Masters of the Blade: Blog

What Separates the Trainees from the Trainers.  Often NOTHING! As we begin a new year—on the heels of 2020, a year when Planet Earth uniformly achieved less of its goals than was planned—it behooves us to take stock of where we are, and to re-commit to what didn't get done last year. Before I became weary of traveling to conduct workshops, I noted similar behaviors among most edged weapons aficionados, whether they were trainees, trainers, or almost anyone in between. You all lack focus! The truth hurts—but that's good, because hurt brings change! In photography, as everyone knows, the better your focus, the sharper your picture. The same holds true for the martial arts, and indeed every other discipline one sets out to master. In this case, a better focus will make you a sharper practitioner. So, where do you begin? Get very clear about your primary goals. Granularly clear! Trainees allow themselves to stagnate by pursuing too many interests that keep them distracted. They was...

  KNIFE FIGHTER OR FIGHTER WITH A KNIFE? What’s the difference? You may ask.  Well there is a world of difference between the knife fighter and the fighter with a knife.  The definition of each is crucial to your understanding of blade work and of how you will structure your training.   The knife fighter is good with a blade, they know it inside out.  The knife fighter is confident in their ability to use their knife to bring you harm or death.  The Knife fighter spends a lot of time practicing with their blade.  They blade gives them confidence.  The blade is the focus of their attack and defense.      The fighter with a knife is good at fighting.  They know fighting inside and out.  The fighter with a knife is confident in their ability to bring you harm or death by any means necessary.   The fighter with a knife spends a lot of time practicing their fighting ability.  Their fighting ability give...

  THE MYTH OF LAW ENFORCEMENT KNIFE FIGHTING One of the most disturbing myths of all is that police officers are the best people to teach you knife work.  Much like their military counterparts, police officers usually have to go outside of their departments into the civilian sector in order to learn good knife skills.  In law enforcement perception counts for a lot and many departments will not even let their officers carry a knife per SOP.  The ones that do carry are lucky if they get any formal training from their department.  I have taught knife work to law enforcement and I can tell you that it is a very hard sell to departments who are very liability conscience.   Like soldiers, police officers will dedicate the better part of their training to their firearms.  Knives are a very distant priority for them.  Certainly, the experiences that some police officers can give to us about knife survival is invaluable but as knife tacticians their skill...