Quote:
Originally Posted by richardw
Forget it. If you follow it you might die.
I respect your effort to learn, yet I think you were ill advised. I have fought adversaries with guns and knives at close quarters, and I am able to write this post because my training kept me alive. It is past my bedtime so forgive typos. I am tired.
Stepping aside in a knife assault will get you stabbed! When you step aside you lose continuity of defense, a critical component of fighting. Then you have to regain it, that is to need to readjust into fighting mode. inam speaking about defensive composure. If you are unarmed, it is much better to stand your ground and concentrate on the attacker's knife hand position. If you have learned how, it is relatively easy to take the knife away. Not as easy as taking a handgun away, but easy enough. The secret is to stop the arm and disable the wrist. Since I could write a book on that topic, I'll just stop there.
If you are being attacked by a knife neither the Isosceles nor Weaver position are of any value, but Weaver is better because it offers cover of vital organs better than Isosceles.
Today there is a better option.
By luck I had the good fortune to meet Paul Castle around 2002. Paul, who died in 2011, was the creator of the the Center Axis Relock (C.A.R.) gunfighting system. He was a proven warrior in the British military and police. He designed the system from decades of experience. If you want to learn more about the C.A.R. System start here: http://www.sabretactical.com/CAR.pdf
The C.A.R. Gunfighting system really makes the Weaver and Isosceles stances obsolete for close quarter combat. If you really want to educate yourself in self defense, you must evaluate the system. While I value the many things I learned in the Corps, the C.A.R. system is better when it comes to civilian self defense.
I have no financial or otherwise economic interest in any entity offering training in the System. I write about it only because it is a life saver. Learn about the System and then re-evaluate your thoughts on this thread. |
I've never been in a gunfight or a knife fight. Never had to draw my pistol in self defense. Since you've mentioned you have been in multiples, maybe you could help me learn from your experience. Here are some areas I'd like to learn more about based on your post. Not trying to put you on the spot, just learn from your experience.
Shooting Stance: I try to take a tactical shooting class at least once a year. I've never had an instructor recommend Isosceles for anything but competition. Pretty much everyone recommends a boxing/wrestling stance. When shooting using both hands, your arms are Isosceles'ish with the pistol aligned with your dominate eye. I've heard that referred to as a "natural stance." What do you see as the weakness in that approach.
Moving Perpendicular to Knife Attacker: You say moving perpendicular to a knife attacker, away from the knife is a sure way to get stabbed. Help me understand that. From a geometry/trigonometry standpoint, moving perpendicular away from the knife creates the most distance the fastest. Most people can move laterally faster than they can move backwards and are less likely to trip. I'm a little confused on your approach. Could you elaborate?
CAR vs Retention Shooting: I did look up CAR. I could see how it would be very useful shooting seated from an automobile, but I'm struggling to understand how bringing the pistol up to your face and acquiring the sights would be faster than shooting from retention when when your attacker is very close. Can you provide some additional details on how that works.
Knife Disarms: I've taken a few courses where people advocate controlling the wrist. Grabbing the wrist is a fine motor skill. I've never seen it work when the people went all out. The defender always "died." Maybe someone that did a lot of Jujitsu. Can you talk a little more about your technique.
Not trying to put you on the spot. Just trying to learn from someone that's BTDT.