if someone pulls a knife on you, and you don’t know how to use your strength and you can’t run.  

What would you do in a knife attack?

So, in this series I am going to introduce you to the most important knife fighting and knife attack defence techniques I have been taught. Some of techniques I know were taught to me during my time in the martial arts. Some were taught to me by Special Forces Instructors like Jim Wagner, Dennis Martin and Tim Larkin. Some were taught to me in studying the oldest martial arts of Japan. And over the years I have found that the core principals in each to be the same. 

A knife attack is close, dirty and terrifying. And very simple. That's the scariest thing about it. 

Everybody is a knife expert.  

That's a true statement. Everyone is a knife expert. From the time we are children we are taught how to use a knife to cut up food and flesh. We all know how to cut a steak. We all know how to put the pointy end of the knife in something, or how to slice with it. 

Each culture has its own tradition of knife culture. Some are more proficient that others, such as those in the Australian outback, Ranchers, the Bedouin Arabs of the Middle East, the cowboys of Southern Brazil and of course, the United States were folding knives are legal to carry in many parts. In every culture knives are a part of our daily lives. At home men, women and children cut and prepare food. We cut hair, use razors, open mail. The knife is a daily tool......and an easily accessible weapon. 

In fact police officers are trained to NEVER conduct an interview in the kitchen. Too many knives in what could be an emotionally explosive situation. 

But that does not mean everyone is a knife FIGHTING expert. 

And this is an important distinction. 

Because I want you to be an expert. 

And I want you to use your natural instincts to get you there as quickly as possible. So let’s start with that. 

Instinct Initiation Response

One of the most common arguments that comes up from traditional martial artists about knife attack defence work is that you have to spend years training to negate the "flinch response". You know that moment when you're confronted with something unexpected, say a knife coming at you? You raise your hands in front of your face and move away right? Guess what, we all do that - it's hardwired into our brains, at the deepest level of our survival instinct. Protect and move away. 

You could spend 60 years learning to suppress that - unsuccessfully I might add - or you could use it and accelerate your real life defence skills rapidly. I much prefer to go with the body and use those rapid response instincts than not. I don't think I'm smart enough to know better than millions of years of evolution. 

So let's work with it. 

If you’re threatened or attacked you will respond the same way everyone does. Your hands come up and you move away. 

Shielding 1Knife Attack Shielding 1
Shielding 2Knife Attack Shielding 2

This is our start position for what we'll call "shielding".

We’ll cover more of this in next weeks article on knife attacks...but if you don’t want to wait, and you appreciate that this is important information you can get my complete knife attack defence course for just $97 right now. 

Samurai Strength Vol. 4 - Knife Combat & Defence

Samurai Strength Vol. 4 - Knife Combat & Defence, is perhaps one of the most important manuals I've written.

Based on my training under Special Forces, Police and Military Instructors like Jim Wagner and Tim Larkin, and as a qualified Knife Survival instructor, this manual teaches; proven life saving techniques to defend against an attacker with a knife.

Teaching the same disarm and defensive techniques used by the current US military and Special Forces units, along with the detailed instruction on weapon deployment, the Use of Force, the legal system, hostage and terrorist situations and the only attacks, blocks, counters and drills you'll ever need. 

Bonus material from US Navy Seal techniques, along with some historical samurai methods of knife combat.

Supported by 2 Info-graphics, 75 mins HD Streaming Video Instruction and a 1 hour 6 min Q&A HD Video.

Get it NOW, for a limited time only for just $97

Footnotes

1. https://news.sky.com/story/five-stabbed-in-the-space-of-two-hours-in-london-on-friday-night-11851724

2. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/nov/02/five-people-stabbed-within-two-hours-in-london-knife-attacks-on-friday

3. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42749089

4. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/18/world/london-us-cities-homicide-rates-comparison-intl-gbr/index.html

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