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RONIN BLADE COMBATIVES ICE PICK GRIP COURSE REVIEW


Marko Novakovic does it again.  I had the pleasure of reviewing the first Ronin Blade Combatives course and this follow up course is equally impressive. The course presents a streamlined method for using the knife in the ice pick grip. 


Do not confuse streamlined for lacking.  There is no fluff or filler used in an attempt to make the program seem robust.   The program is complex in its simplicity. Common techniques presented by other instructors for the ice pick grip are often fanciful, and unreliable.  That is not the case here.  What is presented here is probably the single best reverse grip knife course that I have ever seen. 


There is firm, sound logic to the how and why of the techniques presented.  All of the techniques and tactics follow this logic and the result is a truly functional tool box.  You will not look pretty doing these techniques, but you will be armed with a strong common sense approach to knife work. 


As in previous courses, Novakovic does not just present "by the numbers'' techniques for you to mimic.  What he does present are all of the core basics, combinations, grappling applications,  functional skill building drills, and tactical insights. This course also comes with certain assurances.  All of the material presented has been heavily pressure tested.  All of the material is applicable to real time, energy and intent.  


I have instructed knife use and defense for over 20 years.  I have seen the good, bad and the ugly.  When it comes to blade work I do not give praise lightly.   I give my full endorsement to this course and recommend it to anyone who wants to cut through the fantasy and fallacies that abound in the blade community.  

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