Master Class 2024

Knife Sensing in Four Phases

Soke Adriano Busà, founder of the World Ju-Jitsu Corporation, in addition to an innovative ju-jitsu style, has developed an easy/fast-learning system for knife use and defense in four phases.

Knife Sensing Phase One: Knife-Types

The first step is the analysis of the knife-types, for example: clasp knife, snap-off blade, butterfly knife, karambit, stiletto, cutter etc. An important aspect of this first stage is understanding and acquiring technical-constructive knowledge of the type of blade that’s going to be used before moving on to prevention and counteraction. Once you’ve acquired a rough knowledge of the weapon type, you can move on to phase two, which is manipulation.

Knife Sensing Phase Two: Manipulation

In fact, every knife or blade has its own manual use, though because of the purpose we might think otherwise. Every cutting tool has different characteristics, therefore requires specific use. A karambit knife, for example, because of its very singular shape requires a specific manipulation, which consists on the rotation of the knife around the bottom ring placed opposite the tiger claw blade.
On the contrary, rotation and manipulation of a Butterfly knife consists in handles that freely rotate allowing the users to manipulate them in a manner to cover or expose the blade. Once we’ve identified the knife type, we’ve well understood its shape and have learned its manipulation with both our hands, we are ready to move forward with phase three.

Knife Sensing Phase Three: Positions

This is the most important phase.
Once established that when dealing with knifes and blades, the defense is by no means something easy, we can first deepen their use. Human hands have 5 fingers, one of which is set apart and opposable to the other four. Using the thumb is essential to handle any weapon, knives too. Knife manipulation is based on two main positions: A position – when you grab the knife as though you were sliecing a piece of bread; B position – when the point opposes the thumb, this grip allows downwards thrusts similar to hammer-fist type strikes. These two positions are also known as “attack” and “defense” positions, though such words are not exactly correct, because any blade is intended to cut and thrust. When using blades, we must never forget that our mind and our body are under stressful conditions and our opponent is under an even more stressful condition because of his position as a victim.

Knife Sensing Phase Four: Defense

Therefore, the fourth phase which is the defense, must be conceived as an "extrema ratio". We can be 100% sure that after a knife attack, at the best case we’ll be wounded, so as much as we can we must try hard not to offer vital parts of our body. Our speed, concentration, precision, determination (in few words “spirit of survival") will be the only weapons available to try to defend ourselves against an attack, and don’t forget that if after the first cut you feel shocked and overwhelmed, the attacks will continue until the opponent has finished is work with no opposition, and after such an attack anyone will be doomed. That’s why, both the technical and psychological analysis of an aggression of this type is necessary, from both sides: the predator’s and the prey’s point of view.

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