Articles — SAWMAK

Attack against knife attacks

July 2023, United Kingdom, SAWMAK

Introduction

This is NOT a self-defence instruction manual – this is just some things to consider in a knife attack

You must make your own judgement about what is the right thing for you to do in any given situation

This has been produced after discussion with a number of martial artists with over 100 years of combined training. One of these is a highly experienced solicitor, but this document does not intend to give legal advice and is not a substitute for obtaining independent legal advice. Some have experienced a knife attack, and others have experienced dangerous fight situations. We do not pretend to know how to always stop someone being killed or badly injured in a knife attack. Be aware that being a martial arts ‘expert’ in any discipline will not stop you from being stabbed. This may be why many martial artists shy away from talking about defence against knife attacks. Others ‘teach’ fancy techniques to disarm a knife attacker - which often won’t work in the real world. There are very few people who have actually faced multiple knife attacks and are genuinely qualified to teach what techniques to use. Many martial arts ‘experts’ are teaching what to do against a knife threat and not an actual attack. The two things are completely different.

The ideas described here won’t always work, but they will increase your chances of surviving.

Don’t think of this as self-defence - think of it as an attack against a knife attacker.

Think and react!

· Look around

o Are there any exits/hiding places/weapons?

o What is my best chance of survival?

§ Do not just give up

o Be very wary of someone with one hand hidden behind a leg

§ It may be concealing a knife

· Situation – if something feels frightening, can you walk away before anything happens?

o Take your headphones/earbuds off

o Can you de-escalate the situation so that nothing happens?

§ This will depend on the attacker and their motivation

· Can you/should you run away?

o This may be the best choice – but it very often won’t be

o Don’t assume this is the best thing to attempt – see below

· Grab a ‘weapon’ if you can – anything around you to keep the attacker at bay

o Chair, fire extinguisher, whatever

o The longer the better

· Distance

o If you have picked up something to keep the attacker away from you – use it, don’t lose it

o If you have no better choice, then you may decide to get in close and attack them

· Stance

o Do not cower down with your hands above your head

o Do not turn your back

o Do not just stand there

· Fight

o If you are not running away – hit fast and hard - with your improvised weapon or your body

o Hit sensitive areas – eyes, throat, groin, head

o You must aim to disable the attacker, but not intend to kill them unless this is the only way of stopping them killing you. (1. see reference below for more detail)

o Do not continue to attack them if there is no longer any danger to anyone

· Grabbing the knife hand

o Very difficult to do, even if practised very frequently

§ Very difficult to train for in a realistic way

o Will be simpler to just attack

o We DO NOT advise this as your primary goal unless you have received specialist training

Further thoughts about knife attacks

Scenarios

There are many knife attack scenarios, including:

· A criminal with no hesitation to kill who wants to take someone’s possessions – money, car, bike, etc.

· A gang member who wants to gain credibility within their gang and is looking to kill someone – either someone from a rival gang or some unconnected victim

· A person behaving like a maniac

o Suffering an acute, severe mental health episode (psychosis)

o Under the influence of powerful psychoactive drugs

· A person, or group of people, with extreme political or religious views who are aiming to kill because of their abnormal beliefs (terrorists)

· Murders in the home – often involving family members

· An argument that has escalated and one person picks up a sharp object - an unplanned attack

In many scenarios, a knife attacker won’t necessarily be on their own.

In many scenarios, the intended victim may have little or no warning that an attack is about to happen.

One highly important sign, if spotted, is that the knife attacker is trying to hide their intentions until after the first stab and they often hide the weapon down at their side, behind the leg.

If someone is threatening you with one hand extended, possibly grabbing your arm or clothing, but their other hand is down at their side and not really visible, this is a very serious sign. They may be about to stab you with a weapon hidden behind one leg. An immediate reaction is called for before they strike. They may also just walk up to you without grabbing with their empty hand - it is a very abnormal posture to have one hand dropped at the side and hidden. In this situation, react immediately. If you believe something really bad is about to happen, then a rapid strike to the eyes or throat of your ‘attacker’ is required. The problem is spotting the scenario and being confident that something serious is about to happen. It is possible that someone just has their phone in their hand, down at their side – only you can decide in that moment.

Running away

One thing that is often said that you should do in a knife attack is ‘run away.’ But consider the following:

· Running away, especially if you spot the situation developing while you are still some distance away, may be the best option. Call the police immediately

· You may decide that you simply aren’t fast or fit enough to run away from a knife attacker

o Are you fit enough to run and then fight them if they catch up with you?

· If you are very close, and/or in an enclosed space, then running away may be impossible

· If you are with someone else - a child, partner, friend, etc, you will not want to run away

· If you could run, but can see that people are getting stabbed, you may decide that you don’t want to run away. If that is a decision you choose to make, you will have more time to find a weapon

Weapons

If you can find an improvised weapon – do so. You should use it to fend off or attack the knife-attacker. In the UK, you must not carry a weapon - this is illegal. You need to use something that just happens to be there. Our experience suggests that there is often something nearby which can be used. The longer your weapon is, the better it will be to keep the knife away from you. Don’t put the weapon down until the attacker is incapacitated or has left the scene.

If you do deter them and they move off, call the police immediately. They may stab someone else.

Keep the right distance

You don’t want the knife close enough to cut you. But that leaves two very different possibilities. One is to keep the knife attacker a good distance away so that they can’t stab you. This is most practical if you have picked up a weapon yourself. Try to move sideways not backwards. However, if running away isn’t an option, and you have no weapon, and they are moving in on you, you may decide that getting very close, inside their attacking hand, is your only option. This is a difficult choice, but if you can’t run and they are repeatedly slashing the air in front of you and moving forward, you may judge that this is your only option. You still need to keep out of range until you choose to move in. If you decide this is your best option, then move in rapidly when the knife hand has moved across, in front of their body, not when it is outside their body. If you choose this option, then you must immediately use extreme force to attempt to incapacitate them.

Stance and demeanour

You are not in a martial arts class, so don’t think about a particular martial arts stance. If you have trained a lot, then you will naturally adopt the best stance for the situation. If you have decided that running away is not an option, then face your attacker. Do not turn your back. Do not cower down with your hands covering your head. Do not just stand there shouting ‘help.’ Speed of reaction and attack is very important.

If you show that you intend to defend yourself, then the attacker may hold back. If you turn your back or hold your arms in front of your head and scream, they are more likely to attack.

Situational awareness

This applies as much to unarmed attacks as to knife attacks, but if you ‘feel’ that a place or situation you find yourself in might be very dangerous, then get out of that situation as soon as you can. This might stop the situation from developing any further and no one gets stabbed.

This is where martial arts training may make you feel more confident and you may be able to walk away calmly without indicating that you are an easy target.

Be aware of potential exit routes and/or defensive opportunities. Can you lock yourself in somewhere? Is there something you might use to defend/attack? Is there anything you can put between you and the knife?

Be ready - be prepared to spring - either into flight or fight mode, but remember that flight isn’t always a good option. Body language is something to consider - do you make it clear that you are ready and willing to fight if necessary? Do you try to pacify, reason, de-escalate? This will depend on the situation, and it is not possible to predict what will be the right decision.

Attack to defend

If you have judged that you can’t run away and someone is coming at you as if they are going to kill you, you need to fight back with maximum force. This won’t come naturally to most people, but just giving in is not an option, you need to switch immediately to attack mode – not defence mode. If you are going to attack - go for the eyes, throat, head, face, groin. If you have acquired a weapon, then a blow to the head may be best.

There's no need to try and remember special disarming techniques, they are unlikely to be an option unless the knife is simply being held in front of you as a threat and you have had specialist training. You should strike the attacker with your hands, head, shoulders, elbows, knees or feet. A headbutt or elbow strike to the jaw or chest may be very effective. If you get one strike in, do not stop until your opponent is unable to attack you or anyone else. Beware that they may quickly recover from some strikes – especially those delivered to the body.

If a knife attack happens, use full and, if necessary, extreme force to defend yourself. The UK law on how much force is allowed is complex. In general, you must aim to disable the attacker and not intend to kill them, or cause them very serious harm, unless this is necessary. You must not carry on attacking the attacker if there is no longer any danger to anyone. The intention should be to render the attacker incapable of further attack. Don’t hold back from using extreme force if confronted with a knife attacker.

Controlling the knife hand

This is extremely difficult to do even with a lot of regular, specialist training - especially against a maniacal knife attacker swinging his weapon widely, rapidly and forcefully. If you have struck the attacker forcefully and they have paused their attack momentarily, you may have an opportunity, but you should concentrate on attacking the attacker and not simply on disarming them. If at some point you can get hold of the knife holding hand, you will have control over the knife. If the attacker has a very short bladed weapon, such as a Stanley knife, you may feel more confident about grabbing the weapon arm and then immediately attacking. Remember, the attacker has another free arm so grabbing the weapon arm is not enough, the attacker must be incapacitated.

Summary

1. Try and avoid being in a knife situation

2. If you are - be alert, keep your distance if possible, be aware of escape routes and props for defence/attack

3. Consider running if you are fast, fit and on your own

4. If there’s no choice but to fight, use maximum reasonable force

Reference:

1. This can be permissible in limited circumstances (such as a frenzied attack) if you think they are trying to kill you. Your actions must be both necessary to defend yourself and proportionate to the attack; these are two separate things. This is judged by what you believed to be happening in the heat of the moment, as long as you don’t react in an obviously unreasonable way. A knife attack is very likely to justify an extremely violent response, because it is very likely that your (or someone else’s) life is at risk. However, expect close police examination of your actions if someone carrying a knife is killed or seriously injured by you.

Appendix

Some statistics:

49,265 Police-recorded offences in England and Wales involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2022. This includes many offences of carrying a knife. There will clearly be many more incidences that are not recorded.

National police data do not differentiate between offences of carrying a knife and non-fatal knife attacks. However, a study from the University of Cambridge done with the Met Police looked at crimes in London where people were stabbed and cut, but survived. In 2016/17 they found 3,543 knife assaults had occurred during the 12-month period: a ratio of 66 non-fatal stabbings for every knife homicide that year.

There were 282 murders involving a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales in the 12 months to March 2022.

There were 4,091 episodes recorded in English hospitals in 2020/21 due to assault by a sharp object.

From this we can see that:

· Knife offences, (carrying plus assault), are common

o Most people survive a knife assault . . .

You can do something to increase your chances