knife kata

onineko42 · White Belt

First of all, its my first time posting so hello everyone my name is neko!

so I have been involved in martial arts since I was young (ten years off and on now). I recently moved to the inner city from a small town and although I carry mace for self defense I also carry a knife. I have learned the most basic moves for knife self defense for rank requirements but I thoroughly believe no one should carry a weapon they don't truly understand. Can anyone hook me up with a good link to a solid knife kata. I just can't feel comfortable with this weapon unless I am well versed. My martial arts background is varied but mainly okinawan karate.

-Thanks much guys, any help is greatly appreciated!

JusticeZero · Black Belt

Point one: Most knife stuff in martial arts is generally agreed upon to be kind've junk, unfortunately. The best approach here is some partner work with a felt pen or similar.

Point two: A knife is a deadly weapon, and using it can easily get you in waaaay over your head, legally. You should probably first go looking for information about self defense law as it pertains to deadly weapons!

Point three: Are you really cold-blooded enough to use it? In my younger years, we lived by a highway. Once, a cat that someone had tossed out found its way to us, with horrible injuries in great pain. We tried to find out if there was any way to help it, but no luck. The obvious solution was that someone was going to need to put it out of it's misery. I had the tools available to me, so it should be easy enough..
...I couldn't do it.
Have you ever killed an animal? Say, gone to a farm and killed a live chicken with a knife. It isn't as easy as it sounds. Most people can do it, but there is a hurdle involved, and that hurdle is not one you want to run into face-first in a bad situation.
If you add a weapon to a situation, and you suddenly have the epiphany that you can't use it, it becomes a liability.

Point four: The three small towns I have experience with all have noticeably higher crime rates per capita than most cities. And those danger rates have gone down over the past few decades across the board. Danger doesn't map out to the places people feel threatened by, more often than not.

I advise that, before worrying much about weapon use, you brush up on awareness and criminal psych so that you can avoid walking into traps - it's a much lower hanging fruit with much higher rates of return, in my opinion.

That said, the most important part that I remember was in the ability to draw the thing in the first place.. not just because you might want to, but because it would be a good idea to be able to recognize if someone else is ready to draw a knife of their own.

A weapon that you have to fiddle with buttons and snaps and do contortions to draw might as well be in a safe at home.

A weapon that you have to have hanging out advertising its presence to everyone who looks at you is more of a liability and danger to you than to anyone else.

In review:
First, study how not to get into bad situations;
Second, study how self defense and the law works,
Third, figure out how to carry the knife so that you can get at it, and how to draw it in a natural and relaxed way.
Finally, try to come to grips with the knowledge that once a weapon comes into play, things end very quickly and messily; often times it is hard to decide in retrospect who the winner is, even if one of the people escaped without a scratch on them.
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yamesu · Black Belt

andym · Green Belt

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

JusticeZero makes lots of good points, so I can't add to much. The felt pen and T-shirt training is as good an idea as any to get a feel for what you can and shouldn't do with a knife. I won't fault you for carrying one; many people do, as it is a very useful tool. For many, that's all it ever really is.

As for trying to find a kata to get comfortable with a knife goes....I wouldn't seek out a kata as my first choice. I'd try to find someone who know some Escrima/Arnis, or some other stick/knife based style, and train that way. You'll get into partner work, which is where you really learn how to use a weapon.
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