My dad was in the Marines (4th Div) and remembers Biddle. He said he was one tough guy--nobody could take him, as he would throw the biggest guys around with ease. His knife fighting skills were legendary.
So he didn't teach people to be able to take him so he didn't teach them well, thank you for this anecdotal evidence i shall have to look beyond his fanclub
@@beowulf_of_wall_st I guess the best he can hope for is some kind of Boy Named Sue effect, but then again that means going against the grain of the Sue attitude so I am not too, too hopeful … 😏
For a long time I've been thinking of how to use a stick to defend against knife attacks. In this video you gave a very important clue - attack the knife hand
security guards have techniques of using baton, maybe that will help also. they are mostly defensive methods more than attacking, but most cases you would want to move from defence to attack if you are not the person who are randomly attacking people, so it might fit very well. Idea is same, hit a hand.
Yes, if you have the right"Stick" and you can whack a guy's wrist or lower arm, it might be possible to numb the hand, just long enough to take them out.
If you hit (hard) any of the bones in the wrist or lower forearm with a stout stick it will cause the hand at the end of that arm to become useless almost instantly and this can last many minutes. No way you could still hold a knife in that hand. If there is only skin, rather than muscle, over the bone a stick hit can cause the skin to split very easily, and it could conceivably break, or at least fracture, that bone, too.
You’re one of the most informative educators about historical topics on RUclips, and make it both understandable and entertaining. Keep being awesome Matt Easton!
One of the best pieces of advice came from Starship Troopers, " The enemy cannot push a button if you disable his hand." Also applies to other situations, but hands are vital to the functionality of an attacker. I have an original SMLE bayonet and a repro M1 bayonet, the main difference is the point shape in terms of basic design.
His techniques were passed down through LINE training in the Corps. The knife/bayonet section was pretty aggressive and eye opening. Granted, we used plastic knives or our bayonets with scabbards (the instructors actually used their Ka-Bars or unsheathed bayonets during their demo), but they focused on us using our forearms as shields or to take the thrust to the forearm. Rather the blade get stuck in your arm instead of your gut or chest, and to slash, stab or bunch the opponents knife hand.
One of my instructors taught us to take the cut where you want it, not where they want to give it. Things like blocking with the outside of your forearm; because all the important stuff is on the inside. And putting your hand over your neck. A cut to the back of the hand sucks, but a cut to the neck sucks worse. If you're fighting with knives, you are going to bleed. The goal is to make them bleed worse and for longer. Winners drip, losers gush.
I'm from a south american culture called Gaucho (people in south brazil, uruguai and argentina), back in the flintlock days when firearms were not so easily accessible and pretty much everyone and their mother's carryed daggers paired with a honor duel culture, well, we ended up developing a quite comprehensive system called "esgrima criolla", and a pig part of it was using the tradional regional "cloak" wrapped around the left arm precisely for that reason, you tangle the blade and riposte. Sadly the surviving manuals are hard to find, usually only available in spanish and mostly forgotten, the only video sources I found are from bullshito practitioners.
@@Peagaporto I'd be interested in working with you on translating those manuals you are able to find and getting them transcribed into English and maybe German. But that's just an idea, let me know what you think.
@@matthiasthulman4058 I will try to see what I can find, last one I saw was in a small bookshop in argentine years ago. But I would definetly be interested in helping out. They are somewhat rare.
I knew a man who fought in the Pacific during WW2. His unit was issued large Bowie knives to carry. During one battle he was able to save his life by drawing his Bowie and parrying a bayonet attack. He used the Bowie against an Ariska rifle with a bayonet. It ended poorly for the attacker.
My group once did stress testing of unarmed vs knife in an enclosed space. What we found out works best is to bat the knife hand as it attacks and retreat. When we went forward , the best result was a double kill with 50+ holes. If you're not Fairbairn or a fremen, just stay out of shanking distance and protect your squishy parts.
Sparred knives once with a HEMA guy. He kept his point offline and just waited to chop at my arm. I didn't really clock what he was doing with that guard at the time, you just explained it. Cheers.
We all like to imagine defeating enemies by great strikes to their head or torso completely ending the fight right there or cleanly cutting off their limbs to win the fight but we tend to forget just how fragile us humans can be. A small, well placed cut to the wrists could sever tendons, completely taking away the ability to hold the weapon. A hard hit to the back of the hand (even with a blunt side) can cause the hand to open up and drop the weapon.
Exactly. This is the fundamental basis to the defensive fighting techniques I use when preparing for the possible need to defend in situations where my firearms are unusable. I typically carry a dagger or woodsman's knife when not at work, where I have a light roofing hammer instead, and the primary go to action in the opening of any fight is to avoid the initial attack in the most mechanically simple way possible, followed immediately with a strike if some kind to the fighting arm below the elbow, preferably the back of the hand or inside of the wrist.
one of my favorite exchanges in langesmesser comes from talhoffer, step one, cut upwards into dudes wrist as he does a downard strike step two, smack him when hes on the ground bleeding froma severed wrist
I had bought a 15 inch over all bowie knife. With safely playing with it I realized that the techniques I learned from studying DeGrassi several years ago could be easily applied to the larger knife. Thank you for confirming this. I might look at Biddle's book at some point to get a greater degree of techniques to use.
I remember reading a bodyguard manual where the writer had a saying from the New York Police, "Watch the hands." This was where the threats were going to come from in a confrontation.
Not taking anything away from FMA. At the same time, anything after defanging is at a minimum, armed assault....keep that in mind, or not, your dime for the defense attorney.
Quick shout out to Robert Redfeather and his book, "Apache Knife: Fight Like the Wind". His Chiricahua Apache tradition also has an emphasis on Bowie knife and subduing your opponent by taking the hand!
Interestingly, there's a philosophy from numerous Martial Arts that follows the principles almost exactly: 1) Get out of the line of attack 2) Redirect the attack 3) Neutralize the weapon 4) Neutralize the opponent. Which, in the end,, simple to learn, but in application, can take a lifetime to master!
That's good but go deeper for better results. Simultaneously move out of the line of attack (without backing up - use angles to "retreat forward"), neutralize the incoming attact (destroy & trap the limb), strike in triplets - three strikes so close in time they seem to be at once. It's called "triple hands". It all happens at once, within one second. If you can hit right and left, up and down, or both - then you will temporarily stun the nervous system for about one second - long enough to finish them if you know how and act on that knowledge. If you dont get the stun you still evaded the attack, controlled their movement and attained a superior position for even control (break thier structure / balance) and always more attacking. This is not armchaiir theory, it's completely viable if and strategically sound if you can pull it off. The best way? No, but better methods take a lot more skill.
I found this to be true in my own exploits. A disabled opponent can also create a buffer zone to limit on coming attacks, buying time to engage other attackers.
Just some bayonet history to add. The "sword" bayonet Matt is holding is the British Pattern 1907, and was intended for the Short, Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) rifle. It was based on an earlier Japanese Type 30 bayonet. The contemporary British Pattern 14 rifle's bayonet used essentially the same blade and handle design as the Pattern 1907, but had a taller cross-guard to mount to the Pattern 14's different muzzle configuration. The American's Model 1917 rifle was nearly identical to the Pattern 14, and thus its Model 1917 bayonet was essentially identical. The American 1917 bayonets were made by Remington and Winchester. The American Model 1903 rifle was primarily issued with the Model 1905 sword bayonet, which again, was nearly identical to the Model 1917/Pattern 14/Pattern 1907/Type 30 in overall length (16"-17" blades with grip handles) and blade design, the only real differences were in how they mounted to their rifles. By World War II, however, the British and American primary service rifles (the Lee-Enfield No 4 and M-1 Garand respectively) would no longer be issued with sword-type bayonets. The M-1 used a shorter blade (about 9") whose handle/mount was backward compatible with the older Model 1903 rifles. The British Lee-Enfield No 4 rifles abandoned both the blade and the handle of the earlier Pattern 1907, adopting a simple 9" spike-type bayonet which would only be useful when mounted on the rifle. Post WWII, short bladed bayonets were made for No4 rifles, but they still lacked handles, only having the barrel-mounting socket. Interestingly, the British No 5 rifle (the "Jungle Carbine") was issued with a shorter (9") bladed bayonet with a grip handle. For those interested in greater details, a recommended web site is: worldbayonets.com/index.htm
Thank you for the link to the website When I was about 14 years old (50+ years ago) I rode the city bus to downtown Dallas to go to a great Army-Navy store. I bought a bayonet for about $5.00. The owner wrapped it in a paper bag and told me not to take it out of the bag until I got home. I suspected it was a British bayonet because the button latch was different than the US bayonets I had seen. Now I know it is the 1907 model that I have (still after all these years)
here in ny ,i v heard of a technique called the sicilian,used by switchblade fighters of the 50s and 60s.you wait till your opponent thrusts then slash acrost his inner wrist,he drops the knife then you go straight forward into the liver.the trick is you have to be late and fast after he commits to his to his motion.liver wounds bleed almost purple ,thats how you know you hit the spot.
Ive been training/trying to rebuild Native American knife/tomahawk systems & its a methodology that holds true there as well. Though if you have a tomahawk in the other hand it does change things ever so slightly obviously.
It’s freaking sad, I cannot remember his name. Way back in the early 80’s we had a fellow come to our school who was a WW2 veteran. He had been in the same unit as the soldier with the record distance knife throw, dispatching a sentry as they infiltrated the enemy. He had a collection of crazy knives for us kids to ogle over.
I recently got into a small argument over that scene in Crocodile Dundee over whether or not tiny-knife fighting was a thing in New York, and was reminded how much I wanted a knife like the one Dundee pulled out. It never occurred to me that bowie knives might have their _own_ style! I look forward to seeing more of your videos, especially about that knife.
Fascinating! There are parallels in Chinese swordplay too with both jian and dao to attack the hand/wrist/arm. I'd also like to add from experience of being stabbed in the hand, and fingers more specifically, don't rely on a single cut/attack to do the job. I could still hold the knife and move without much problem, and shock didn't set in for a good 15 min. So don't overextend, or stop after a single strike, be smart and ready to continue till the blade actually drops!
Great video. Exactly what I was thinking when I had my knife guy (Everybody has a knife guy right?) put a custom G10 handle on a Pattern 1907 Bayonet for use as a "short sword" or sorts.
Great video but something to note is that the knife is pronounced (boo-wie) unlike the singer (bow-ie). The surname for Jim Bowie, the knife fighter and Texas revolutionary, is originally Scottish and comes from the Gaelic word "buidhe", meaning "yellow", "fair haired", "lucky", etc. which eventually becomes "bui", also meaning "yellow". The original Gaelic, like the knife fighter, is pronounced with a long "oo" sound, buidhe -> pujə.
I was taught to go for the fingers, toes, shins and ears. The most pain nerves are there where the body ends, so the relative easiest ways to tame or weaken an attacker is that without doing to much damage to get yourself in trouble afterwards. The Biddle methods of incapasitating an opponent are legendary. Very brutal to watch but highly quick and effective indeed. Check the ww2 instruction films here on youtube.
My dad taught knife to paratroopers during Korea.. I found out when I was sixteen.. I asked about knife fighting and what advice would he give someone.. “It’s a bad idea. Knife to be quiet is an ambush. A knife in a fight is not going to be quiet.. you might as well use gunpowder.” What if you don’t have a gun? “You need to plan better…”
And I always thought the three main targets where eyes,throat and knees ! You won't win many fights if you cannot see,breathe or move ! Never considered going after the hands ! Thanks for another great tip !
Glad you mentioned FMA. Ironically, I've noticed that most of the edged weapon systems look a LOT alike and have a lot of the same principles. Truth is truth I guess.
Truth is Truth.....but FMA also absorbed a lot of Spanish blade work as well. And some FMA system striking patterns is based on teaching the weak points in Spanish armor. For example, in Serrada style, the thrusts they use in their striking patterns are aimed at the locations on the body where there would have either been a seam or gap in a Spanish cuirass.
@@armynurseboy The systems of Arnis is literally derived from the Spanish word for armor and has a lot of that in it also. FMA in general isn't afraid to adopt things from other systems and regularly evolve. I can't think of too many other systems that do that. My instructor was under Ernesto Presas in the 70's. It doesn't look like what I have seen in other schools that both Ernesto and Remy taught because they changed as they learned more or adopted things that worked better than what they were doing before. It's both a good and bad thing.
Having studied kenjutsu in Japan, the key strike target was the wrist or hand when facing a similarly-armed adversary. I.e., if confronting an adversary while you are both using a katana, the easiest way to end a fight quickly is to literally disarm the opponent: strike the wrist, the hand, the thumb. Fight over. When wielding the wakazashi - the shorter sword - the same holds true, but with different approach to the same end.
Great vid as usual - interesting to note that in genuine times of conflict, go for the hands is right up there. Having cut myself accidentally a few times, in minor ways - a full bodied whack on the hand or wrist with a large blade would be horrific! Great self defence advice.
I worked with a former WW2 commando in the early 1980s. I was 19 and this old boy was about 65. I was asking him about his time in WW2 and he clearly got bored with my questions and said: 'Listen, let me show you something real'. He got me to stand with my back to him and he then grabbed my head and knocked my knee in so I immediately lost my balance and fell backwards. He then drew a finger across my windpipe. 'You're now dead son. Quick wasn't it?' I was amazed at the physical power and ingrained lethality of that old man and even today, it gives me a shiver of horror at how easily he could have (and might well have) killed someone with the minimum of fuss.
While many arts have limb attacks - for example Muay Thai on kicking arms and legs intentionally, European sword arts, etc. - no art does it in the scale, degree, and level of the Filipino martial arts. While there are hundreds, maybe thousands of "styles" in the Phillipines, "defanging the snake" or "guntings" are at the core and heart of the vast majority of them. The details, nuances, amount of techniques in the catalog is vast and immense. So much so, that it is also part of their unarmed catalog. Boxing, kickboxing, and grappling systems where attacking the limbs, muscles bellies, bones, etc. as a primary tactice before closer targets are ever engaged. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed your video and your delivery of the information pulls one along and never gets dull. Very well done.
My grandfather was one of the men stationed in Scotland responsible for training the 1st army rangers for d day. I still have that very bayonet interestingly the first 4 inches have been sharpened and he used it for chopping foliage and wood as well as defence etc
Good moves. You can also hold your weapon between you and the advancing weapon holding hand. That way you let them run their hand onto your edge also letting them use their own force to defeat them.
How the Soviet Union decided to study judo and develop sambo. Thomas Cowen” At some of the forts men fought at close quarters, bayonet to bayonet, and it was once again shown that, though the Russians have the advantage of size and weight, they are no match for the quicker and more skilful Japanese”
Really good that Matt is teaching people knife fighting, the streets of London are quickly becoming the next world blade fighting capital for some peaky blinder types
@@michaelmorgan9973 How ? it is already Illegal to have an over 3”non locking pocket knife in a public place without good reason. That does not stop anyone with bad intentions, never will. Also,are you going to prohibit the sale of kitchen knives !
Early 1800's for the Bowie at a minimum. One semi popular theory is that the Bowie type big knife replaced the smallsword in civilian dress in places like New Orleans. Some have theorized that Bowie knife fighting is a blend of Continental fencing styles and Scottish saber fencing. Bill Bagwell felt that the back cut was a Scottish trick.
Interesting take on using a rondel dagger defensively. I practiced with a fundo(weighted chain) against a knife from slashing and stabbing attacks like how the rondel is used defensively but I never considered a short sword or dagger used like that.
The odd shape of the baselard works well with this style and the British WW2 training styles, where one holds the blade down from the crossgaurd to avoid hand strikes. The back end of a baselard (the T) fits well into the palm and provides a firm sniping grip and keep the hand safer. Whipping off an opponents hand or doing an over slice is dead easy with this grip.
I agree that the defense technique of going for the have likely goes back to sticks. We did a bit of goofing around with padded short sticks in college and I found defending by going for the hand or wrist to be quite effective
i really love Cold Steels line up of extra large blades. The Espada XL(7.5in blade) is just ridiculous....i must have one! I carry a Voyager XL (5.5 in blade) as my edc. Used to carry a Recon 1(4 inch blade) tanto half serrated as my edc, still have that one and its a tank.
The best manual for knife fighting I found was "Put ‘Em Down. Take ‘Em Out!: Knife Fighting Techniques From Folsom Prison". It's a short, 31 pages manual, that explains reality of the knife fighting. Book is based on actual life-or-death experience, author also deals with popular knife fighting myths.
Slicing the forearm and hand is also a good form of defence with small knife in more of a grapple/"knife fighting" distance, fairly heavily used in some systems (usually with some form of deflection or control using the offhand)
Good advice. Applies to striking weapons too, like the blackjack. In an altercation rather than combat, a hard blow to the back of the hand with a Convoy blackjack pretty much ends any fight. The enemy is that which closes the interval to do you harm. That is why more privates than generals die in combat. They are within the combat interval. Technically, a blow to an attacking hand or foot is just about the only truly simultaneous defensive and offensive move in close combat. That makes mostly hands and feet the enemy. The logical conclusion is that if both his hands and both his feet are disabled, the threat is pretty much abated. Whether he lives or dies then becomes a somewhat less urgent moral question. The other side of that is protect your own hands and feet!
Thanks for the heads up on Biddle's works. I just ordered his book and supplement. I've a collection of bowie knives and the books will be great research on fighting with them. Still trying to find a similar navaho knife. The one you show is awesome!
Cold Steel sells navaja folding tactical knives. I have one myself and it has a 5 1/2" blade. Cold Steel even sells the same style of navaja knife that has a 7" blade! It's called the Espada.
Musashi Miyamoto, the famed Japanese swordsman, recommended going for the corners (hands and feet) when faced with strong opponents in the book of 5 rings. He said go for the centre against weak opponents (I think) or that was implied. When he fought his most famous opponent, Kojirō Sasaki, Musashi Miyamoto hit him on the head (perhaps to show that he did not consider him a strong opponent, or that he thought that Sasaki may have read his book, and be expecting a peripheral attack). I think any fairly deep cut to the hand will really reduce the opponent's desire to continue.
Paul Vunak, who is also a prolific and famed knife-use teacher of our time, also talks about this concept of taking out the hand and wrist as your opponent extends their weapon towards you. It seems a constant among anyone who fights for any length of time that you fight on the defensive and attempt to cripple your opponent as they attack you. Makes sense- since people who don't care about protecting themselves don't tend to get very old if they're getting into knife fights LOL
Bowie apparently picked up knife fighting in New Orleans. Since it had been a French colony with some Spanish periods in Bowie's day it was full of emigre Frenchmen from the Caribbean and Revolutionary/Napoleonic France. Among those were fencing instructors. Obviously, knives being more practical in the jungly Mississippi Valley than any type of sword, knife fighting had been explored for decades. In an era of single shot firearms it was a lifesaving skill. I'm sure Bowie improved whatever knife fighting skills he had under knowledgeable instructors. Even after Bowie's death at the Alamo, when the first generations of revolvers appeared, the difficulties of reloading meant carrying both multiple pistols and a large knife. Pictures of men known to be Western scouts and gunfighters invariably show them sporting a large blade until well into the 1870's. Even Wild Bill Hickock. That's when rapidly reloading cartridge revolvers became widely available, along with repeating and rapidly reloadable ling arms. After that knives were still there but less ubiquitous. And probably smaller.
Sometimes the clothing is so thick a cut will not penetrate the arm, but if the blade is of sufficient length and mass it will still hurt like a mother and more importantly move the opponents hand off-line. So even if a cut to the hand does not wound the opponent, it will still be a tacticly sound technique
Interesting for me because my old fencing instructor was training troops in ww2 to defend against the katana using a bayonet fitted Lee Enfield. The basic idea was to bayonet the arm or hand. He was teaching me Epee and was the Late Brian Pitman. Quite well known national coach in the 80s.
It's also in Styers' (also a WW2 US Marine instructor) Cold Steel, in the section on knife use and it seems there's a fair bit of cuts to the hand and wrist in Italian Knife Fencing
Jim Bowie died at the Texas Alamo 1836. His brother designed the Bowie knife. Jim was a dualist. Point- the fighting techniques range back at least as far as the early 1800's. The 1937 book therefore refers to a fairly long backwoods tradition. On another note. 18,000 US Cavalry sabres were ground down and issues to the Philippine Guerrillas circa 1942-43. A story you might like to go into.
Lynn Thompson has it quite correct and the lethal back cut on what he calls u is a hand cut . Would also recommend practicing the snap cut religiously . Snap cut to face , hand head is incredibly hard to stop .
Fun fact: the US didn't issue the full sized 16" bladed M1905 bayonet in ww2 except to those like my grandpa who faced the Japanese and their 15" arisaka bayonets. All the rest in inventory were cut down to 10". The M1905 is definitely more like a short sword than a knife, and my opinion from fencing is definitely in line with Matt's, but that largely stopped mattering I think once the average GI had semi and full auto smokeless firearms with en bloc clips, belts and box magazines. The enormous bulk hanging from the belt was by then I suspect a liability more than any asset. So they cut em down. Similarly in todays civilian realm I've never seen anyone carrying a bigger than 10" blade for self defense in a populated area who is also carrying a gun. In San Francisco, where most can't carry guns legally and fixed blades must be openly carried, I've seen it many times while visiting.
Fun fact, the other day I learned their are bowie knife schools in Louisiana that take their roots back to Spanish sword masters who moved to America in the early days and adapted their rapier style to the bowie knife, which makes sense sine theirs the option of the partying dagger in rapier fighting, I dunno exactly how true it is though and I can't remember where I heard it from when I find out I'll edit the comment
The hand really is the best target in a weapon fight. It's the closest thing to you, super fragile, and once damaged, suddenly turns the fight into armed vs unarmed.
Were you aware that a Disney musical touched on the life of Tony Biddle during World War One? It was "the Happiest Millionaire" and one scene shows the old man decking a Marine officer in his home boxing rings. I have a reprint or two of his "Do or Die."
By no means am I professional, but as a backpacker, primitive camper, I cary a machete and a hatchet, 7" military surplus knife, a knife on my shoulder strap, in pocket. Different tools for different tasks. Or "disarming" someone. You never know.
Kelly Mccann has an excellent knife fighting dvd. Includes some talk about Biddle and Styers I believe. Been out quite a few years now. Maybe hard to find now.
I’ve never heard of Tony Biddle but I know Colonel Rex Applegate was OSS and taught hand-to-hand combat to special forces. His 1943 “Kill or Get Killed: A Manual of Hand-to-Hand Fighting” was a valuable resource to me when studying and training martial arts and working security. (As theory, I was’t trying to hurt people when bouncing!)
It's a very pedantic point to make but I don't mean any form of condescension or offensiveness, just a texan who likes her big knife. In Texas, cultural origin of the knife as I understand, it's pronounced BOO-ee, sounds similar to the American pronunciation of buoy. and I do wanna mention that David Bowie used the English pronunciation of the name as it has its roots in English, but the knife's namesake was Jim Bowie the Texan Colonel during the Texan Revolution, who Santa Anna ordered to be buried because he was "To brave a man to be burned like a dog ". Love the vids! the bayonet manual just might get me to buy some surplus.
Jim Bowie, who developed the Bowie knife, died fighting at the Alamo in Texas' War of Independence from Mexico. So backup the origin of those techniques to 1835 or earlier.
1827 Sandbar Fight near present-day Vidalia, Louisiana. What began as a duel between two other men deteriorated into a mêlée in which Bowie, having been shot and stabbed, killed the sheriff of Rapides Parish with a large knife. This, and other stories of Bowie's prowess with a knife, led to the widespread popularity of the Bowie knife. Bowie enlarged his reputation during the Texas Revolution. Died: at the Alamo, March 6, 1836, Alamo Mission, San Antonio, Texas Colonel James Bowie - Texas Volunteer Army Battles/wars:Texas Revolution, Long Expedition, Battle of Nacogdoches, Battle of Concepción, Grass Fight, Battle of the Alamo
My dad was in the Marines (4th Div) and remembers Biddle.
He said he was one tough guy--nobody could take him, as he would throw the biggest guys around with ease. His knife fighting skills were legendary.
So he didn't teach people to be able to take him so he didn't teach them well, thank you for this anecdotal evidence i shall have to look beyond his fanclub
May you find your huckleberry.
@@jonasandersson7367 For what? And do you think it may be achieved without whining about youtube comments?
@@whynottalklikeapirat a guy who gets butthurt over a youtube comment being insufficiently helpful is definitely going to be a hard man some day
@@beowulf_of_wall_st I guess the best he can hope for is some kind of Boy Named Sue effect, but then again that means going against the grain of the Sue attitude so I am not too, too hopeful … 😏
For a long time I've been thinking of how to use a stick to defend against knife attacks. In this video you gave a very important clue - attack the knife hand
security guards have techniques of using baton, maybe that will help also. they are mostly defensive methods more than attacking, but most cases you would want to move from defence to attack if you are not the person who are randomly attacking people, so it might fit very well. Idea is same, hit a hand.
Yes, if you have the right"Stick" and you can whack a guy's wrist or lower arm, it might be possible to numb the hand, just long enough to take them out.
If you did FMA you would have learned that on day 1
And use a sturdy, heavy stick.
If you hit (hard) any of the bones in the wrist or lower forearm with a stout stick it will cause the hand at the end of that arm to become useless almost instantly and this can last many minutes. No way you could still hold a knife in that hand. If there is only skin, rather than muscle, over the bone a stick hit can cause the skin to split very easily, and it could conceivably break, or at least fracture, that bone, too.
You’re one of the most informative educators about historical topics on RUclips, and make it both understandable and entertaining. Keep being awesome Matt Easton!
Everyone of his videos are the same. Waffle, filler and movement to hold the attention of the guilable audience.
@@divafever9754 awww, jealous?
One of the best pieces of advice came from Starship Troopers, " The enemy cannot push a button if you disable his hand." Also applies to other situations, but hands are vital to the functionality of an attacker. I have an original SMLE bayonet and a repro M1 bayonet, the main difference is the point shape in terms of basic design.
All the more reason to not skip telekinesis and telepathy class.
MEDIC!
"Who needs a knife in a nuke fight"
@@timwarren9383 Put your hand on that wall.
Would you like to know more?
His techniques were passed down through LINE training in the Corps. The knife/bayonet section was pretty aggressive and eye opening. Granted, we used plastic knives or our bayonets with scabbards (the instructors actually used their Ka-Bars or unsheathed bayonets during their demo), but they focused on us using our forearms as shields or to take the thrust to the forearm. Rather the blade get stuck in your arm instead of your gut or chest, and to slash, stab or bunch the opponents knife hand.
Ow!
One of my instructors taught us to take the cut where you want it, not where they want to give it. Things like blocking with the outside of your forearm; because all the important stuff is on the inside. And putting your hand over your neck. A cut to the back of the hand sucks, but a cut to the neck sucks worse. If you're fighting with knives, you are going to bleed. The goal is to make them bleed worse and for longer. Winners drip, losers gush.
I'm from a south american culture called Gaucho (people in south brazil, uruguai and argentina), back in the flintlock days when firearms were not so easily accessible and pretty much everyone and their mother's carryed daggers paired with a honor duel culture, well, we ended up developing a quite comprehensive system called "esgrima criolla", and a pig part of it was using the tradional regional "cloak" wrapped around the left arm precisely for that reason, you tangle the blade and riposte. Sadly the surviving manuals are hard to find, usually only available in spanish and mostly forgotten, the only video sources I found are from bullshito practitioners.
@@Peagaporto I'd be interested in working with you on translating those manuals you are able to find and getting them transcribed into English and maybe German.
But that's just an idea, let me know what you think.
@@matthiasthulman4058 I will try to see what I can find, last one I saw was in a small bookshop in argentine years ago. But I would definetly be interested in helping out. They are somewhat rare.
I knew a man who fought in the Pacific during WW2. His unit was issued large Bowie knives to carry. During one battle he was able to save his life by drawing his Bowie and parrying a bayonet attack. He used the Bowie against an Ariska rifle with a bayonet. It ended poorly for the attacker.
My group once did stress testing of unarmed vs knife in an enclosed space. What we found out works best is to bat the knife hand as it attacks and retreat. When we went forward , the best result was a double kill with 50+ holes. If you're not Fairbairn or a fremen, just stay out of shanking distance and protect your squishy parts.
May your knife chip and break...
@@c.guydubois8270 Bi lal kaifa.
Reminiscent of fencing, where you are bound to be scored upon sooner or later.
@@peterbogart4531 yep! Only with a blade this short switch that to "almost immediately".
Your group was LGBTQ+
As you say: "Applicable across the centuries". An important principle that should be taught more widely in modern systems. Great stuff.
Sparred knives once with a HEMA guy. He kept his point offline and just waited to chop at my arm. I didn't really clock what he was doing with that guard at the time, you just explained it. Cheers.
We all like to imagine defeating enemies by great strikes to their head or torso completely ending the fight right there or cleanly cutting off their limbs to win the fight but we tend to forget just how fragile us humans can be. A small, well placed cut to the wrists could sever tendons, completely taking away the ability to hold the weapon. A hard hit to the back of the hand (even with a blunt side) can cause the hand to open up and drop the weapon.
Exactly. This is the fundamental basis to the defensive fighting techniques I use when preparing for the possible need to defend in situations where my firearms are unusable. I typically carry a dagger or woodsman's knife when not at work, where I have a light roofing hammer instead, and the primary go to action in the opening of any fight is to avoid the initial attack in the most mechanically simple way possible, followed immediately with a strike if some kind to the fighting arm below the elbow, preferably the back of the hand or inside of the wrist.
😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃
man, a rock that is thrown at me could fuck me up enough
one of my favorite exchanges in langesmesser comes from talhoffer,
step one, cut upwards into dudes wrist as he does a downard strike
step two, smack him when hes on the ground bleeding froma severed wrist
@@kyleheins , you must be living in a dangerous place! 😃
I had bought a 15 inch over all bowie knife. With safely playing with it I realized that the techniques I learned from studying DeGrassi several years ago could be easily applied to the larger knife. Thank you for confirming this. I might look at Biddle's book at some point to get a greater degree of techniques to use.
Have a look at Fairbairn's book.
I remember reading a bodyguard manual where the writer had a saying from the New York Police, "Watch the hands." This was where the threats were going to come from in a confrontation.
Be aware not to be kicked while doing so.
Keep eyes on center mass. Shoulder movements will also telegraph moves. Just like in boxing.
“Madly shanking away” Sounds like a great way to pass the time.
There's a very popular saying in FMA:
"Defang the snake"
Not taking anything away from FMA. At the same time, anything after defanging is at a minimum, armed assault....keep that in mind, or not, your dime for the defense attorney.
@@cmcd1008 What if you did it simultaneously?
Phillipinas are natural snake charmers
Quick shout out to Robert Redfeather and his book, "Apache Knife: Fight Like the Wind". His Chiricahua Apache tradition also has an emphasis on Bowie knife and subduing your opponent by taking the hand!
I am glad you like the book and Thank you.
I watched a show about Chiricahua Apache just the other day. Real bad dudes.
@@REDMAN1808 just found some of your videos, going to watch those while waiting for the book to arrive
Interestingly, there's a philosophy from numerous Martial Arts that follows the principles almost exactly:
1) Get out of the line of attack
2) Redirect the attack
3) Neutralize the weapon
4) Neutralize the opponent.
Which, in the end,, simple to learn, but in application, can take a lifetime to master!
That's good but go deeper for better results. Simultaneously move out of the line of attack (without backing up - use angles to "retreat forward"), neutralize the incoming attact (destroy & trap the limb), strike in triplets - three strikes so close in time they seem to be at once. It's called "triple hands". It all happens at once, within one second. If you can hit right and left, up and down, or both - then you will temporarily stun the nervous system for about one second - long enough to finish them if you know how and act on that knowledge. If you dont get the stun you still evaded the attack, controlled their movement and attained a superior position for even control (break thier structure / balance) and always more attacking. This is not armchaiir theory, it's completely viable if and strategically sound if you can pull it off. The best way? No, but better methods take a lot more skill.
I found this to be true in my own exploits. A disabled opponent can also create a buffer zone to limit on coming attacks, buying time to engage other attackers.
Just some bayonet history to add. The "sword" bayonet Matt is holding is the British Pattern 1907, and was intended for the Short, Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) rifle. It was based on an earlier Japanese Type 30 bayonet. The contemporary British Pattern 14 rifle's bayonet used essentially the same blade and handle design as the Pattern 1907, but had a taller cross-guard to mount to the Pattern 14's different muzzle configuration. The American's Model 1917 rifle was nearly identical to the Pattern 14, and thus its Model 1917 bayonet was essentially identical. The American 1917 bayonets were made by Remington and Winchester. The American Model 1903 rifle was primarily issued with the Model 1905 sword bayonet, which again, was nearly identical to the Model 1917/Pattern 14/Pattern 1907/Type 30 in overall length (16"-17" blades with grip handles) and blade design, the only real differences were in how they mounted to their rifles.
By World War II, however, the British and American primary service rifles (the Lee-Enfield No 4 and M-1 Garand respectively) would no longer be issued with sword-type bayonets. The M-1 used a shorter blade (about 9") whose handle/mount was backward compatible with the older Model 1903 rifles. The British Lee-Enfield No 4 rifles abandoned both the blade and the handle of the earlier Pattern 1907, adopting a simple 9" spike-type bayonet which would only be useful when mounted on the rifle. Post WWII, short bladed bayonets were made for No4 rifles, but they still lacked handles, only having the barrel-mounting socket. Interestingly, the British No 5 rifle (the "Jungle Carbine") was issued with a shorter (9") bladed bayonet with a grip handle.
For those interested in greater details, a recommended web site is: worldbayonets.com/index.htm
Thank you for the link to the website
When I was about 14 years old (50+ years ago) I rode the city bus to downtown Dallas to go to a great Army-Navy store.
I bought a bayonet for about $5.00. The owner wrapped it in a paper bag and told me not to take it out of the bag until I got home.
I suspected it was a British bayonet because the button latch was different than the US bayonets I had seen.
Now I know it is the 1907 model that I have (still after all these years)
here in ny ,i v heard of a technique called the sicilian,used by switchblade fighters of the 50s and 60s.you wait till your opponent thrusts then slash acrost his inner wrist,he drops the knife then you go straight forward into the liver.the trick is you have to be late and fast after he commits to his to his motion.liver wounds bleed almost purple ,thats how you know you hit the spot.
Interesting video, as usual, thanx Matt! It inspires me to do some testing with umbrellas and books 🤔
100% agree with your lesson - attacking the closest target to my body, which is the incoming hand. Thank you for this informative video!
Ive been training/trying to rebuild Native American knife/tomahawk systems & its a methodology that holds true there as well. Though if you have a tomahawk in the other hand it does change things ever so slightly obviously.
A practical guide to Biddle techniques is hard to find... Excellent work sir!!!!!!!!
It’s freaking sad, I cannot remember his name. Way back in the early 80’s we had a fellow come to our school who was a WW2 veteran. He had been in the same unit as the soldier with the record distance knife throw, dispatching a sentry as they infiltrated the enemy. He had a collection of crazy knives for us kids to ogle over.
I was trained in Biddle as a teenager
this is knife fighting 101 from here you go on as a warrior.
the first words out of my trainer's mouth everyday.
I recently got into a small argument over that scene in Crocodile Dundee over whether or not tiny-knife fighting was a thing in New York, and was reminded how much I wanted a knife like the one Dundee pulled out. It never occurred to me that bowie knives might have their _own_ style! I look forward to seeing more of your videos, especially about that knife.
Fascinating! There are parallels in Chinese swordplay too with both jian and dao to attack the hand/wrist/arm. I'd also like to add from experience of being stabbed in the hand, and fingers more specifically, don't rely on a single cut/attack to do the job. I could still hold the knife and move without much problem, and shock didn't set in for a good 15 min. So don't overextend, or stop after a single strike, be smart and ready to continue till the blade actually drops!
CHICKADEE CHINA THE CHINESE CHICKEN
I love it, as you cover this I reach for my knife, as you introduce the guy I knew a USMC Kabar was the right purchase!!
Great video. Exactly what I was thinking when I had my knife guy (Everybody has a knife guy right?) put a custom G10 handle on a Pattern 1907 Bayonet for use as a "short sword" or sorts.
I think Sir Richard Burton's "Manchette System" also relied heavily on hand and arm cuts for their non-lethality.
Great video but something to note is that the knife is pronounced (boo-wie) unlike the singer (bow-ie). The surname for Jim Bowie, the knife fighter and Texas revolutionary, is originally Scottish and comes from the Gaelic word "buidhe", meaning "yellow", "fair haired", "lucky", etc. which eventually becomes "bui", also meaning "yellow". The original Gaelic, like the knife fighter, is pronounced with a long "oo" sound, buidhe -> pujə.
Taught the very same concept from my knife instructor - get the hand...excellent analysis. Very fluid movement with weapon.
I was taught to go for the fingers, toes, shins and ears. The most pain nerves are there where the body ends, so the relative easiest ways to tame or weaken an attacker is that without doing to much damage to get yourself in trouble afterwards.
The Biddle methods of incapasitating an opponent are legendary. Very brutal to watch but highly quick and effective indeed. Check the ww2 instruction films here on youtube.
My dad taught knife to paratroopers during Korea.. I found out when I was sixteen..
I asked about knife fighting and what advice would he give someone..
“It’s a bad idea. Knife to be quiet is an ambush. A knife in a fight is not going to be quiet.. you might as well use gunpowder.”
What if you don’t have a gun?
“You need to plan better…”
That was fantastic! I'm watching your videos from now on. Life saving simplicity on that one. But I could imagine the effectiveness.
And I always thought the three main targets where eyes,throat and knees ! You won't win many fights if you cannot see,breathe or move ! Never considered going after the hands ! Thanks for another great tip !
I am a Chinese gung fu practicner. We are taught to put the weapon to flesh as soon as possible. Like you said it applies to multiple weapons.
Glad you mentioned FMA. Ironically, I've noticed that most of the edged weapon systems look a LOT alike and have a lot of the same principles. Truth is truth I guess.
Truth is Truth.....but FMA also absorbed a lot of Spanish blade work as well. And some FMA system striking patterns is based on teaching the weak points in Spanish armor. For example, in Serrada style, the thrusts they use in their striking patterns are aimed at the locations on the body where there would have either been a seam or gap in a Spanish cuirass.
@@armynurseboy The systems of Arnis is literally derived from the Spanish word for armor and has a lot of that in it also. FMA in general isn't afraid to adopt things from other systems and regularly evolve. I can't think of too many other systems that do that. My instructor was under Ernesto Presas in the 70's. It doesn't look like what I have seen in other schools that both Ernesto and Remy taught because they changed as they learned more or adopted things that worked better than what they were doing before. It's both a good and bad thing.
Having studied kenjutsu in Japan, the key strike target was the wrist or hand when facing a similarly-armed adversary. I.e., if confronting an adversary while you are both using a katana, the easiest way to end a fight quickly is to literally disarm the opponent: strike the wrist, the hand, the thumb. Fight over. When wielding the wakazashi - the shorter sword - the same holds true, but with different approach to the same end.
Great vid as usual - interesting to note that in genuine times of conflict, go for the hands is right up there.
Having cut myself accidentally a few times, in minor ways - a full bodied whack on the hand or wrist with a large blade would be horrific!
Great self defence advice.
In the limited training I've had in FMA, a defensive cut to the hand, became my primary sparring technique.
I worked with a former WW2 commando in the early 1980s. I was 19 and this old boy was about 65. I was asking him about his time in WW2 and he clearly got bored with my questions and said: 'Listen, let me show you something real'. He got me to stand with my back to him and he then grabbed my head and knocked my knee in so I immediately lost my balance and fell backwards. He then drew a finger across my windpipe. 'You're now dead son. Quick wasn't it?' I was amazed at the physical power and ingrained lethality of that old man and even today, it gives me a shiver of horror at how easily he could have (and might well have) killed someone with the minimum of fuss.
Cutting the hands and arms is found in just about every Allied WWII Combatives manual that teaches the use of knives and was taught to me personally.
are there Nazi combat manuals?
While many arts have limb attacks - for example Muay Thai on kicking arms and legs intentionally, European sword arts, etc. - no art does it in the scale, degree, and level of the Filipino martial arts. While there are hundreds, maybe thousands of "styles" in the Phillipines, "defanging the snake" or "guntings" are at the core and heart of the vast majority of them. The details, nuances, amount of techniques in the catalog is vast and immense. So much so, that it is also part of their unarmed catalog. Boxing, kickboxing, and grappling systems where attacking the limbs, muscles bellies, bones, etc. as a primary tactice before closer targets are ever engaged.
Also, I thoroughly enjoyed your video and your delivery of the information pulls one along and never gets dull. Very well done.
My grandfather was one of the men stationed in Scotland responsible for training the 1st army rangers for d day. I still have that very bayonet interestingly the first 4 inches have been sharpened and he used it for chopping foliage and wood as well as defence etc
Who trained your grandfather?
@Peter Koperdan he was stationed in India before coming back here I'm currently digging into his history.
Another excellent video, Matt! Thanks!
"Take the hand" is a classic move in FMA knife fighting and refer to it as "Defanging the Snake".
Good moves. You can also hold your weapon between you and the advancing weapon holding hand. That way you let them run their hand onto your edge also letting them use their own force to defeat them.
How the Soviet Union decided to study judo and develop sambo.
Thomas Cowen” At some of the forts men fought at close quarters, bayonet to bayonet, and it was once again shown that, though the Russians have the advantage of size and weight, they are no match for the quicker and more skilful Japanese”
Really good that Matt is teaching people knife fighting, the streets of London are quickly becoming the next world blade fighting capital for some peaky blinder types
I thought they were going to ban large knives in the U.K.
@@michaelmorgan9973 Looks like bans dont actually stop criminals, do they?
@@Salamandra40k not that I've seen anyway...
@@michaelmorgan9973 How ? it is already Illegal to have an over 3”non locking pocket knife in a public place without good reason. That does not stop anyone with bad intentions, never will. Also,are you going to prohibit the sale of kitchen knives !
@@CrimeVidjust what I heard man. It was after some dude went psycho in a store with a knife he got off the shelf. Lawmakers aren't logical.
A piece of knowledge I carry every day, and hope to never have to use.
A person who doesnot gets chills in spine by sight of these pieces of steel is not in his senses. These are fearsome tools.
Early 1800's for the Bowie at a minimum. One semi popular theory is that the Bowie type big knife replaced the smallsword in civilian dress in places like New Orleans. Some have theorized that Bowie knife fighting is a blend of Continental fencing styles and Scottish saber fencing. Bill Bagwell felt that the back cut was a Scottish trick.
Interesting take on using a rondel dagger defensively. I practiced with a fundo(weighted chain) against a knife from slashing and stabbing attacks like how the rondel is used defensively but I never considered a short sword or dagger used like that.
Mr. Biddle's treatise is available on Kindle (as I'm no longer allowed to clutter shelves with reams of books) for a very reasonable £3!
The odd shape of the baselard works well with this style and the British WW2 training styles, where one holds the blade down from the crossgaurd to avoid hand strikes. The back end of a baselard (the T) fits well into the palm and provides a firm sniping grip and keep the hand safer. Whipping off an opponents hand or doing an over slice is dead easy with this grip.
I agree that the defense technique of going for the have likely goes back to sticks. We did a bit of goofing around with padded short sticks in college and I found defending by going for the hand or wrist to be quite effective
i really love Cold Steels line up of extra large blades. The Espada XL(7.5in blade) is just ridiculous....i must have one! I carry a Voyager XL (5.5 in blade) as my edc. Used to carry a Recon 1(4 inch blade) tanto half serrated as my edc, still have that one and its a tank.
The best manual for knife fighting I found was "Put ‘Em Down. Take ‘Em Out!: Knife Fighting Techniques From Folsom Prison". It's a short, 31 pages manual, that explains reality of the knife fighting. Book is based on actual life-or-death experience, author also deals with popular knife fighting myths.
Love your channel. Such a wealth of information. Your collection of weapons is wonderful and amazing. Thanks again for sharing.👍👍⚓⚓🇺🇲🇺🇲
Slicing the forearm and hand is also a good form of defence with small knife in more of a grapple/"knife fighting" distance, fairly heavily used in some systems (usually with some form of deflection or control using the offhand)
Good advice. Applies to striking weapons too, like the blackjack. In an altercation rather than combat, a hard blow to the back of the hand with a Convoy blackjack pretty much ends any fight. The enemy is that which closes the interval to do you harm. That is why more privates than generals die in combat. They are within the combat interval. Technically, a blow to an attacking hand or foot is just about the only truly simultaneous defensive and offensive move in close combat. That makes mostly hands and feet the enemy. The logical conclusion is that if both his hands and both his feet are disabled, the threat is pretty much abated. Whether he lives or dies then becomes a somewhat less urgent moral question. The other side of that is protect your own hands and feet!
The best thing about the Bowie is it throws well.
Thanks for the heads up on Biddle's works. I just ordered his book and supplement. I've a collection of bowie knives and the books will be great research on fighting with them. Still trying to find a similar navaho knife. The one you show is awesome!
Cold Steel sells navaja folding tactical knives. I have one myself and it has a 5 1/2" blade. Cold Steel even sells the same style of navaja knife that has a 7" blade! It's called the Espada.
@@Xinder720 Thank you!
Starship Troopers taught me the wisdom of taking the hand
looking at that bayonet cracks me up because the bayonet on my Mosin-Nagant is essentially an 18 inch long blunt screwdriver
Musashi Miyamoto, the famed Japanese swordsman, recommended going for the corners (hands and feet) when faced with strong opponents in the book of 5 rings. He said go for the centre against weak opponents (I think) or that was implied. When he fought his most famous opponent, Kojirō Sasaki, Musashi Miyamoto hit him on the head (perhaps to show that he did not consider him a strong opponent, or that he thought that Sasaki may have read his book, and be expecting a peripheral attack).
I think any fairly deep cut to the hand will really reduce the opponent's desire to continue.
Paul Vunak, who is also a prolific and famed knife-use teacher of our time, also talks about this concept of taking out the hand and wrist as your opponent extends their weapon towards you. It seems a constant among anyone who fights for any length of time that you fight on the defensive and attempt to cripple your opponent as they attack you. Makes sense- since people who don't care about protecting themselves don't tend to get very old if they're getting into knife fights LOL
Thanks for the information.
Bowie apparently picked up knife fighting in New Orleans. Since it had been a French colony with some Spanish periods in Bowie's day it was full of emigre Frenchmen from the Caribbean and Revolutionary/Napoleonic France. Among those were fencing instructors. Obviously, knives being more practical in the jungly Mississippi Valley than any type of sword, knife fighting had been explored for decades. In an era of single shot firearms it was a lifesaving skill. I'm sure Bowie improved whatever knife fighting skills he had under knowledgeable instructors. Even after Bowie's death at the Alamo, when the first generations of revolvers appeared, the difficulties of reloading meant carrying both multiple pistols and a large knife. Pictures of men known to be Western scouts and gunfighters invariably show them sporting a large blade until well into the 1870's. Even Wild Bill Hickock. That's when rapidly reloading cartridge revolvers became widely available, along with repeating and rapidly reloadable ling arms. After that knives were still there but less ubiquitous. And probably smaller.
There was a recorded machete fight recently where in a flash of silver, one of the men's hands just get cleanly lopped off. It looked effortless.
Thank you so much for this! 100% - Thumbs up and kudos! Salute sir!
And i salute you sir THE father of western big knife fighting revivial.
Sometimes the clothing is so thick a cut will not penetrate the arm, but if the blade is of sufficient length and mass it will still hurt like a mother and more importantly move the opponents hand off-line.
So even if a cut to the hand does not wound the opponent, it will still be a tacticly sound technique
IIRC Monsterry recommends chopping into an opponent’s blade hand using a cane as well, so his systems also use the same technique.
Very interesting and still applicable today.
Dan Fairbairn created the Smatchet for this very scenario. For stealth, there was the dagger. For fighting, the smatchet.
Interesting for me because my old fencing instructor was training troops in ww2 to defend against the katana using a bayonet fitted Lee Enfield. The basic idea was to bayonet the arm or hand. He was teaching me Epee and was the Late Brian Pitman. Quite well known national coach in the 80s.
I'd love to see more of this type of content to include discussing content in books like, Kill or get killed, get tough, etc.
It's also in Styers' (also a WW2 US Marine instructor) Cold Steel, in the section on knife use and it seems there's a fair bit of cuts to the hand and wrist in Italian Knife Fencing
Jim Bowie died at the Texas Alamo 1836. His brother designed the Bowie knife. Jim was a dualist. Point- the fighting techniques range back at least as far as the early 1800's. The 1937 book therefore refers to a fairly long backwoods tradition.
On another note. 18,000 US Cavalry sabres were ground down and issues to the Philippine Guerrillas circa 1942-43. A story you might like to go into.
Lynn Thompson has it quite correct and the lethal back cut on what he calls u is a hand cut . Would also recommend practicing the snap cut religiously . Snap cut to face , hand head is incredibly hard to stop .
Great advice. Works with any weapons at close combat. Always take the hand. 👍🍻
Speed is most important
I truly enjoy your videos. You bring great insight and history to life.
Would be interesting if you made a video on the footwork for the targeting of the arm defensively with the knife.
I really got a lot out of this video! Well done sir!
Fun fact: the US didn't issue the full sized 16" bladed M1905 bayonet in ww2 except to those like my grandpa who faced the Japanese and their 15" arisaka bayonets. All the rest in inventory were cut down to 10".
The M1905 is definitely more like a short sword than a knife, and my opinion from fencing is definitely in line with Matt's, but that largely stopped mattering I think once the average GI had semi and full auto smokeless firearms with en bloc clips, belts and box magazines. The enormous bulk hanging from the belt was by then I suspect a liability more than any asset. So they cut em down.
Similarly in todays civilian realm I've never seen anyone carrying a bigger than 10" blade for self defense in a populated area who is also carrying a gun. In San Francisco, where most can't carry guns legally and fixed blades must be openly carried, I've seen it many times while visiting.
Fun fact, the other day I learned their are bowie knife schools in Louisiana that take their roots back to Spanish sword masters who moved to America in the early days and adapted their rapier style to the bowie knife, which makes sense sine theirs the option of the partying dagger in rapier fighting, I dunno exactly how true it is though and I can't remember where I heard it from when I find out I'll edit the comment
This works with a cudgel too, hit the weapon hand, immobilise a joint, ect.
The hand really is the best target in a weapon fight. It's the closest thing to you, super fragile, and once damaged, suddenly turns the fight into armed vs unarmed.
backing up and striking or going off line and striking works well with everything even empty hands
Were you aware that a Disney musical touched on the life of Tony Biddle during World War One? It was "the Happiest Millionaire" and one scene shows the old man decking a Marine officer in his home boxing rings. I have a reprint or two of his "Do or Die."
Strikes to the hand and arm was taught at Basic with a rifle mounted bayonet.
By no means am I professional, but as a backpacker, primitive camper, I cary a machete and a hatchet, 7" military surplus knife, a knife on my shoulder strap, in pocket. Different tools for different tasks. Or "disarming" someone. You never know.
I like the dagger shows. I probably want end up in a sword fight.
Kelly Mccann has an excellent knife fighting dvd. Includes some talk about Biddle and Styers I believe. Been out quite a few years now. Maybe hard to find now.
I’ve never heard of Tony Biddle but I know Colonel Rex Applegate was OSS and taught hand-to-hand combat to special forces. His 1943 “Kill or Get Killed: A Manual of Hand-to-Hand Fighting” was a valuable resource to me when studying and training martial arts and working security. (As theory, I was’t trying to hurt people when bouncing!)
It's a very pedantic point to make but I don't mean any form of condescension or offensiveness, just a texan who likes her big knife. In Texas, cultural origin of the knife as I understand, it's pronounced BOO-ee, sounds similar to the American pronunciation of buoy. and I do wanna mention that David Bowie used the English pronunciation of the name as it has its roots in English, but the knife's namesake was Jim Bowie the Texan Colonel during the Texan Revolution, who Santa Anna ordered to be buried because he was "To brave a man to be burned like a dog ". Love the vids! the bayonet manual just might get me to buy some surplus.
Jim Bowie, who developed the Bowie knife, died fighting at the Alamo in Texas' War of Independence from Mexico. So backup the origin of those techniques to 1835 or earlier.
1827 Sandbar Fight near present-day Vidalia, Louisiana. What began as a duel between two other men deteriorated into a mêlée in which Bowie, having been shot and stabbed, killed the sheriff of Rapides Parish with a large knife. This, and other stories of Bowie's prowess with a knife, led to the widespread popularity of the Bowie knife. Bowie enlarged his reputation during the Texas Revolution.
Died: at the Alamo, March 6, 1836, Alamo Mission, San Antonio, Texas
Colonel James Bowie - Texas Volunteer Army
Battles/wars:Texas Revolution, Long Expedition, Battle of Nacogdoches, Battle of Concepción, Grass Fight, Battle of the Alamo
Thanks, Matt.