From kata dori the logical progression is tsuki – specifically jodan tsuki.
If kata dori is done energetically and nage starts to play the “advanced” timing (i.e, tori is never allowed to effectively employ kata dori), the flow pattern starts to replicate a head level direct strike (a punch or lunge).
To warm up and start the pedagogical chain, we started gyaku hanmi katatedori tenkan, but with a very specific angle of approach. The grabbed arm must first lead uke in (invite to close distance) while simultaneously turning the wrist so as to lock uke’s elbow back toward their center. (Nage rotates the palm up as if to cover his own heart.) Remember to shift the weight down – not back into uke. We want to lead them to a trap – not push uke away which would allow them to “reset.” Once uke’s center is “captured” only then do we move tenkan – gliding in past the scapula, to then execute a quick 180 blend (careful, this is a linear pivot – do not describe a semi-circle on your entry!). Basic geometry please – shortest distance and all that…
From this exercise we move to an irmi-nage exercise. From katatedori’s hand position, stay in front. There is a “V” on the top inside gate – this leads to uke’s face. Follow that line to direct irmi-nage. Then the second exercise – “what if” nage fails to capture uke’s center (compress the elbow) off the initial grab? In this instance, the striking arm must perform a compression trap and strike simultaneously, but the line nage must follow is the same as the first exercise. (You have done this before – it is a compressed, tightened, version of ashi-sabaki’s arm movement.)
Both in presenting this exercise and in writing these notes, the “play” may sound unfamiliar. The kihon presentation to make it more familiar is to recall how you do gyaku hanmi irimi nage direct, gedan level. Tori grabs, nage cuts over with the free hand to release the grab, and in a continuing circular path flows to the jaw-line throw while advancing bodily and the newly freed hand captures tori’s neck. Pedantically, this is a 3-beat movement (a) cut hand (b) grab neck (c) throw.
The presentation tonight shortens the time to 2-beats. The grab is lead to high chudan while the free hand “shoots” to the irimi throw (strike) – which when done in flow readily becomes a single beat. As we shorten the reactionary time, each movement needs complete more actions in flow – smooth is fast.
Now move to its “application” from jodan tsuki. First the 2-beat – tori attacks with a committed tsuki. Nage responds with a small lead hand deflection and immediately shoots the back hand in for the strike/throw. Bunkai targeting – eye-spear, suprasternal notch are primary. Training note – remember the application shows why the upper gate is the most expedient approach. Taking the lower gate will lead to capturing tori’s striking arm, which will require a change from irimi-nage to a front choke (we did not cover that tonight). Moving to a one-beat response, the strike is met with a counter strike the both deflects, compresses and strikes in one motion. Yes, you can do it.
As a reminder – I demonstrated that these direct forms of irmi-nage are the obverse side of kokyu-ho: Meaning, that if the grabbed hand once released is the striking hand then you are doing kokyu-ho, but if the free hand strike you are doing irimi-nage. Irimi-nage is palm down. Kokyu-ho is palm up. Both techniques are on the outside line.
Understanding the outside line, we moved to the inside. Start jodan tsuki and rather than “zoning out” shift inside to tori’s center while doing an “X” block. Basic is the lead hand “wipes” the punch freeing the other hand to strike tori (temple, mandible, clavicle). This is a 2-beat response. Of course there is a one-beat where the lead hand can flow from the “X” block straight in to hook tori’s eye with the thumb. We tied this all back to a more “traditional” Aikido attack-flow-throw sequence – think shomen, intercept cross hand, then transition block, thow kokyu-nage. Your arms are opening from center – out. Same pattern.
We added the use of the hip, showed a reaping leg addition, but these are minor flourishes to compound the effectiveness of the throw but are neither primary nor necessary to make it effective. It will augment the technique (making it a 3-hit strike) but like foot-traps, make training more dangerous.
Second class I added the snake to figure-four (i.e., arm bar and front choke simultaneously executed). Tori strikes, nage covers on the inside line, wraps the striking arm while grasping the trachea with the free inside hand. Easy to show – difficult to describe. The beauty of the response is that it can easily be done off a “startle” response – meaning if tori throws a hard surprise punch, nage’s (trained) startle should be to cover elbows out (elbow shield 2) and from that position, one can overlay and snake the attacking arm while counter striking before tori pulls the strike or uses the secondary hand.
From the ‘basic’ figure-four, we then moved to the tenkan-blend. Again, you have seen this before. Okamoto-sensei will typically present this flow sequence from kata-dori when she encircles (snakes) the grabbing hand while performing tenkan.
Okamoto sensei wouldn’t call it Snake 1
Nage’s entrapping arm then lifts tori’s elbow while the hand is caught creating tension (soft tissue damage) and thereby motivating a throw. From a front punch we captured tori in the same way but I showed the front compression – using the flat of the hand against tori’s chest to create additional torque on the captured hand and elbow.
From there we moved to some knife play – the Bowie. Single knife vs double knife was the flow exercise. As a flow – tori has 2 blades to be delivered yokomen then yokomen on a one-two strike. Nage intercepts strike one blade to blade tip up. The incoming yokomen (angle 1) impels nage’s blade in a wrist roll, snap cut around tori’s blade to strike the neck on the outside line. Nage then drops point down to pick up tori’s wrist and rolls the blade like nikkyo to extract tori’s knife. Disarmed of the first blade, tori strikes with the second (angle 2) and nage must pick up that attack from a low line (having just finished one disarm). That means nage’s point is down and therefore meets the incoming blade in that manner, rolls (elbow high) on the outside line to come to the inside while snapping tori’s second blade hand back which inevitably either strips the blade or forces tori onto nage’s knife with the point under tori’s armpit. Remember these are class notes – not a “how to” manual.
What does this have to do with Aikido? The knife play makes the empty hand more visible – but I demonstrated this sequence without the knives: yokomen is countered with gyakyu-yokomen and quickly followed by nikkyo, the second yokomen is then picked up by the same hand in a “chicken wing” block, the elbow rolls over (much like Yasuno-style shomen) so that nage’s elbow can then strike tori’s hand from the inside line and use the rebounding energy to perform a one-knuckle strike to the lymph-node / top of lung under the armpit.
While written in Victorian prose, his work remains accessible and is deeply informed with the experience of a man who has been there, seen it, and done it all. A link to digitized versions of his oeuvre is found >here< but the works of specific interest to the martial artist are: New System of Sword Exercise for Infantry (1876), Book of the Sword (1884), and Sentiments of the Sword (1911) [also found here, and Burton-1911-sentiment-sword]. Texts are copied to this post for ease of reference.
An excellent review of the New System is taken from the Victorian Fencing Society so that excellent material will be readily accessible:
Burton’s Sword Exercise – Printed in London in 1876 by William Clowes and Sons
The dedication page.
Burton provides an interesting perspective on the nineteenth century sword manuals intended for military training. It is often said that the character of a person can be learned in just 5 minutes of fencing with them. This may also be true of 5 minutes of reading a fencing manual. All of Burton’s fortes and foibles are on display – his knowledge, bluster, faultfinding, and sense of humor.
Sir Richard Francis Burton was an extraordinary Victorian. He was an explorer and anthropologist, who may be most famous for not finding the source of the Nile River. His many accomplishments include a journey to Mecca disguised as a native, explorations in Africa, Asia and the Americas, and learning a vast number of languages – 29 according to Burton himself. He was also a prolific author.
A portrait of Burton. Note the scar on his cheek, received in Africa when a spear pierced through his face during a battle with natives.
Burton would write about anything, but the sword was a favorite subject. Besides A New System of Sword Exercise for Infantry, he wrote a treatise on bayonet fencing in 1853. The Book of the Sword (1884) is an unfinished history of the sword, and the Sentiment of the Sword: A Country House Dialogue, was published in 1911 after his death. Burton said of the sword, “The History of the sword is the history of humanity.”
He was an accredited fencing master, and his ability to compare fencing with other national systems such as German and Italian is one of the things that make this manual an interesting item. His unique contribution is the use of manchettes, a system of cuts at the arm used to disable an opponent.
Oil painting, ‘Sir Richard Burton Dressed for Fencing’, Albert Letchford, about 1883
In his introductory remarks, he lambasts contemporary English and French manuals. He states that there has been no advancement in the use of the sword.
“Whilst the last half century has witnessed an immense improvement in the projectile weapons of the civilized world, the theory and practice of the sabre or cutting arm have remained in statu quo ante; indeed, if there has been any change it is for the worse.”
He then goes on to criticize the current British military manuals as obsolete, and “nought but a snare and a delusion.” He notes that the only updates in the manuals are the uniforms in the picture plates.
Of the Infantry Sword Exercise he says “I am opposed to almost every page of this unhappy brochure” objecting to the shape of the target, the grip of the sword, the position of the guard and the parries.
Infantry Sword Exercise (1875) Horse Guards. War Office. Printed under the supervision of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office
For example, and many of his contemporaries agree, he insists that one should “sit on guard” with the weight equally distributed on both legs. He describes the reason for the old style of keeping the bodyweight on the left leg:
“The person is not so much exposed; moreover, that the centre of gravity being thrown back adds spring and impetus to the Lunge.”
But this risks cramps in the overworked rear leg, which for Burton is enough to discard its use.
He criticizes the Guards. Of the Hanging Guard he says it is a “painful spectacle” and a “Lesson of what to avoid”. It exposes the right forearm and is fatiguing.
The inside engaging guard (carte) also endangers the forearm, and outside engaging guard (tierce) holds the hand too low and endangers the arm.
Burton calls the “loose practice” with the singlestick a mistake for learning saber. The lack of edges on the stick (which he says is simply a different weapon) lends to every blow representing a cut.
He also criticizes the simplification of terms, such as right and left for tierce and carte “as if such mysteries were too high or too deep for our national intelligence.”
Burton was not shy about criticizing the practices of the British government and military, and he developed a world view that could eschew British superiority.
He suggests that the British soldier will be equal in intelligence with the rest of Europe “When we enlist the right kind of recruit either by improving his condition and his prospects, not his pay, or better, far better, by securing a superior man through the conscription of modern Europe. We Britons are no longer physically divided from the total orb; nor can we afford to remain morally insulated and isolated. The logical effect of union with the outer world will be to make us do as the world does, and all our exceptional institutions, such as the system of volunteer recruiting, must sooner or later go by the board.”
Finished with his critical introduction, and asking that his own work be similarly scrutinized, Burton emphasizes the importance of his treatise.
“I have now finished with the ungrateful task of criticizing, and I proceed to propose a system which it is hoped will be as severely criticized by others. It is only candid to state that its pretensions are high, that it contains two distinct novelties, the Manchette System and the Reverse or Backcut; and, finally, that it aspires to be the first Treatise in which the broadsword is scientifically taken in hand.”
Section I. PREPARATORY INSTRUCTION WITHOUT THE SWORD.
Preliminary
Burton refers to the preparatory squad drills of Balance and Extension motion training as the “goose step of the sword”. Squad drill, he notes, will not likely make a good swordsman, but economy of time renders it a necessity.
First Position in Two Motions
He goes through First Position, Second Positon (the Guard), and Third Position (from Guard to Lunge). To avoid fatigue and give additional balance to the body, Burton suggests they also practice the actions standing as a left handed fencer would do.
Attacking, Advancing and Retiring
The attack Burton refers to is a beat on the ground with the right foot. He apparently is describing the appel.
Section II. PREPARATORY INSTRUCTION WITH THE SWORD
Explanation and use of the target
One of Burton’s criticisms is the depiction of the target in most saber manuals. With his typical caustic humor he notes: “to the shape of the target—I never yet saw a man absolutely circular;” This is a reference to most cutting targets depicted in saber manuals that are circular in shape, showing the directions of the cuts along the radius.
Burton’s target is oblong and the figure is five foot 8 inches tall. Showing the lines of the 12 cuts and the angle of the saber. He notes that the target “directs the recruit on how to make the cuts, but not exactly where; this must depend upon how the opponent acts during the attack and the defense.”
The Moulinet
Burton requires that this rotation movement should be learnt before the recruit proceeds to the Cut.
This section is a good example of Burton’s urge to include detailed background on his subject matter. Before he gets in to the action of the moulinets, a lengthy footnote describes it as being a favorite movement of French sabrers. Most of the footnote is written in French. Burton often added quotes in Latin, French, Italian and other languages without translation. Readers had complained about his use of untranslated quotes, to which he responded that he could not help if they were not smart enough to read his books.
As for the moulinet, he says “There is nothing better for ” breaking,” as the French say, the recruit’s wrist than this sweep of the sword; and the style of a swordsman may always be known by his Moulinet.”
He divides it in three kinds: Horizontal, diagonal and vertical.
The Cuts
Of making cuts, Burton says that “The Cuts must, as a rule, be delivered within eight inches of the point and at the “centre of percussion,” so that the sword may clear itself and the arm escape a “jar.”
There are twelve cuts. 1 & 2 are at the head, 3 & 4 are horizontal face cuts, 5 & 6 are slanting shoulder cuts, 7 & 8 are horizontal breast cuts, 9& 10 are horizontal stomach cuts, and 11 & 12 are slanting groin or thigh cuts, going from downwards upwards, as in the reverse of the shoulder cuts.
He adds that “The two virtues of the Cut are its trueness and its velocity.”
Burton describes the various ways of making cuts, demonstrating his experience with foreign styles. His preference is what he calls the “whip cut”, which is made mostly from the wrist.
The following are the five principal ways of cutting according to Burton:—
The Chopping or Downright Cut, from the shoulder and fore-arm. This appears to be the instinctive method preserved by Europe; most men who take up a sword for the first time use it in this way.
The Sliding Cut, common throughout the East. In this movement the elbow and wrist are held stiff and the blow is given from the strong muscles of the back and shoulder, nearly ten times larger than the muscles of the arm, while the whole force and weight of the body are thrown in. Hence the people of India use small hilts with mere crutch-guards, which confine the hand and prevent the play of the wrist; the larger grip required for the Chopping Cut only lessens the cutting force. The terrible effect of these cuts is well known.
The Thrust Cut, with the curved (” Damascus “) blade; a combination of point and edge, the latter being obliquely thrust forward and along the body aimed at. This movement is a favourite on horseback, when speed supplies the necessary forms, which can hardly be applied on foot. It must be carried like a Point.
The Whip Cut; in which the arm and elbow are kept almost motionless, and the blow is delivered from the wrist. This is the principal Cut allowed in my system; it is capable of sufficient effect upon the opponent whilst it does not uncover the swordsman who uses it.
The Drawing or Reverse Cut, which will be explained in the following pages; it is the reverse of the “Thrust Cut.”
The Engaging Guards, or Engagements.
The next section details the Engaging Guards, which Burton explains “As the ‘Infantry Sword Exercise’ has a deficiency of Cuts, so it has a superfluity of “Engaging Guards.”
Burton reduces the Engaging to Tierce and Quarte.
He says that “When engaging in guard (joining weapons), the swords should meet each other about eight inches from the points. If the distance is diminished the opponents are “out of measure” (or distance); if increased, they are “within measure.” The recruit must be taught slightly to press upon the opponent’s blade, but not to rest upon it; by this “opposition” his hand and wrist will be more ready to follow the weapon during the attack.”
He recommends that the right-handed recruit be taught the engaging guard of tierce, with the opponent’s blade in the outer line. The reverse position leaves the fore-arm unguarded, and tierce facilitates the defense of the low lines.
The Guards or Parries.
The ‘Infantry Sword Exercise’ proposes Seven Guards, but Burton says that in practice the advanced swordsman will confine himself to Tierce and Carte with their natural modifications.
Of guarding the head he suggests High Tierce or High Carte (rather than Prime). To guard the legs he prefers Low Tierce or the rassemblement (withdrawing the leg) to using seconde.
The Guards or Parries will be practised like the Cuts, first in the “Second Position” (Guard), and afterwards in the “Third Position” (Lunge).
Section III. THE MANCHETTE OR FOREARM PLAY.
The manchette is cutting at the hand, wrist and forearm with the inner edge of the blade. This is Burton’s distinct addition to saber exercises of the time. Burton says that “A swordsman thoroughly trained in this section does not allow the opponent to deliver a cut.”
The manchette allows a swordsman to disable his opponent, rather than being forced to deliver a lethal blow. It also is a safer method of delivering a cut for the swordsman.
Burton explains “The natural man cuts as if he were using a stick or a club, and the preliminary movement lays open the whole of his body; indeed, exposure, I have said, is the main danger of every attack with the sabre, however closely and skilfully conducted. A cut through the muscles of the fore-arm, either inside or outside, causes the sword instantly to be relaxed and dropped; the man in fact is hamstrung in the upper works.”
And he adds “Finally I meditated upon the comparative humanity of ‘Manchette’, of disabling the opponent by an arm-cut, rather than laying open his flank or his head. During single rencontres in the field, especially at the end of Indian battles, it is so often necessary to put hors de combat some unfortunate, whose pluck or sense of honour induces him to prolong the hopeless attack.”
Burton lists his system of manchette as the Direct Cuts, The Parries and Feints, the Reverse or Back Cuts, and the Time Cuts.
The Time Cut (a cut delivered during an opponent’s attack, disabling the opponent before he can finish) is the flower of the Manchette system, as the Manchette is of the broadsword; and it is, perhaps, the part least capable of being taught in books.
Burton then gives what he refers to as a synoptical table of Manchette or Forearm play, showing the Cuts, the Guards (Parries) for the Cuts, and the Ripostes or replies that should follow each Parade.
In conclusion of the manchette play, Burton says “I will end this system of Manchette with the words of old Achille Marozzo, written some three centuries and a half ago: ‘I would that ye swear upon your sword-hilts never to use this knowledge against me, your master.’ But, in lieu of insisting that my readers never teach it without obtaining formal permission, I only hope that they will favour me by spreading it far and wide.”
An Appendix to the Sword Exercises alludes to an improved form of sabre handle. Burton recommends a modified grip made by the Italian Captain Settimo del Frate. This is illustrated in the following diagrams
The Italian Del Frate’s grip design for the saber.
Burton suggests “I would further modify his Fig. 1, so as to give more fulcrum to the hand. The thumb-plate should be made weighty and the guard light, otherwise the blade will be over-balanced, that is, heavier on one side than on the other. It need hardly be said that the grip before going into battle should be whipped round with thin whipcord, or better still, with web-cloth.”
Additional thoughts on and from Sir Burton from MAAJAK (search that chimerical website well and often!). This from Burton’s Sentiment of the Sword:
I have now made you as wise as myself upon the subject of moving the body and the limbs, which indeed is all the mechanism of swordsmanship. A few words before we separate. Why have these positions and these movements been chosen, been universally approved of by the civilised world? The reply is because they are intuitive and instinctive. See how the races that use the knife naturally seize it with the right hand, drape the cloak round the left arm, and, under cover of the body, prepare the weapon for a fatal thrust. ” I’m certain,” Shughtie said, ” that they are wrong. Have the cloak if you like, it may always be useful, but hold your bowie-point to the fore as if it were a sword. Why, man, you’ve quoted Achille Marozzo, and already you forget hie principles. There are two common ways of using the knife underhand and overhand. Underhand is rare, being easily stopped; overhand, if you treat it as I would, may be received upon the point. An acquaintance of mine had a third way, which was not without its merits. He rejoiced in the sobriquet of ‘ Flat-footed Jack,’ being, or rather having been, one of Her Gracious Majesty’s hard naval bargains. The Argentine gargotti’s not a bad place for knife practice. The Flat-footed in his cups would quarrel with hie own hat; hence many a difficulty. When cuchillos are drawn Senor Spaniard, old or new hemisphere, have a silly habit of showing off. The world must see the curved beauties of his deadly blade. It’s like the Tartar prince, who by herald informs the kings of the earth that they may dine, as he has finished his meal of mare’s milk. And it’s quite unlike the sensible Japanese, who, holding the scabbard in the left hand, draws hie sword with so little loss of time that he opens his man from belt to shoulder.” A very old manoeuvre of the Italian and German schools, I interposed. ” Well,” resumed Shughtie, ” while the particular Don was intent upon his gambado, Flat-footed Jack suddenly let fly at him a perfectly straight thrust with a common whittle some 6in. long, and worth when new 4d. He was only careful to put his thumb along the bone handle. Of course, every blow killed. I should be afraid to name the number of our countryman’s triumphs.” This was a long speech for Shughtie. I knew that he would not readily do it again, and resumed. Such, then, is the rule of the sword we will drop the knife – and it is based upon nature and truth, upon practice and experience.
Especially when preparing for actual combat, these few seconds of preamble allow you to settle your equilibrium, to draw upon your self-confidence, to face without emotion that sword point which threatens you, and to allay the first involuntary movement of anxiety which, in such cases, the strongest nature must endure for a moment. Moreover, you have been able to entrap your adversary in a comprehensive glance of observation, and to draw your own conclusions from his position, from his handling of the sword, and from the general way in which he offers battle.
This renders it worth your while to stand for a few minutes even out of pistol shot.
From Sentiments of the Sword by Sir Richard Burton
The sentiment du fer is that supreme art of digitation which is to the complete swordsman what the touch of the pulse is, or rather was, to the old physician who disclaims the newfangled thermometer. It begins to make itself felt as soon as the blades come into contact. Essential to the highest development of our art, it is the result of happy natural disposition, of long study, and of persevering attention. To the hand it gives lightness and that indescribable finesse which guide the cue of the billiard player; to the passes it communicates quickness directed by an appreciation of the case which can hardly be subjected to analysis. It is that mysterious résumé of delicate manipulation, of practised suppleness in wrist and forearm, and of precision in movement, which makes the adversary feel powerless before it, which startles at the same time that it commands him. No quality in a swordsman is more rarely found in any degree approaching perfection. To say that I have not the highest admiration of it would be to set myself down in the lowest ranks of materialism — as the world understands the word. But its very potency suggests the absolute necessity of providing against it when we find so rare a gift opposed to us.
During the day I had reflected upon the easiest and neatest way of explaining my method of simplification — my conviction that simplicity alone makes the belle manière. In my youth I had tried the same with cavalry drill, never being able to understand why in these days, when arms of precision and rapid fire are universal, ranks should be doubled. From my own system of bayonet exercise I had extracted a few simple movements, which could be contained on a page of notepaper, and yet which would enable the soldier to defend himself against most comers. It is evident that the same can be done with fencing.
II.
At last the smoking party met, and I addressed it from my cane-bottomed chair:
You have been told that fencing, stripped of its factitious ornaments and freed from the lumber and rubbish of the salles d’armes, with their complicated and innumerable details, is a far easier matter to learn than men generally suppose. The process of simplification is not new; many writers recognised only four elementary passes and parries, namely Seconde, Tierce, Carte, and Octave, to which some added a fifth, Septime. We may further reduce the elements to two, and do what we will, we cannot extend them beyond four. Let us tabulate them thus:
Attacks:
Simple attacks.
Compound attacks.
Parries:
Simple parries.
Compound or counter parries (parades de contre).
And thus we have the following:
Simple Attacks:
STRAIGHT THRUST (especially in carte with a right-handed man).
DISENGAGEMENT, or passing the point under the opponent’s blade.
THE CUT OVER (tagliata, coup), or passing the point over the [opponent’s] blade.
Compound Attacks:
ONE, TWO.
The BEAT, followed by straight thrust.
The BEAT, with disengagement.
The liement, or BINDING the opponent’s sword from higher to lower line.
Simple Parries:
TIERCE (high line outside), when tolerably sure of the adversary.
CARTE (high line inside), when tolerably sure of the adversary.
SECONDE. Carte basse (low carte).
Compound Parries:
COUNTERS or demicircles (half circles in tierce and carte).
FULL CIRCLES (especially useful to the imperfect swordsman).
This certainly does not look like the many-headed hydra which is supposed to require a Hercules.
“But you’ve forgotten,” interrupted Charles, “an immense number of lunges and parries. Hardly possible to write such stout folios as those upstairs on a simple expression like this.”
Said Shughtie: “I see that our neologistic and progressive friend has done what he proposed to do with the Sanskrit declensions — reduced them from ten to two or three, thereby worse confusing their confoundedness.”
“Yes,” added Seaton, “his simplicity has become silly. Can’t he see that a variety of movements is the best practice to attain excellence in a few?”
I have forgotten them with malice prepense, because I believe them to be useful only to the teacher, not to the learner. I must look upon them as part of the profession, and professions must live. Je n’en vois pas la necessite is hardly a fair rejoinder to il faut vivre. The surgeon often advises you to part with a leg or an arm — did you, by the by, ever see a one-legged or one-armed doctor?
III
But, supposing the teacher to teach all these complications with bona fides, as doubtless he generally does, I then observe that they are calculated only to embarrass the intelligence of his pupil. The more you simplify the means of action in the use of weapons the more readily they are learned and the more easily they are executed. Surely this is self-evident, even to you, O Seaton!
Remark, also, that I have given you a full, perhaps an unnecessarily full — list of attacks, parries, and ripostes. Many might reasonably be retrenched, because they are mere modifications of the same movement.
Thus, for instance, “One, two,” is a couple of simple disengagements, the first in the line of tierce, we will say, and the second in carte.
One, two, three, par parenthèse, is becoming obsolete [FN1] on account of the risk which always accompanies a complicated attack, giving room for a time thrust. [FN2]
The battement (beat) and straight thrust, again, is as evidently a combination. I do not mention the froissement d’e, [FN3] or sliding parry, which is now used only in the preliminary salutes. It is a favourite with schoolboys for disarming the antagonist; but on the field you cannot thrust at a man with naked hand, and in the salle d’armes you are bound, by courtesy, to pick up his weapon for him. Formerly, when foils were capped with leather, not with gutta-percha knobs, some puerile dexterity was also shown in locking the buttons and in screwing the foil out of the opponent’s grasp. Disarmings, in fact, are fitted only for the theatres. I may add that these and other methods always failed if the fencer held the handle properly. He should accustom himself to feel his weapon with his little finger and its neighbour. Remember, also, that grasping the grip or putting any strength in the forefingers and thumb not only tires the wrist, but also makes the point wander. Some men have a trick of laying the index along the handle, but I never found their fencing good style; it is even advised by masters, who forget that straining the muscles is the chief result of the exceptional position. At best it can be useful only to relieve for a minute the sinews fatigued by tension in one direction.
It would be better, too, if we slightly altered the hilts of our swords. Throughout Europe the pommel end droops down, when evidently it should be turned up so as to fit into the commissure of the wrist and give greater leverage. You will soon find this out by cutting at an object with all your might and missing it; if you are holding in your gloveless grasp an old top-heavy cavalry sabre, with its short, round handle, the latter is sure to loosen the hand. The cut-over (coup), again, which should be done in one movement, not in two, and with blade whistling like a whip, is merely another form of the disengagement intended for the same end, and received with the same parry. You must not forget that the fundamentals are the straight thrust and the disengagement, and that the further you recede from them the worse for you. Let me warn you very strongly against a succession of two or even three cuts-over (coup), which raise the point from its proper normal position opposite the adversary’s eye, and which offer a tempting opportunity to a low thrust. You will find in the books fancy evolutions called coups de trois and even de quatres mouvements; allow them to remain there.
These few offensive movements are absolutely all that you require. Yet every school has some “dodge” of its own; I will call these fancifications by no other name. This makes its pupils practise feintes à droit; that, the feinte seconde, et tirer droit; whilst these teach them to drop the point and bring it up to the attack. Movements of this kind are without end; I could invent on the spot half a dozen.
Yet observe that the three simple attacks and the four compound movements which I have given you may form a formidable list of combinations. May is the word. The less you attempt them the better. When you can play with your adversary as the cat with the mouse you may, perhaps, allow yourself an occasional cart; yet even then beware. I think Seaton can say something on that point.
My friend’s brow clouded a little, but he laughed it off good-humouredly, and, after a fair amount of pressing, he proceeded to tell the tale.
You will bear in mind that, throughout its attacks and parries, the sword can follow only these four lines: 1. High line (la ligne haute, la linea alta), threatening the noblest parts oft the body, the upper torso covered by the plastron; 2. Low line (la ligne basse, la linea bassa), the lower part of the plastron and “below the belt” in pugilism; 3. Outside line (le dehors, la linea di ffuori), professionally called tierce, which means the shoulder and the flank; and 4. Inside line (le delans, la linea di dentro) or carte, aiming at the breast and the stomach.
Thus, by reducing to its simplest expression this imbroglio of technical terms, of feints and double feints, of true engagements and false engagements, of “menac’s” and “coul’s,” of “crois’ss” and “flanconnades,” of “pressions” and “d’robements” [FN5], of “reprises” and “remises,” of parries and half parries, we obtain two distinct advantages, both equally to be valued.
The pupil’s mind sees more clearly the foundations of all practice, and can at once analyse any combination which offers itself. This is not so easily done by our typical English rule of thumb, and the greatest enemy to excellence in arms is that hazy idea of its principles that satisfies so many students. Further still. The hand reflects the lucidity of the thought [FN6]; in the pupil of a good school it never falters; it goes straight to the point; it cannot stray, and it gains immensely in freedom, readiness, and facility of execution. Hence result the five most important qualities, which represent the cardinal virtues of the sword. These are, in due order of precedence:
Nerve, alias presence of mind.
Judgment, especially of distance, combined with sharp eyesight.
Quickness of movement in hand and body.
The tact of the sword (i.e., nice sense of touch), and
Regularity.
Combined in a high degree of excellence, they form the complete swordsman.
V.
Presence of mind I need hardly explain. Judgment is a term which makes you shrink; it suggests, like “common sense,” special gifts, trained and matured by long experience. I mean by it nothing more than that ordinary amount of intelligence which average men bring to whatever they do. Each well-reasoned lesson will add something to your judgment, and the precision begotten by practice will give it the perfection of which it is capable. Indeed, the beginner is advised not to preoccupy himself with “judgment”, as such process tends to cloud the lucidity of thought.
Judgment in arms displays itself chiefly by distrust of the adversary’s movements and by a wise prudence in our own; by divining what is most likely to deceive him; by the mute interrogation of the sword, and by the just appreciation of difficulties, general and special. I need hardly tell you that a hundred men will show a hundred styles. Judgment of distance is the great secret of all hand-to-hand weapons, from the dagger to the lance. It must not be confounded with judgment of distance as taught in musketry schools, yet both are mastered by the same process — practice aided by theory and perfected by application.
Quickness, meaning not only of the hand, wrist, and forearm, but of the whole body, is undoubtedly an immense merit, both in the attack and defence, the riposte and the retreat. “Slow and sure,” chi va piano va sano, do not apply to our art. There are writers who hold quickness to be the very commencement of the fencing lesson, as it is the capital point of the fencer. Listen to one of the best [FN7]: “I believe that we must guard against the usual style of instruction, which consists in repeating over and over again, ‘Go slowly; study quietly the thrusts and parries; attend to your position; separate your movements by mentally counting one, two, and so on; don’t hurry; quickness will come in due time.’ It is doubtless useful to train the hand by lessons with the plastron, but it is not useful to train it into slowness. The pupil, after being made to understand the mechanism, the analysis, and the meaning of each movement, should at once begin to practise it as quickly and sharply as possible. A tardy, ‘dawdling’ style is so convenient, and so seductive, by the facility with which it effects each movement, that it will soon react upon the judgment and acquire all the force of a habit, making intelligence idleness.
“If, under pretext of training the hand and decomposing the movements, you allow this habit a chance of existence, you will sow the germs of a defect which may presently become ineradicable. It is your work to oppose it.
“When the child begins feebly to totter over the ground, stumbling and threatening every moment to fall, you do not take it in your arms; you support it, but you allow it to walk. By degrees the bones are strengthened, the use of the muscles is learned, and the two-year-old treads firmly as the young bird flies.
“Such a child is the pupil. As his science and experience grow in stature, so will many weaknesses and defects cast themselves off, and finally they will easily be rectified by reason and judgment.
“But quickness is purely a mechanical and material process, which cannot be reasoned out, which cannot be analysed, which can be produced.
“Feed, therefore, the fire, instead of allowing it to die out for want of fuel.
“Do you think that it will suffice to say at a given moment, ‘Now do quickly what you have so long been doing slowly’?
“It is a new order of ideas to which you are introducing your pupil. Those are fresh obstacles which you oppose to his progress.
***
I made the fifth virtue “Regularity” — a poor word for want of a better. You will understand by it the consensus, the union, of all the bodily movements, the correspondence of the eye with the hand, for instance, the suppleness of the wrist and forearm, and the co-relation of forces required. This is especially the mysterious gift which distinguishes the good shot, the billiard and quoit player, the cricketer, the trapeze gymnast, and others of the same category. It is born with man; some have their pint, others their gallon, but few are wholly without it, whilst those who possess the donum dei to a remarkable degree at once take the highest places in their several pursuits.
But though nascitur non fit, this Regularity is susceptible of great culture. Its development depends upon daily studies conducted under the careful eye of the master. The least tendency to assume a bad habit — not those so called in the salles d’armes, but a habit which does not belong to the pupil’s individuality — should be pointed out, commented upon, and corrected. It is hardly fair to expect this amount of time and trouble from the average teacher, who after a certain number of years must find the average pupil exceedingly flat and stale. But the student can, as usual in all studies, do much for himself — ten, in fact, to Mr. Professor’s one. He will, as a looker-on, when others are taking the lesson, carefully note their defects and obtain their measure by comparing them with the master. He will apply these observations to himself and easily hit upon the way of cure. This, too, is the best treatment of tricks such as turning the toes in or out, opening the mouth, stiffening the fingers of the left hand, squaring the left elbow, and so on. But the pupil must not be too pedantic with himself. The right foot, for instance, by academical rule, should be placed straight to the front. If he learn that he gains base and strength by a trifle of deviation, why should he not do so? I have found it a good plan at times to practise before a pier-glass.
VI.
“It is early in the evening,” Lord S. said, “and I should much like to see you put your practice into action.”
Willingly, replied I. As a volunteer teacher of sundry friends my proceeding has been as follows: For the first month the time required is half an hour a day, provided that there is nothing to unteach. Afterwards three half hours a week are sufficient. The earliest lessons are devoted to explaining and demonstrating the capital importance that resides in the mutual dependence and in the perfect equilibrium of the movements; it is, in fact, an essay on “regularity.” I make my neophyte stand on guard, advance and retire, lunge and recover himself with aplomb and without crossing — that is to say, placing the right foot out of line, the directing line, the ligne directrice, the German Gefechtslinie; otherwise he will surely stumble, and perhaps fall. The defect is sometimes found in excellent fencers, and when chronic it cannot be cured.
“What is the directing line?” asked several voices.
The perpendicular drawn from the left heel of a right-handed man through the heel and toes of the right foot, to be preserved both in guard and during the lunge The old rule was to set off at right angles from the base, formed by the left foot. We moderns are more liberal; some align the forward heel with the hollow of the other foot, and others, I myself included, with the ankle bone.
The most ordinary intelligence will learn by these first lessons the mechanism of the various positions and actions — a mechanism based upon the nature and instinct of our organisation.
“Try the experiment upon Charles,” Lord S. suggested.
I would rather not. He has already, he tells me, taken a few lessons. I want someone who is utterly innocent of fence. If the Rev. Mr. O’Callaghan has no objection to be used as a demonstration, he will be my choice.
Mr. O’Callaghan, curate and chaplain, was a born sportsman, although bred to a black cloth. He gave laughing assent, remarking, however, that he would probably be a very awkward example.
I replied, perhaps so, during the first quarter of an hour. Such is the common law, and none may claim immunity from it. Josephine herself can hardly have made grace out of the goose-step. Please to look at me and to place yourself on guard. This word alone explains the end and object of the process.
To be on guard, to guard yourself, that means to assume the properest position for defence and its complement, offence. Now that the heels are parted by the proper distance, say two foot-lengths; of course it differs with every man. Bend your knees; in other words, sit, as it were, without sitting down — so. You must expect the position to cramp you at first, so would a few miles of saddle-work after a year of walking. But the more you bend the spring, the greater will be the recoil, and the more sudden and rapid will be your movements.
I now advance upon you. You naturally retire. To do this and to keep your distance there is only one way. You move back the left foot more or less, and you allow the right immediately to follow it. I always insist at first upon a full step, not a kind of shuffle backwards, as it is one of the beginner’s difficulties. Stamp, please! It will give rhythm to your movement and ensure a good position.
I now retire, and you advance upon me. It is the same operation, only reversed. Do not raise the foot so high, you waste time; nor yet draw it along the ground, which might cause a stumble. You will find advancing much easier than retreating. And again, as a beginner, always stamp; it makes the body sit firm and motionless on the left.
Bravo! You move like a professor. Bend your knees a little more, and when you practice alone — for I see that you will be a swordsman — bend them as much as possible. The academic law is that the knee should be on a plumb-line with the instep. As regards the left leg, a string dropped from the hip bone should fall along the thigh, the outer knee, the lower leg, and the ankle bone. Few men go beyond or outside this imaginary perpendicular, many inside; that is to say the knock-kneed fencer is more common than the bow-legged. Both are faults, because they take from the power and spring of the lunge; but they are mostly matters of organisation, and cannot be altered without a damaging process.
The rule for the body is to be bolt upright upon the haunches, easily and without stiffness. If, however, you feel inclined to bend, bend forward; but never bend backward — the system of the old French school. When the body is carried to the front you will often see the master lay down his foil and set the pupil up like a sculptured torso with both hands. This is dancing master’s fencing. There is no harm in the forward position; it does not increase exposure, because the angle which it assumes diminishes the area of surface, and to a certain extent protects itself by giving additional trouble to the adversary’s point. It is also a sovereign remedy against low thrusts. On the other hand, bending backwards is an absolute defect; it is ruinous to all quickness, both in attack and in riposte. Besides, it always exposes you to a time thrust. Do you feel tired?
“No.”
So much the better. It shows that your position is easy and natural; that the muscles are not contracted; and that cramps do not paralyse your movements. You will not forget to keep your left shoulder well to the rear so as to show only a profile to the adversary. In due time you will be able to take some liberties in this matter, and, indeed, there are first-rate fencers who show two-thirds of front, but these are well-trained muscles obey like lightning every order of the brain, and who can escape the thrust by an almost imperceptible amount of shrinking. And, remember, shoulder always low, and no extra strength applied to it, or you will “counter from the shoulder” and strike with your point the ground instead of the adversary.
Such, then, is the posture of defence. Rest yourself whilst I pass to the offensive part.
VII.
You might attack your adversary by running into him, as happened to our friend Seaton, or by a spring, a buck jump, like the “Turcos” in Punch, with both legs to the fore. I once saw an excellent swordsman surprised into being touched by this simian process, but the usually, nay, the invariable, plan is to sharply to lunge, that is, to shoot the right foot from guard some 18in. forwards, shaving the ground, and simultaneously to straighten and stiffen, not to half straighten, as the idle apprentice often will, your left leg. Do not make any false movements with the right foot before you advance it. This is called in technical language tricher, and it warns the adversary of your intention. Remember the golden rule of the lunge, two movements, not one. The first: Raise the right arm, depressing at the same time the left. No. 2: Move the right foot and extend the left leg. If the first precede the second your aim will be wild. Make your pass even and regular, as if carrying a glass of water to your adversary’s breast. The better to confirm the lunge, I often teach the demi-allonge — the right arm raised as to make the pass, the left leg extended without further movement.
At first you must be careful to keep the left foot firmly on the ground; it is apt to turn and to drag an inch or two forwards, which besides having a slovenly look, alters your distance without being aware of it. When lunging, rest upon the major arch of the left foot, formed by the heel and the cushion behind the big toe. This firm base gives immobility to the left leg, which is apt to be shaken by the vigorous tension of the bow. The cap of the right knee bone must be perpendicular to the instep, or, if you prefer it, to the toe-tip, as the schools direct.
Whether your attack be simple or compound, ever remember what I here repeat: The movement of point and hand, together with the extension and elevation of the arm, must precede, though almost imperceptibly, the action of the body and the legs. This is an invariable rule. If your lower limbs begin the move you lose equilibrium, your lunge will give notice to the adversary, and your point will wander away from the mark. Great fencers sometimes reverse the process by way of tour de force.
The point in the French school should be lanced out, as it were, and be withdrawn instantly, like the cat’s claws. And do not forget that the “recovery,” the return to guard, must be as prompt and sudden as the lunge. You have failed in your swoop; like the hawk, you are in a position of the greatest danger from the heron, and the sooner you retire from it the better. Nothing can be worse than a slow and “dawdling” retreat, which encourages the enemy to attack you whilst in disorder by what is technically called a riposte en emps perdu.
Every salle d’armes will show you men who are fond of remaining at the lunge, trying the dangerous and objectionable thrust called remise de main, which, except under well-defined circumstances, is permissible only to great artists — feinting at close quarters and engaging in la bourrache, poignarding the adversary, and displaying what I call the pugilism of the sword. The whole process is thoroughly out of character. The attack should consist simply of a rapid lunge and an immediate return to guard.
So much for the offensive part of the process. Mr. O’Callagahan, I am greatly obliged to you. Do not forget my prediction.
“I would ask a question,” Charles said. “Is it necessary when on guard, gracefully to curve that left arm and to lower it when lunging like a mill sail along the left thigh?”
There is no necessity, but in both schools, Italian and French, the left arm acts as a counterpoise; it is the rope dancer’s balance pole, it gives equilibrium to the movements, and it introduces symmetry and equality in the action of the two limbs. You must do something with your left arm, and it seems hardly natural that it should hang down dead by the side or be carried “a-kimbo,” when it becomes mere dead weight. If you reflect you will probably find the French style best. I have described the Hispano-Neapolitan posture — the left hand opposite the pectoral muscles. This may be considered obsolete now that the dagger is not used. Au reste, not a few wear the left arm with the hand on the hip, and the German sabreur often places it behind his back. Do with it what you please, only do not put it in any position which may bring the left shoulder forwards and offer more body to the adversary’s sword. I never quarrel with my pupils, except when idleness or carelessness is shown in neglecting the left arm, and as a thing of beauty is a joy for ever, and beauty, like poetry, is “Nature’s brag.” I do not allow the elbow to be angular or the fingers to project like those of a Mandarin [e.g., a mannered snob] upon a tea caddy. Grace is the truth of action, want of grace its falseness.
As you may imagine, these simple movements can be modified in a variety of ways. For instance, instead of the common return to guard by the right leg, the left may be brought up; this is, however, confessedly dangerous. Then there is the inverted lunge with the left foot, called se fendre en arrire, and there is much to say about it. Again, the body may be suddenly thrown backwards in guard, which places it out of measure, beyond reach of the point. When advancing, the left foot may furtively be brought close to the right so as to double the length of the lunge. You will see these and many other tricks done in the fencing schools, sometimes even in the field, by gentlemen who are “renowning it.” But the fatal objection to them is that they are not generally adopted, showing that they are not generally valuable.
VIII.
I have now made you as wise as myself upon the subject of moving the body and the limbs, which indeed is all the mechanism of swordsmanship. A few words before we separate.
Why have these positions and these movements been chosen, been universally approved by the civilised world? The reply is because they are intuitive and instinctive. See how the races that use the knife naturally seize it with the right hand, drape the cloak round the left arm, and, under cover of the body, prepare the weapon for a fatal thrust.
“I’m certain,” Shughtie said, “That they are wrong. Have the cloak if you like, it may always be useful, but hold your bowie-point to the fore as if it were a sword. Why, man, you’ve quoted Achille Marozzo, and already you forget his principles. There are two common ways of using the knife — underhand and overhand. Underhand is rare, being easily stopped; overhand, if you treat it as I would, may be received upon the point. An acquaintance of mine had a third way, which was not without its merits. He rejoiced in the sobriquet of ‘Flat-footed Jack,’ being, or rather having been, one of Her Gracious Majesty’s hard naval bargains. The Argentine gargotti’s not a bad place for knife practice. The Flat-footed in his cups would quarrel with his own hat; hence many a difficulty. When cuchillos are drawn Señor Spaniard, old or new hemisphere, has a silly habit of showing off. The world must see the curved beauties of his deadly blade. It’s like the Tartar prince, who by herald informs the kings of the earth that they may dine, as he has finished his meal of mare’s milk. And it’s quite unlike the sensible Japanese, who, holding the scabbard in the left hand, draws his sword with so little loss of time that he opens his man from belt to shoulder.”
A very old manoeuvre of the Italian and German schools, I interposed.
“Well,” resumed Shughtie, “while the particular Don was intent upon his gambado, Flat-footed Jack suddenly let fly at him a perfectly straight thrust with a common whittle some 6in. long, and worth when new 4d. He was only careful to put his thumb along the bone handle. Of course, every blow killed. I should be afraid to name the number of our countryman’s triumphs.”
This was a long speech for Shughtie. I knew that he would not readily do it again, and resumed.
Such, then, is the rule of the sword — we will drop the knife — and it is based upon nature and truth, upon practice and experience.
And what, you ask, is its proper object?
In the defensive position of guard to allow the limbs their fullest liberty of action and to cultivate as much as possible the ease and the elasticity which reside in them.
In the offensive action the opposite is required; here we must develop and utilise all the power and the momentum, the vigour, weight, and speed of which the body is capable.
I seem to be talking mere truisms — “the truths of M. de la Polisse.” But you see a master in every school daily and hourly protesting against the awkwardness of his pupils’ guards, against the clenching of the hand, the tension of the arm, the stiffness of the shoulder, in fact the wilful and sinful expenditure of force, without once explaining to them, so clearly that they never can forget it, the essential difference between the complete repose of the guard and the vivid muscular action of the attack.
To show now natural is our position, attempt in any manner to change it. There are many ways, but all will fail it. Take one for instance, and stand up, like the old Spaniard, with knees unbent. This at once throws the whole machine out of ger; you cannot without great difficulty perform the simplest movement of attack, defence, or retreat. The body has lost its aplomb; it can no longer make sure of hand and arm; it insists upon devancing them or upon lagging tardily behind. See how slight a change causes the virtue to depart from you.
The houghs, the popliteal muscles, are the two springs which project the body and which, properly managed, give it rapidity of motion. When you clear a fence or a ditch you imitate the grasshopper, not to mention the more lively animal [the flea] that can hop over its own St. Paul’s. When you drop from a wall or make a low jump you also bend the houghs to prepare for the feet touching the ground, otherwise you suffer from the jarring shock. How many men have been injured and even killed by suddenly stepping into a hatchway imprudently left open? If prepared they could have managed without difficulty twice or three times the amount of fall.
I insist upon these facts, which are the axioms, the groundwork of our science. My pupils are always taught their absolute necessity and their relations as cause and effect, or if you please, sequence, consequence, concatenation. Upon this point —
“Eleven-forty p.m.!” Shughtie briefly ejaculated.
— I will only say that instinct has here been our earliest guide, and that experience has tended to explain and consecrate the principles. But I add:
When sufficient practice shall have made these movements familiar to you, when you feel the ease and rapidity which result from them, and when you are conscious that they have given, with the patience of assured strength, a new life to your thews and sinews, then you have a right to venture upon certain modifications. If, after careful comparison and many experiments, you find that your individuality craves for departure from the beaten path of elementary rule, do so without fear, but do so with judgment. The best guard and the best lunge are those which allow body and limb to act with the fullness of freedom, preserving at the same time a perfect equilibrium. Possibly some peculiarity of conformation — a very long arm, for instance, or a remarkably short leg — may suggest important changes. But remember that the margin of deviation is not large; it is a narrow path, and a precipice yawns on both sides. Bear in mind that all excess is more or less faulty, especially when it declines from grace and beauty.
And I confess to disliking a rugged or grotesque fencer, although his thrusts may tell and his parries do their duty. A thoroughly well formed and set up physique, of course, when in youth and health — must be “elegant” — passez moi le mot. If not there is some fatal defect which tailor or dressmaker has succeeded in concealing from all eyes but those of the physiologist.
Sur ce, messieurs, bonne nuit!
To be continued.
Footnotes
FN1. One, two, three is still largely used in the lesson, and fairly often in the assault.
FN2. A time thrust (coup de temps) is an attack made with opposition on a complicated attack, and intended to intercept the line, when such an attack is meant to finish. Badminton Fencing, page 91.
FN3. The froissement, or froiss, is executed by rubbing or scraping one’s foil along the opponent’s.
FN4. Liement (binding the blade) is executed by passing the point over the opponent’s sword without losing touch of his blade, straightening the arm and lunging in one movement, with strong opposition. Flanconnade is the liement d’octave. Crois, or twist, is bringing the adversary’s blade from an upper to a lower line, when the other’s point is too low. — Badminton Fencing, page 53.
FN5. Coul‘ is gliding the blade along the adversary’s without pressure of scraping. D’robement is quitting the adversary’s blade by dropping the point a few inches below it.
FN6. It is interesting to see how Burton has been influenced in this part of his subject by Bazancourt’s book (see pages 44-56 of Mr. C.F. Clay’s translation).
FN7. See Bazancourt (Clay’s translation, page 47, et. seq.).
This is a transcription of Cold Steel by John Styers. It is important to remember that this book outlines a BASIC course of close-combat instruction. The elements covered in this system include bayonet, knife, stick and unarmed combat. Styers developed this system for BASIC training of soldiers.
The fundamentals for employing the bayonet, knife, unarmed combat and even the stick work are ALL the same. The body mechanics involved in all the methods presented are at their core foundation ALL similar.
An Excellent resource on Styers and Bowie fighting in general is >HERE<
Foreword A sudden realization of the thorough preparation for combat which will become an integral part of a Marine recruit’s life strikes grimly home when he arrives at Paris Island and reads its motto
“Let’s be damned sure that no boy’s ghost will ever say, ‘If your training program had only done its job.'”
But that training program doesn’t end with boot camp nor does it end as long as the man is a Marine. Training develops specialists, and every Marine is a fighting specialist, equipped with the knowledge necessary to qualify him for his important role on one of the world’s deadliest teams. Wherever he may be, he is kept abreast of the warfare times, taught the battle techniques of tomorrow, and given confidence in his own proficiency – the proficiency of his Corps.
He is part of a team, trained to do his job in a coldly calculated war of scientific weapons and mass destruction. But the touted push button warfare has limitations, and they demand the individual’s ability to meet his enemy face to face, steel to steel, hand-to-hand. Whether he is a radar operator, a communications man or a truck driver, he must be prepared to defend his own life in any eventuality. Close combat has been skillfully developed into a science of self-preservation – and the advance of death-dealing devices does not preclude the necessity for a basic knowledge of hand to hand principles and confidence in their application.
Preface But as brutality begets cruelty, so apology begets explanation. And, since America is not a brutal nation, the words between these covers are vulnerable to condemnation. But an honest purpose cannot be damned. As long as other nations war against each other in lust, greed and ambition, brutality will persist and the brutal words on these pages will have a purpose. When an atom bomb is loosed on a city, killing several hundred thousand people, the magnitude of suffering and death is incomprehensible to the average person and conjures up a picture of horror rather than brutality. If, however, the plane which dropped the bomb is forced down on enemy territory on the return flight, and the crew is faced with a hand-to hand grapple with an enemy patrol where a hand throttling a throat, a knee smashing into a groin or a finger gouging an eye may mean life or death, then brutality becomes a reality.
The realness of brutality must be faced with the same direct approach in which we build an air raid shelter. World War II taught Americans the vast scope of atrocity; it would be criminal negligence to close our eyes to the bloody mayhem American military men will meet in the field. They must be taught to meet it with a basic knowledge of its principles, the practical application of those principles, and confidence in themselves to wage identical war. To Americans, who fight fair and clean by heritage – when they can – we dedicate this book… That they may save their own lives by confidently engaging their enemy with his own unprincipled principles.
Acknowledgments The author is indebted to many people and organizations who were instrumental in broadening his knowledge and perspective of close combat technique. Grateful recognition is hereby accorded to those who have made this contribution. The United States Marine Corps The late Col. A. J. Drexel Biddle, USMCR Col. William A. Kengla, USMC; Lt. Col. Walter R. Walsh, USMCR Lt. Col. William E. Daly, Infantry, N. Y. Guard George Santelli, Coach, American Olympic Fencing Team Edward Lucia, 1st Assistant to Santelli Sam Munson, Master of Arms, Sala Messineo Carl Kitt, U.S. Naval Academy Stephen V. Grancsay, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Herbert Kreiger, Smithsonian Institute Sylvester Vigilante, N. Y. Public Library Robert Scott, Authority on James Bowie General Leroy P. Hunt, USMC (Ret.) Maj. General Ray A. Robinson, USMC Mendel Peterson, Curator of Military and Naval History, Smithsonian Institute And the many other individuals and organizations who have given generous cooperation and assistance.
The Bayonet For 300 years the use of the bayonet has remained the same; fundamentally it is a pike – its object:
To stick your opponent before he sticks you!
Let’s face an opponent. Let’s recognize the fact that he understands the use of his weapon, but let’s not accept the supposition that the contest is going to be even. It doesn’t have to be; you can have the advantage. An aggressive opponent will thrust his bayonet at you, attempting to direct its point to the vital areas of your body – the chest or throat. This statement is ridiculously obvious, but it can be the basic action which will decide which one of you lives to engage another enemy. The correct application of the weapon in your hand will give you immediate command of the situation.
Merely knock your opponent’s weapon aside and kill him!
Simply said. Simply done!
No fancy footwork; no intricate fencing, just two simple, natural movements combined with speed and accuracy.
The bayonet fighters of the old school will probably stop reading at this point and throw up their gnarled hands in rage, or shake their greying heads in pity, cynicism or wonder. “Footwork and fencing,” they will insist, “are the foundations on which bayonet fighting is built!” No one will discount the value of these two fine aspects of bayonet technique, but their value was based on the one great doubt which has always haunted bayonet wielders:
“On which side of my blade will my opponent’s blade fall? My correct parry depends upon where his blade falls.”
True.
But this doubt can be eliminated by furnishing your opponent with ONLY ONE TARGET. The position in which you hold your piece will determine the direction of his weapon; you know where it will be; when it comes within your range, one deft move of your body will remove instantly the target he thought he had. In its place he will find your blade, pointed directly at his throat his own weapon sawing the thin air. YOUR thrust ends the engagement.
THE GUARD POSITION The text and photographs in this book are intended for RIGHT-HANDED persons. Individuals who are LEFT-HANDED will simply REVERSE the directions given.
The Body
In learning to assume the guard position, the following steps will prove helpful:
Stand at attention at port arms.
Turn the piece AWAY from you, placing the blade OUTBOARD.
The proper hold on the piece at port arms. The blade faces outboard. This is the first step in learning the guard position
From port arms drop into a guard position. The body should be well balanced in a crouch with the feet placed diagonally
Release your left hand from the proper port arms hold and regrasp the piece on the upper hand guard, immediately above the upper sling swivel.
Now, WITHOUT MOVING THE POSITION OF THE ARMS, assume the boxer’s crouch, high or low as the occasion may demand. Remember that the point should be to the left, but on a level with your opponent’s eyes.
The Blade The edge of the blade must be kept on line with the forearm, In this position the cutting edge will be ready for use with no loss of time or effort. In addition, your blade will have greater strength when striking your opponent’s piece, if the blow is made with the blade held vertical to the striking surface, rather than in a flat position. It means the difference between one vertical inch of steel and one quarter of an inch if the blade strikes with its flat surface.
The Hands The left hand grasps the upper hand guard and remains there except when it is released to execute the “Throw Point”. The fingers of the right hand are securely wrapped around the small of the stock.
The Feet The body is well-balanced – feet apart at an angle, left foot in front of the right.
The Piece The piece is held at an angle exposing the upper torso on the right of the blade. All formidable attacks can be made from the guard position. You can walk or run with this guard just as you would with your rifle held at port. With a mere movement of your body you can drop instantly into guard and engage an enemy. Briefly, in this position, you are always “ON GUARD”.
THE BEAT THRUST This simple movement is the meat of all your attacks. The moment your opponent’s blade comes within your range, close the gap and at the same time, with the full weight of your body, beat his blade with a severe rap, and immediately thrust home.
The point of your blade will drop slightly with the motion, coming into line with your opponent’s upper chest or throat. There will be a tendency, at first, to overshoot your beat; this means that your point will have gone too far over to line up on your opponent’s throat. This lack of control is to be expected at first, simply because you will be overly anxious to assure yourself that his blade is absolutely knocked aside. If this happens, it will mean that you will have to recover by whipping your blade back, cutting the side of your opponent’s head or neck. If possible, whip the blade back into line with your opponent’s throat or chest and thrust. Recovery of your blade back into line for a thrust depends upon the agility of your opponent; if he is too slow to take advantage of your overshot beat with a Butt Stroke, you will have time to line up your blade. “Time”, in this instance, refers to fractions of seconds, and what you do with eight-tenths of a second may mean the difference between a Stateside liberty and a clipped dog tag.
The Beat It is NOT difficult to beat your enemy’s blade aside before thrusting. Here’s proof: Select the strongest man available; give him a rifle and scabarded bayonet; have him assume the usual guard position. Now take your index finger and attempt to move his blade. YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MOVE HIM IN A COMPLETE CIRCLE! If you can do this with your finger you can most certainly do it with your blade!
Attack Your Opponent’s Blade The length of your enemy’s weapon is unimportant. Actually, the longer your opponent’s weapon is, the easier it will be for you to beat it aside – YOU ATTACK HIS BLADE!
The Carbine? If you are carrying a short carbine it will protect your vital chest and throat areas if you use the prescribed guard. It is equally as effective as a larger weapon.
Pivot your body and beat. When executing this movement you will be wheeling the blade’s point into line with the opponent
The guard position before the beat. Your opponent has only one target; he is forced to attack on the right of your blade
The beat. Your blade should be in a vertical position when it strikes the opponent’s weapon. Follow immediately with thrust
The side view of the beat from the guard position. The blade is held broadside for strength when striking enemy’s weapon
The thrust. Your left arm is extended fully as your weapon travels forward in a fast, powerful drive, directly to a target
You know where to expect your opponent’s attack. When the enemy’s weapon comes into range you are prepared to beat
Your first contact should be made with the opponent’s blade. Do not overshoot beat or point will not line up on opponent
The fingers on the left hand may be opened on thrust. Your piece, grasped by the right fingers, is powered by right arm
THE THROW POINT When you find an exposed target, for example, if your opponent drops his blade too low for you to successfully beat it aside, SNAP THE WHOLE WEAPON FORWARD with the full power of the right arm, the right hand grasping the small of the stock. The piece is guided to the enemy’s throat or chest In the left hand which releases its grip, allowing the piece to be extended. RECOVER IMMEDIATELY TO THE GUARD POSITION. You will find the Throw Point effective in nailing opponents on the run. In a chase, your enemy may escape unless you take advantage of the added reach provided by the Throw Point. USE IT QUICKLY!
The long throw point should not be attempted unless you are armed with a carbine. The left arm thrown back adds power
Throw point with carbine to the head. The weapon is guided to target by left hand. The right hand grasps small of stock
Throw point with M-l. Movement can be accomplished either without a beat or after a beat. Open left hand guides weapon
THE HAND CUT Bayonet fighting is deeply indebted to the science of sword play for many tricks of its trade. The effective Hand Cut, relatively unknown by other nations, is a valuable carry-over from sword fighting. The Hand Cut is directed at your opponent’s left hand which is extended, supporting the piece. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE THE POINT, instead, the cutting edge of the blade is brought down on the enemy’s left hand – lobbing off as many fingers as possible. A crippled opponent is easy prey for a final thrust. The Throw Point can be used effectively in the Hand Cut but in most instances a Beat Cut will be more accurate and decisive.
Throw point to opponent’s extended hand in attempt to make a hand cut. Left step simultaneously accompanies this action
Close up of the hand cut. You will gain an early advantage if your cut is successful
The hand cut with the carbine. Glide your blade down along the side of your enemy’s front hand guard, chopping fingers
THE BUTT STROKE The BLADE is more deadly than the Butt, and most Butt Strikes leave the blade facing in the opposite direction of the target. However, ONE Butt Stroke IS prescribed. Remember that your rifle is primarily a SHOOTING weapon, and, as such. it should be valued. A man should come out of a bayonet engagement with blood on his blade, and his rifle in perfect condition. Butt Strokes can easily reduce your piece to kindling wood.
The Prescribed Butt Stroke This stroke follows an unsuccessful Beat Thrust, PROVIDED YOUR OPPONENT HAS BLOCKED THE COMPLETION OF YOUR THRUST by forcing your blade UPWARD with his piece. When your opponent’s piece is in this position it is impossible for him to protect his GROIN that’s where you plant a hard, direct Butt Stroke immediately. The blow, if well placed, will eliminate any further resistance from your opponent, and the softness of that area of his body cannot damage your weapon.
If an opponent blocks your thrust this way he will be unable to protect lower region of his body. Step in with rear foot
If it is impossible for you to use the point of the blade, stoop and smash your opponent’s groin with prescribed butt stroke
After butt stroke lower body and spring with a short jab
If thrust fails, hand cut will block opponent’s butt stroke
LOCKED PIECES If your Beat parry is unsuccessful and results in locking pieces with your opponent, TRY THE PRESCRIBED BUTT STROKE. If a Butt Stroke is impossible TRY FOR A HAND CUT. If your pieces are locked on your right you have the following alternatives:
Bounce your blade repeatedly against the enemy’s blade and work your blade into a position from which you can tilt your weapon and slice or chop off his fingers.
When your beat fails, locked pieces will result. Bounce your blade on his weapon until you are ready to try for hand cut
Release your pressure on his blade slightly, enough to enable you to guide his blade over to your left; then QUICKLY releasr 1e pressure entirely, whipping your blade around and into position for a Thrust, Hand Cut or Head Cut. The choice is yours because you are on his LEFT SIDE – his weakest and most vulnerable side. His whole left arm is yours if you want it; chop it with the cutting edge of your blade or bring your blade across the side of his head.
Release the pressure on your opponent’s blade until you are able to maneuver it to a harmless position on your left side
Close in tight and drop down, bringing the pieces in close to you; then work the point back and forth with your arms and body in a swinging or up and down motion. KEEP YOUR ARMS LOCKED: the motion should come from your legs and body. Your hands need not change their position on the piece. You can hug the weapon as closely as you wish with the “GUARD” hold.
After his blade has cleared your head, disengage your piece abruptly and whip it around. Try for hand, arm or head cut
Don’t forget that you have two heavily-shod feet. USE THEM TO CRUSH YOUR OPPONENT’S FOUNDATION – his instep, shin bone or knee. USE YOUR OWN KNEES, they are excellent battering rams – very effective when brought up swiftly and solidly into your opponent’s groin.
Following your cut, drop into a position for a short jab. Full leg action will provide the jab with an additional power drive
If you have overshot your beat and the weapons are locked on the right, bounce your piece into position for a head cut
If you find that your blade is out of line on your opponent’s left side, whip the piece back into his throat or side of head
TARGETS Your targets in bayonet fighting are, of course, any targer you can hit, but there is a preferable target. One thrust of only three inches of blade in the THROAT or CENTER CHEST area will abruptly end that particular personal engagement. The major veins and arteries are bunched, practically unprotected, in these two areas. They are fairly close to the surface, therefore, more easily severed than in other portions of the body. Place your fist on your chest, between the left nipple and the center breast bone; this is the location of your heart which is just about the size of your fist. Above the heart lies the largest artery of the body. From this artery, which is as thick as a garden hose, spring numerous smaller arteries. Along both sides of the windpipe are large arteries which supply the blood being pumped to the head. Their pulsation can be felt by placing the fingers on each side of the windpipe and applying slight pressure. The neck area contains in addition, four large jugular veins which carry the blood down from the head.
The spine is the only bone in the neck but it is located in the rear, leaving the front of the throat vulnerable to attack – and an instantly fatal target for a thrust or cut. In spite of all the speculation about the blade becoming lodged or catching the bone when it is thrust into the chest area, YOUR BLADE WILL NOT GET CAUGHT IN A BONE! The framework in that area is composed mostly of cartilage; the small percentage of bone in that portion of the body is very thin. It takes little effort to thrust through. DON’T thrust through to the shoulder blades.
THE IN-QUARTATA OR OUT OF LINE
This is the only prescribed movement which is purely defensive. It is used most effectively against any running attack coming in your direction. Wait, or halt momentarily in the guard position, until your opponent comes within range. At this moment, snap your whole body to your left, pivoting on the left foot, propelled by a thrust with your right leg which, crosses behind the left foot. Your spin has removed your whole body from the line of your enemy’s attack. HE WILL MISS YOU BY ABOUT THREE FEET. As you spin, the point of your piece will swing into direct line with your opponent’s attack. You may thrust or just leave your blade there; the momentum of his attack will force him to run into it.
If your opponent rushes you in a wild plunge, instantly snap to the guard position in a direct line with his headlong attack
The instant that your opponent comes into range execute the beat and, at the same time, propel body to left with rear foot
As you execute the full beat, your body, well balanced on the forward foot, will pivot out of line with your opponent’s attack
You have removed yourself from your enemy’s line of attack. Execute a full thrust into his onrushing body as it passes you
YELLING
The value of YELLING “hen making an attack cannot be overemphasized. A lusty shout at the right moment can distract your opponent, momentarily paralyzing his ability to think. It is an established tact that yelling will harden the muscles of your stomach and chest, increasing the power of your attack.
THE VOLT Pivoting to change direction is called VOLTING. LEAP into the air and land in the desired direction at the guard position. Practice will make your VOLT simple, fast and effective.
NOTES SHOOT if you can. DON’T get “POSE HAPPY” in learning the technique of the bayonet Master the fundamental principles and learn to execute them efficiently. RELAX. Remain at ease; avoid stiffness. Keep your mind and body functioning smoothly and alertly by sizing up the situation and making quick decisions. Knowing what to do, and when to do it will eliminate dangerous tension.
Practice PULLING YOUR PUNCH when you Beat. Beat vigorously but STOP when your point is LINED UP with your opponent’s throat or chest.
Knife Fighting The sight of sharp, cold steel in your enemy’s hand is not a pleasant sight. Knife fighting is an ugly business; it means steel against steel; then steel against flesh – and death. Let’s take a look at your enemy’s blood. That’s one thing you can’t draw from the quartermaster by signing a chit. But it’s a lot easier to draw than size 13 boondockers – you know that your enemy has it … You’re far behind the lines, maybe you’re a communications man operating your switchboard. Your carbine is propped against a tree nearby. Your outfit is in the area but out of sight. You’re alone, and you’re intent on your job. You’ve been warned that there is the possibility of guerrilla activity and infiltration. Your knife is constantly at your side. It gives you a great deal of confidence, but your real assurance comes from your confidence in your own ability to save your own life with that knife by carving out a heavenly military career for your enemy in whatever particular Valhalla he happens to believe exists. A twig snaps!
You look up from the switchboard. An enemy is rushing at you, both hands raised-in each a knife! He’s got one objective: To drive them downward into your chest! “MOVE, BOY!” You move. You whip up your knife; you leap into the guard position. Your enemy slows his advance; immediately he realizes that before him is no frightened schoolboy. Instead, he sees a calm, fighting man – poised, ready for instantaneous action, armed with deadly steel, its point directed menacingly at his throat. You advance cautiously into your proper range, your knife never wavering from his throat. Both of his fists are out in front of him. They are your first targets. Too late, he realizes that your range is greater than his, and that he has allowed you to come in too close. Like the fangs of a cobra your blade strikes out in a full cut and you are back in your guard position, your blade again pointed at his throat. There is a dull thud on the ground and a mild ping as the knife falls from your opponent’s left hand, along with parts of his fingers if your cut has been accurate and hard. You have stunned your opponent; you can afford a split second before pressing the attack. From your guard position you lower yourself quickly, and with your blade still pointed at his throat, you scoop up a handful of dirt and return to the guard position. You are ready for the kill. Your enemy is now in a do or die rage; his only thought is to kill YOU any way he can. He raises his blade beside his head and charges. You heave the dirt, execute an in-quartata, and yell. Your target is his heart.
As he hurtles by the spot you vacated a moment before, your blade is almost wrenched from your hand as it cuts its way out of his body. Your opponent is now lying about five yards beyond the spot in which he had intended to leave YOUR lifeless form. Cautiously you inspect the corpse of your enemy. Your job was clean. There was no need for in-fighting. “Just like that?” you ask cynically. We nod. “But that wasn’t me in that knife fight,” you insist. “It must have been some other guy, an expert, maybe…” You don’t need to be an expert to stand your ground in the guard position and engage an enemy with confidence. A sound KNOWLEDGE of knife fighting and PRACTICE of its basic PRINCIPLES will make you a dangerous opponent for any knife-wielding enemy. Knife fighting is based on the age-old science of swordsmanship. These principles of swordplay were utilized by James Bowie in his fine technique with his Bowie knife-making Bowie and the Bowie Knife one of the deadliest blade combinations the world has ever known.
HOLDING THE KNIFE
Here, take this knife. Now, hold it straight, NOT cocked upward. Put your thumb directly on top of the handle, on the SAME side as the FLAT EDGE of the blade – that’s right, the cutting edge faces DOWNWARD. Now, clamp the fingers securely UPWARD around the handle. Lock your wrist when the ELBOW and the POINT of the knife are in a STRAIGHT LINE. THE KNIFE IS MERELY AN EXTENSION OF THE FOREARM. Keep the thumb about a quarter of an inch from the thumb guard. This space is allowed to take up the shock caused by the impact when your knife strikes its target.
Tips
Keep the wrist LOCKED at all times.
DON’T arch the thumb on the thumb guard.
Keep the blade ON LINE with the FOREARM.
The hold. Fingers are wrapped securely around the handle, thumb on top, point of your blade is on a line with the elbow
THE STANCE The proper fighting GUARD position is taken directly from the stance of the skilled swordsman. There are only two changes. These changes are made, only when learning, after the proper SABRE STANCE has been assumed. In actual combat you snap IMMEDIATELY into the KNIFE FIGHTING GUARD POSITION.
The Sabre Stance
Face your opponent at attention.
Execute a LEFT FACE.
Execute a “close interval DRESS RIGHT.” (Glance at your opponent, placing the left hand on the hip at the same time.)
Point your RIGHT FOOT at your opponent and advance it about TWO FEET in his direction.
Raise your RIGHT FOREARM, aiming the point of your knife directly at your opponent’s throat. Your ELBOW will be approximately six inches forward from your HIP.
The knees are slightly bent until the lower part of the RIGHT LEG is straight up and down-ready for instantaneous advance or withdrawal.
The CUTTING EDGE of the blade should be facing DOWN and to the RIGHT in an unstrained, natural position.
YOUR WRIST IS LOCKED.
Keep the upper part of the body ERECT at all times. This is the proper SABRE STANCE. Notice how easily you are able to advance and withdraw-forward and backward. Movement to the left or right is more difficult. In practice, a knife, bayonet or stick may represent the sabre.
To assume the knife duelist stance from the sabre stance
Assume that there is a STRAIGHT LINE between you and your opponent. Move your REAR foot from one to two feet LEFT of this line, forming a 90 degree angle to your opponent with your feet. IN THIS POSITION YOU HAVE COMPLETE STABILITY. You can propel yourself easily and quickly either BACKWARD or FORWARD or to the LEFT or RIGHT.
The sabre stance, foundation for the knife fighter’s stance
Sabre stance to knife fighter stance. Move rear foot to left
The guard position. Left arm free. Knife arm drawn back
The thrust. Blade drives into target. Free arm snaps back
Draw the arm which holds the knife BACK, CLOSE TO THE BODY and, at the same time, square your shoulders to your opponent. In sabre fighting the arm can be safely extended because the weapon is long and the handle is equipped with a hand guard. In knife fighting you have a lightning-fast blade but there is little protection for the hand.
The LEFT ARM swings FREE of the body. Your body should be relaxed WITH THE EXCEPTION of the LOCKED WRIST and the THIGHS which are taut because of the bent knees. Your shoulders face your opponent squarely. In this position there will be no lead with your shoulder and knife betraying the nature of your attack. The guard position will become a natural reaction. Place a sabre or a rapier in the hand of an experienced duelist and he will immediately snap into the guard position with a reflex action almost as strong as drawing the hand from a hot surface. This may be difficult to understand at first, but be assured, it is true and after a moderate amount of knife-fighting practice, you’ll find yourself assuming the guard position without thinking about it, the moment you have a knife in your hand.
Tips
Keep your feet at about a 90 degree angle.
The blade is drawn in, close to the body, and held in an unbroken line from your elbow to the point.
Shoulders face the opponent squarely.
Torso and head are held erect.
The arm on hip should swing free, but care must be taken to prevent it from extending beyond the hand which holds the knife.
Your blade points directly at your opponent’s throat. PRACTICE all the points of the proper stance until you can draw your blade on command of “On Guard!” and instantaneously snap into the perfect position without losing a second to make major adjustments.
The side view of the guard position. Major portions of the body will not be extended into an opponent’s range
The straight thrust, side view. The torso pivots on axis of spine. Your legs provide added range
PRACTICE until ALL of the points in the ON GUARD position become coordinated into ONE natural movement. ALL OF THE ATTACKS AND DEFENSES OF THE SKILLED KNIFE FIGHTER ORIGINATE FROM THIS GUARD POSITION.
THE THRUST From the guard position, the blade is thrust forward with explosive force DIRECTLY at the target. The free arm is whipped back to add power and velocity to this POINT-AT-TARGET attack. The BLADE POINT travels straight to the TARGET, backed by the full power of the forearm and shoulder. The THRUST starts with the knife, poised and ready in the guard position. NO PRELIMINARY MOVEMENT IS NECESSARY. The blade is snapped directly to the target. If the target is your opponent’s throat your point should strike in a direct line to the throat. On the thrust, the free aria has been whipped back, TURNING THE FULL BODY WITH A SNAP. Instead of the full spread of the shoulders and chest which had been exposed to your opponent, you now present the NARROWEST view of your body. The upper portion of the body has pivoted forming a straight line from your blade point back along your arm, across the shoulders and down the free arm in the rear. In executing the thrust, the beginner will have a tendency to lean forward and push. The result of a push is usually an UNEVEN and weak action. Your attack should be instantaneous. From the front, your opponent should see only the blur of a point on the extended arm, and the sudden disappearance of the broadside view of your upper body; in its place, your enemy will find only the thin silhouette of the NARROWEST portion of the torso.
The attitude of your blade, well back and pointed at your opponent’s throat, is like a pistol leveled at a target – ammo in the chamber, the hammer back, your finger on the trigger. The point is your bullet. THE THRUST, when properly executed with your opponent within range, will be so swift that he’ll never see it. He won’t know what hit him. He won’t see it coming. Nor can he PREVENT getting HIT. This is true in professional boxing. If an opponent is open and in range of a left jab, he’s going to be hit.
If an opponent tries to make an underhanded attack he will come within your range but you will still be out of his reach
Your advantage over your opponent is a range of eighteen to twenty-four inches. If the enemy attacks, he comes into range
The only way to avoid getting hit is NOT to be THERE to get hit. Simply said. Simply explained – later. But here’s a hint: DISTANCE is of utmost importance. It is INSURANCE again NOT being THERE to get hit, AND STILL BEING IN A POSITION TO run your opponent through.
Tips
When THE THRUST is executed in practice and the blade is not driven into human flesh; the blade completes its thrust in mid air where it stops abruptly with a NATURAL WHIPPING ACTION. It is the conviction of the writer that the Bowie-shaped blade was scientifically designed by James Bowie for the control of this natural whip.
If your opponent tries an overhand stroke he must come in close; your straight thrust pivots your chest out of his range
The THRUSTING HAND, when fully extended, should have the KNUCKLES UP, the THUMB LEFT and the knife arching slightly downward into the target. The FULL thrust is executed regardless of your opponent’s distance-as long as he is IN RANGE.
Do not be too anxious to draw the weapon back prematurely. Let the extended arm SNAP OUT TO THE FULLEST.
Only in a well-executed thrust which does NOT strike home, will you find the whip-like movement of the blade. When the point reaches its target, penetrating flesh or bone, the whip is taken up by the substance which is hit.
An enemy’s overhand stroke leaves him wide open for your thrust. He can be stopped before he reaches effective range
THE CUT The thrust is the foundation of the CUT. With the thrust you take your knife to the target. If a FULL thrust does not strike the target the natural whipping action will take place. This whip is THE CUT.
The Vertical Cut The VERTICAL CUT is a thrust which ends abruptly with the THUMB UP, the NAILS to the LEFT.
When this thrusting cut goes straight to its target instead of ending in mid-air, this same whipping action will take place
The vertical cut – fast and effective for a long range slash. Whip down
The natural whipping action of the thrusting cut makes the blade drop
An extended extremity, such as a protruding arm, is an excellent target for the VERTICAL CUT. In this cut the blade flashes DOWN and UP, biting gashes into the flesh or lobbing off fingers. The blade, when executing this action does not only whip DOWN and UP, but when it is viewed from the side, the observer will notice that it also RIPS FORWARD. Where a stiletto or narrow pointed knife would penetrate like an ice pick and leave a puncture wound, the Bowie-shaped blade will whip down into the target, ride forward, then snap UP. THIS IS ONE CONTINUOUS ACTION. The movement has been completed in one ninety fourth of a second when recorded by a highspeed camera. All tissues, muscles, veins or tendons caught in the path of the scimitar-like hook of the Bowie blade will be sliced clean through.
Keep full thrust’s distance from opponent’s nearest extremity. If nearest target is hand or forearm, execute a thrusting cut
The vertical thrusting cut to the hand. The blade is cocked in preparation for a wrist action to supplement the natural whip
Vertical thrusting cut ends with the blade biting down, ripping forward, then snapping up again – all in a continuous action
The Horizontal Cut The HORIZONTAL CUT, straight across and back. is purely an unfulfilled normal thrust. The tendency of the average knife fighter to crouch usually places his head and face in such a position that they present excellent targets for the HORIZONTAL CUT.
The horizontal thrusting cut. A full thrust is directed to right side of your target. Slightly cocked blade assists whip action
The blade will whip across its target automatically when the arm is fully extended. Try for cuts on enemy’s head or face
The finish of your horizontal thrusting cut. The blade whips back across target, achieving two cuts with only one thrust
The Hand Cut The HAND CUT can be an exquisitely executed attack. From the hand of a skilled knife duelist this cut, practically unknown to the overhand or underhand knife fighter, can usually be relied upon to effectively strike the first blow. A deeply sliced hand will greatly reduce the strength of your opponent’s knife hand, but if you hack off a few fingers with your initial HAND CUT you have it made!
Practice These cuts may be practiced with an actual or simulated weapon, but when learning, the use of the hand in lieu of the weapon is advised. Master the whip of the HAND and you will develop a better understanding of the action of the blade. When the hand alone is used, the fingers should be extended and joined; the edge of the hand opposite the thumb becomes the imaginary cutting edge of the knife. The hand is thrust out vigorously, coming to an abrupt halt at the fullest extension of the arm. A whiplike snap of the hand will take place. This practice will be valuable if you are ever confronted by an opponent when you are unarmed, for the edge of the hand, in this position, is used like an axe; the fingers joined at the tip are like the point of a blade. After mastering the cut as directed, you may then increase the effectiveness of the blade by a snapping WRIST action in a whip-like manner, directing the cutting edge of your blade to its target with greater velocity. This sharp wrist-snapping cut is of utmost importance when the target is so close that it must be reached without fully extending your arm.
Tips
When learning the full extended cut, which is a result of the unfulfilled thrust, there will be a marked tendency to assist the action with wrist movement. AVOID THIS WHEN LEARNING. The cut is a completely natural action of the arm. Later when you understand
this natural action, you may add additional wrist action to supplement the natural whip.
Draw the blade back to the guard position immediately after the cut is made.
Keep the blade pointed at the throat at all times except when making definite attacks to other targets.
Practice executing the full VERTICAL and HORIZONTAL CUT until the action is clean. The blade must avoid making circles at the full extension of the arm. These circles are the result of forced action of the wrist or forearm, preventing the NATURAL ACTION of the blade.
Begin your practice with the hand so that you may better understand and control the whip action.
Continue your practice until you work out the stiffness in the elbow joint. The tendons in this area will feel the strain while you’re learning the thrust and cut.
The in-quartata or out-of-line starts from the guard position. Conceal the nature of your attack until opponent is in range
IN-QUARTATA OR OUT-OF-LINE The defensive movement in fencing known as in-quartata or OUT-OF-LINE is a fine movement of the feet which throws the body approximately three feet out of the line of your opponent’s attack if he attacks with so much force that you do not choose to be there to meet it with a stop thrust. From your guard position, knees slightly bent, you execute a full thrust as the torso vigorously pivots, assisted by the free arm whipping back.
When opponent rushes into range, thrust home and apply power with the rear leg, directing the body to the right side
You will also utilize the FULL POWER of your REAR leg to pivot the whole body on the FORWARD leg. Your rear leg swings around in an arc and lands on the opposite side. Your entire stance should now look like a full sabre thrust from a sabre stance, but YOU ARE AT AN ANGLE TO YOUR OPPONENT. Your opponent’s momentum will carry him over your original position, by about two or three feet. There will be no need for you to withdraw your blade from your opponent, his momentum will carry his BODY OUT OF THE BLADE!
Your rear leg will push off and swing to the right, pivoting the body out of line with the oncoming rush of your opponent
The full pivot out of line, with your rear foot solidly planted. Retain your full thrust, letting the opponent cut the blade out
If you attack an enemy from the rear or flank, try a straight thrust to the throat with the full edge, not the point, of your blade. Immediately draw the knife back, snapping the cutting edge of the knife across opponent’s throat, making two cuts
DISTANCE Now we’re going to try to clear up some of those doubts in your mind. Sure, your opponent’s got a knife – maybe he’s got two knives. And maybe he knows how to use them. But, here and now, we want to cut you in on a big slice of scoop – IF YOU’VE GOT A BOWIE KNIFE IN YOUR HAND you’re armed with a BETTER WEAPON than any other nation in the world has ever devised. And that’s only half the scoop. A KNOWLEDGE of the BASIC PRINCIPLES of the use of the Bowie knife or ANY BLADE simply means that you’ll be able to save your blood for a Stateside blood bank instead of leaving it on the battlefield. Up to this point you’ve learned three basic principles: THE GUARD POSITION. THE THRUST. THE CUT. “All of this,” you will say, “is fine on the drill field or in a gym, but what do O do when I’m in combat and a crazy enemy comes chargin’ at me with a wicked lookin’ dagger? The guy’s gonna kill me if I don’t do something to stop him!” You’re right. He’ll kill you if you don’t do something immediately to discourage him. CONFIDENCE in YOURSELF is your primary MENTAL attack. A bucketful of his wild zest will drain from him when he sees you plant yourself in the guard position and DEFY him. He’ll stop in his tracks and think things over. You have won part of the mental duel, but the physical bout has just begun. SIZE UP YOUR OPPONENT. You will be able to judge the EFFECTIVE RANGE of your opponent immediately by the way he holds his blade and the stance he takes. If your opponent has his blade in his RIGHT hand and has his LEFT foot forward, he will telegraph his attack with a body movement, even if he holds the blade in the sabre manner. If he holds the blade in the OVERHAND or UNDERHAND position, or in any position other than that of a sabre, he will definitely LIMIT the effectiveness of his RANGE. This is the predominant stance of most knife fighters throughout the world in spite of the fact that it is contrary to the 400-year-old fencing principle of keeping the RIGHT FOOT FORWARD.
(A) Keep yourself out of range of your opponent’s full thrust. If he attacks, you’ll be forcing him to come into your range
If he extends his knife-holding hand to any marked degree, regardless of his grip, he is also LIMITING his range. With practice, you will IMMEDIATELY notice these errors in your opponent and TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM. If you are confronted by an opponent who displays these errors, the rule is simple: STAY ONE FULL THRUST’S DISTANCE AWAY FROM YOUR OPPONENT’S NEAREST EXTREMITY. From this range you will be in a position to continually SNIPE at him with LIGHTNING-LIKE cuts. You will be amazed to find that, although he is in range of getting cut by your blade, he cannot try for a cut on you without missing by ONE or TWO FEET.
(A) Above picture shows your opponent in the same position as in (A) on opposite page, but you have been able to advance
If your opponent should BODILY ADVANCE in an attack, MAKE IMMEDIATE USE OF YOUR LEGS: they are slightly bent in the guard position and ready for instantaneous action. If your enemy’s advance is slow, you merely STEP BACK – REAR foot FIRST, followed by the FORWARD foot. If you are pressing the attack with arc advancing, your first step will be made by the FORWARD foot; bring the REAR foot up BEFORE taking a second step with the FORWARD foot. If your opponent assumes a skilled knife duelist’s stance you will recognize it immediately – AND BECOME EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS. He will be OUT OF RANGE. You will have NO immediate TARGET, and you will have to work hard to GET one.
The slightest extension of your opponent’s knife hand presents a target. Strike and recover immediately to a guard position
With THIS opponent:
Your DISTANCE will be INCREASED. Stay one full thrust’s distance from his full thrust’s distance. The distance is from HAND to HAND. Your blade fully extended to his hand; his blade fully extended to your hand.
Usually the HANDS will be your targets.
The duel is on, and you will have to resort to fencing TECHNIQUES to draw him into your range.
Attack your opponent when he is LEAST alert to your attack. When you sense that HE is about to attack, he will be thinking of HIS OWN strategy – NOT of his own defense.
Draw your opponent into an attack but keep your body in a well-balanced position and out of opponent’s striking distance
You may wish to attack when your opponent is IN MOTION – EXECUTING an attack or RETURNING from one. In this moment, his LACK OF BALANCE and the DISTANCE will be definitely IN YOUR FAVOR. Once you have launched your attack, catching your opponent off balance, force your attack with straight thrusts and cuts. DISTANCE and TIMING are closely allied; distance is a matter of keeping within a safe defensive range, and at the same time, being within an effective offensive range. Timing is something you will always have to FEEL; it is the ability to recognize the proper moment to attack.
If your hand is too close to opponent’s knife for a thrusting cut, try for a sabre cut – a full, snapping chop at knife hand
TECHNIQUE Technique is the ability to combine basic principles with their best possible application to make the most skillful and formidable attacks against an opponent. Crudely put, it is the use of every trick you know to get your blade into your opponent. Technique is NOT a sometimes thing; you acquire it with the PRACTICE of BASIC PRINCIPLES, in your own, individual manner. It will PAY OFF in blood on YOUR blade…
TARGETS After the fight you’ll probably want to wipe off your blade. But if you don’t hit anything you won’t have to clean it; as a matter of fact, if you don’t hit anything, your opponent probably will and what he hits will be PART OF YOU. LOOK for targets on HIM, and let them feel your steel. IN A KNIFE DUEL, ANY TARGET IS A GOOD ONE TO BEGIN. THE KILL, HOWEVER, IS THE ULTIMATE. Here are your targets:
The hand that holds his blade.
The heart which pumps his blood.
The throat which contains his windpipe and blood supply to and from his head.
His chest area which contains his lungs, heart, diaphragm and various other things he’d rather not have punctured.
His back, below the shoulder blades. Thrust the knife INBOARD, toward the center of his body. Work your knife handle back and forth; this will do far more damage than a single thrust. In any portion of the back, chest, stomach or throat area PUMP THE HANDLE OF YOUR KNIFE.
For an enemy attack, feint a low attack; draw his weapon low
When the opponent lowers his blade, attack his hand or wrist
Whip the blade up for a thrusting cut to your opponent’s head
Attempt a straight thrust for your opponent’s head or throat
Passata sotto, an alternative for out-of-line. If your opponent rushes with exposed lower right side, thrust to lower chest
PASSATA SOTTO Another means of getting your blade into your opponent, other than the direct manner from the guard position, is to perform a passata sotto in which you merely BEND THE TORSO VERY LOW and to the LEFT from the guard position. Thrust directly into the LOWER RIGHT CHEST or ABDOMINAL AREA of your opponent. This is a fine attack against an opponent who raises his right arm high in his attack, or otherwise exposes his lower right side. In some instances a left step may accompany the attack. This movement is also excellent for FAKING a low cut, drawing your opponent’s blade low, whereupon you strike for his HAND, FOREARM or HEAD. If he refuses to be drawn low, you may safely risk an attack on his KNEE CAP.
A feint, made to look like an actual attack, should affect your opponent’s reflexes, causing him to lower an offending guard
A full thrust or cutting attack may be made on your enemy’s momentarily open target. Low crouch puts his head in range
Keep your free hand in constant readiness to block enemy’s blade arm. When it comes in range grab his wrist and thrust
YOUR FIGHTING KNIFE A stout blade of fine steel is the prerequisite when you go shopping for your knife. The blade should be tough enough to resist most impacts without showing a fixed bend. When severely strained beyond the point of returning to its original position, the blade should bend instead of snapping off. The steel should be hard enough to hold an edge.
Clamp down hard on your opponent’s wrist; at the same time move your body in close and thrust your blade into the target
The knife should be from seven to ten inches in length and resemble the form of the traditional American Bowie. The handle should be long enough to fit comfortably and securely in the palm. The weight of the handle should equal the weight of the blade in order to avoid the feeling of “blade-heaviness” when the knife is “hefted.” The balance should be near the guard, preferably on the handle side. Your knife should be equipped with a scabbard that can be secured to the person in a manner which will make it possible to draw the knife easily and quickly by a natural movement of the hand. The scabbard should be secured vertically on the outside of the right thigh. If this position is impractical because of other gear or heavy clothing, the scabbard may be carried in a horizontal or diagonal position on the front or left front belt line. Regardless of where the knife is carried, it should be in constant readiness for instant use.
WE REPEAT: Knife fighting is an ugly business; we hope and pray that you’ll never meet an opponent armed with a blade, the look of a madman in his eyes, hatred in his heart, and the momentary lust for YOUR life. But you might. And in combat only ONE opponent comes out of a knife fight alive. If we have succeeded in giving you CONFIDENCE in your own ability with your knife, by these prescribed PRINCIPLES; if we have been able to convince you that your enemy, whoever he is, HASN’T GOT A CHANCE with HIS knife; then we have given you something with which to save your OWN life.
Unarmed Combat When Americans settle disputes with their fists – even in barroom brawls – they fight with an admirable, inherent fairness. The tricks of unfair fighting are not in the average American’s repertoire; even if he knows them, he will think twice before using them. On the field of battle there is no time to think twice. Remember that in combat you are playing for keeps; he who ponders about tactics may not be around to enjoy the next rotation. Obviously, the man fighting for his life will use every means – fair and unfair-to save it, but the American must be taught “unfair” fighting. On the BATTLEFIELD when his life is in the balance, he CANNOT use effective attacks of hand-to-hand fighting if he DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE! Nor will he be able to protect himself against the onslaught of the dirty fighting he can expect from his opponent. YOUR BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE; it must combine your instinct for survival and the practical application of proved principles.
THE STANCE Your STANCE should enable you to move instantly in any direction. It should make you capable of launching the most effective attack to meet the existing situation. ONE primary stance is recommended: The knife fighters stance, with the RIGHT FOOT FORWARD. Thrusting or wheeling attacks can be launched from this position, as well as a rapid out-of-line pivot in case of a rushing attack. A diagonal position can be assumed directly from this stance, with your weight on the REAR FOOT, FORWARD ARM raised, as if in protection of the face. Your BODY is REARED BACK from an erect position. From this position an effective kicking attack, from long range, can be launched with the free FORWARD leg and foot. Following the kick you are in a position to launch immediately a back-sweeping elbow, side of the hand, or fist smash.
Use a well balanced knife fighter’s stance and you will be in a position to launch your attack or evade opponent’s advance
YOUR PLANS OF ATTACK Acquire, in the back of your mind, a “library” of PLANS OF ATTACK. These plans are ALL SIMPLE and DIRECT and they will cover a broad selection of situations, logical in individual combat. Learn to choose the RIGHT attack instantly Learn its timely execution. These PLANS OF ATTACK must be PREARRANGED; they must be outlined and developed in your mind, forming a detailed list from which you may draw instantly when you are confronted with a situation which threatens your life. When the situation confronts you, you will have little time to think it over. A library of PREARRANGED PLANS will be in readiness. Like swimming, these plans once thoroughly learned, will never be forgotten. Besides, you need not stay in top condition to apply them effectively. When danger is imminent and you are unarmed, if there is time, look for something to supplement your natural weapons – a stick, a stone, dirt, ANYTHING. At the sight of your enemy coming at you, start to put into action your prearranged plan of attack. Assume your proper stance instantly; your choice of attack will depend upon your enemy’s stance and the nature of HIS attack. Launch your prearranged plan of attack the moment he comes within range. In your plan, simplicity and directness of action will be the keynote of your attack. By TRAINED instinct you will direct your attack in a manner which will exploit any disadvantage you can detect in your opponent. Without a plan and the means to execute it, you are lost. Once the action has started and you find that your original plan is not working, you will automatically switch to another. You will find that this is NOT difficult because ALL of your plans from which you made your initial choice, were SIMPLE and DIRECT. In the frenzy of a “to the death” struggle, anything short of an absolute blackout blow on your enemy will allow him to remain dangerously fighting for his life – or yours.
Your first step will be to snap yourself into your stance. In an instant you will size up your enemy-his speed, the position of his hands, the way he carries his head. WITHOUT PREMEDITATION, execute your plan of attack the instant he comes within range. Remember, no one is going to set himself up for you to execute perfectly any routine series of attacks. Explode your whole plan, or any part of it, ALL OVER your enemy in rapid succession. All of your plans of attack are drawn up with one objective in mind – to achieve ultimate victory. Perhaps you may accomplish this quickly with one direct attack that strikes home… Or it might be a long, drawn out operation… In any case, your plan of attack should cover all possibilities. You know that the best way to destroy your enemy is to destroy his primary targets first if you can. In a personal contact with an individual enemy, destroy ANY ONE of his primary targets and victory is yours. Those primary or high priority targets are:
The throat.
The groin area.
The eyes.
A heavy pounding at ALL OTHER targets will directly or indirectly damage the primary targets and will batter down resistance, allowing OPENINGS for you into his primary targets, which you will immediately attack in a manner prescribed in your plan of attack – with hand and fist blows, crushing, gouging, ripping with fingers and thumbs, elbow smashes, knee smashes and knee drops, kicks and stomps with the foot. From your stance you will attack the targets described under “TARGETS”, with the weapons described under “WEAPONS”, in a manner prescribed under “ATTACKS.”
ATTACKS Distract and attempt to throw your enemy off balance by heaving a handful of dirt, your cartridge belt, helmet, coins or cigarettes at him. Throw ANYTHING you can get your hands on; throw it the moment he comes into your range.
From the Knife Guard Position A. The Thrust Attack. If your enemy conies at you with his ARMS LOW or spread out in such a manner as to expose his HEAD. vc.u :; a, start your attack with an exploding STRAIGHT THRUST with your RIGHT, or master hand in the same manner as the execution of a knife thrust. If he is in range and is OPEN for such a blow he will not be able to block it. It will land hard enough for you to MOVE RIGHT IN, following your attack through at close range – POINT BLANK range for your most effective blows.
If your opponent’s hands are low or well into his body, you might try a thrusting attack as soon as he comes into range
Depending upon the speed and stance of your enemy, this type of initial attack may be launched in the following manner:
Fist exploding on his face.
The thrusting attack. Launch a smashing straight thrust into the face or neck of your opponent. Wheel in with left elbow
Fingers extended and joined, thrust into his throat.
First two joints of the hand doubled up and thrust into his throat.
Fingers extended and spread, ramming them into his eyes.
B. Follow through of the Thrust Attack. The instant your initial blow has landed, you wheel in close, every weapon you have exploding on every target opening. If there is no target opening, MAKE ONE, keep battering and pounding. It will be impossible for your opponent to protect his COMPLETE body at once. This should give you incentive and confidence. It is not humanly possible for your enemy to protect his throat, groin, eyes, solar plexis, base of skull, kidneys, etc., ALL at the same time. You will be forcing the attack, keeping your enemy off-balance and placing him immedialely on the defensive; he will be so busy protecting himself that the choice of targets will be yours.
Smash the fingers straight into enemy’s windpipe. They may be extended and joined or the first two joints may be doubled
Immediately after a full left elbow smash you are in perfect position to continue wheeling and smashing at opponent’s head
The heavy artillery of the body’s natural weapons consists of both elbows, the sides of fists, the knees and feet and the forehead – used as battering rams. When you close with your enemy, immediately following the right thrust attack, wheel or pivot in with a left elbow smash, the arms hooked, elbows and fists FLYING. All of the way to the RIGHT, then BACK again, pressing the attack by wheeling and smashing. EVERY full pivot will expose your enemy to a hit from your elbows, fists and the sides of your fists.
The wheel back up to the opponent’s jaw is accomplished by a vigorous body pivot, adding power and velocity to the blow
At completion of a left elbow back-smash, your right fist is in position to deliver a solid hook into the groin or solar plexis
If this attack lands successfully and your enemy goes down – and he is still moving – prepare to finish him off by planting well placed toe kicks or heel stomps into the following targets:
Neck, anywhere, all the way around.
Groin.
Lower rib region, anywhere, all the way around.
All joints.
All muscles.
Finish him off with a vigorous stomp or kick to the neck, or a knee drop to the same place. KNEE DROPS are excellent when your enemy goes down. Merely drop your entire weight, concentrated on ONE of your knees, on any part of his anatomy. Something will GIVE! You may then finish him off with hand blows or gouges and rips to the throat. However, it is SAFER to kick and stomp when your enemy goes down.
Possibilities If after your initial attack and fellow-through, your enemy is still fighting, you remain in close and keep up the assault. If he grabs your throat, your complete wheeling action with a left or right elbow smash will break his grip.
If he grabs you low, he is exposing his head, neck, etc. Smash at these targets with the sides of the fists, edges of the hands and elbows. If his head is high, smash and thrust at his throat, with the hands and edges of the hands. If he gets a dangerous hold on you, SLOW DOWN and grab ONE of his offending fingers and BREAK it, or crush his windpipe with the thumbs or a blow with the hand or smash at his GROIN. Keep your hands moving in the direction of his vital targets. (There are no easily acquired holds that he can get on you which will keep your hands from reaching his groin.) Once you get one of your hands in the vicinity of his throat, eyes or groin, launch your most vigorous attack, smashing, gouging, crushing and ripping. If he is at any time knocked off balance, leaving you out of arms reach for a moment, kick him, concentrating on the groin, lower rib area and throat area. If his back is at any time available to you, leap upon it – apply the double-arm strangle hold, wrapping the legs around his waist in a scissors hold. This also will end the fight. If your two hands are clear, and his ears are in range, slam both hands over his ears as hard as you can. The result will be similar to a blast concussion.
The Wheeling Attack
If a straight thrusting attack is impossible because of an opponent’s extended arms, launch a WHEELING ATTACK from your guard position. If your opponent is facing slightly to the LEFT, wheel your attack in the direction in which he is facing. If he is facing RIGHT, wheel your attack in that direction. This attack will break down his defense and SPIN him around, making any counter attack impossible.
This pivoting right and left cross attack was introduced by the late Robert Fitzsimmons who used it to win the heavyweight championship over the late James J. Corbett. It was known as Fitzsimmons’ “killing shift.”
Colonel A. J. Drexel Biddle’s description of this attack clarifies its execution. Here’s how it’s done: From a regular boxer’s stance (LEFT foot forward) a right hook is aimed at your opponent’s chin: at the same time the RIGHT FOOT steps forward, adding speed and force to the blow. Your RIGHT FOOT should advance outside of your opponent’s LEFT FOOT. If your right hook failed to land on your opponent’s chin, all well and good, the FOLLOW THROUGH of the blow will have smashed down the enemy’s defenses, leaving you LOW and to his LEFT. Instantly rip back up with your whole body, clearing everything with your RIGHT ELBOW, but that LEFT FIST OF YOURS is brought up from the floor and is planted in the SOLAR PLEXIS of your opponent. While this doubles up your enemy, you return to the LOW POSITION and repeat the LEFT HAND PUNCH. This time you can direct it to the point of your opponent’s chin. If delivered with KILLING INTENT, this last blow can drive your opponent’s jawbones into the base of his skull, resulting in a brain concussion which can cause death.
On the battlefield, this same principle can be applied from YOUR guard position (RIGHT foot forward) with NO regard for the right elbow clearing before the LEFT fist comes up. Nor is it necessary for you to direct the first left to the solar plexis; a slight lowering of the range into the GROIN, will be more effective for the result you wish to achieve. Keep your body well-balanced with natural foot movements.
If the opponent keeps his face and neck well protected you can batter down his defense by launching the wheeling attack
Smash down his extended arms with full, body-pivoting right and left hooks. Force the attack by continuing to wheel back
Wheel back up with right elbow back smash, directed at any target in range. Follow through with your left fist or elbow
A smashing blow with your left elbow may leave you wheeled over to your right side. Repeat the attack from left to right
Smash back with the left elbow or edge of left fist. Force an attack with elbow and fist smashes by pivoting the whole body
The Foot Attack
Here is your most effective long range attack. Instead of a straight smashing thrust of the master arm, you rear BACK, shifting the weight on the REAR FOOT, the RIGHT hand raised as if to ward off a blow. As soon as your opponent comes within range, your FORWARD FOOT is thrust forward at your opponent with a FULL snap. The foot, in a HORIZONTAL position, should smash on or below your enemy’s KNEE. If his groin is unguarded, you may safely direct your kick into this region.
Whether you hit or miss, follow through with a wheeling attack. The arm arm you had raised before your kick may also be used to smash aside a dangerous blow from your opponent. You will find that you will actually bounce when you KICK properly. The foot whips out horizontally to its maximum range, then whips smartly back. There will be little opportunity for your opponent to grab your leg. If your opponent is armed with a knife, you will find this foot attack one of the safest and most effective ways of keeping him away from you; if lie attempts a cut on your leg, you simply chop his head with a backhand smash.
To stop your opponent at long range, try a foot attack. From your guard position you will shift your weight to the left foot
The shift of weight to the left foot removes your upper torso from danger and frees your right foot; draw it back and kick
Smash your right leg out, directing the full sole of shoe into the knee or the upper shinbone of the opponent’s forward leg
Follow through with a wheeling attack if your opponent is in close enough or smash his neck with the edge of your hand
WEAPONS
You should supplement your natural weapons with anything you can pick up quickly to use as a missile or to hold in your hands. However, the natural weapons, themselves, are numerous and deadly enough when they are properly used. Here are nature’s own weapons:
The Head The DOME of the FOREHEAD and the BACK of the HEAD are well reinforced as protection against bumping; these areas make wonderful BATTERING RAMS. They are used as such by the Danes. Use of the head in this manner is termed the “Danish Kiss” when used to batter in the face of an enemy.
If your enemy tries to grasp your neck, you can break his grip instantly by wheeling a left or right cross over his arms
The Elbows Those elbow bones sticking out when you bend your arms, have been strongly reinforced since childhood. You have crawled on them, rested on them and propped yourself up on them so often that they are tough and hard. When smashed anywhere against an enemy’s anatomy, they can do unbelievable damage. The elbows are an effective weapon for use against any target within their range.
As your arm crosses enemy’s arms your shoulder muscle, with full body weight behind, bears down on opponent’s wrist
Full body pivot should be used with the right or left cross. The momentum of the body and its weight will break the hold
As soon as you have broken the hold you may launch your wheeling attack. Start your offense with a back elbow smash
The Hands The hands themselves are loaded with a fine assortment of ammunition. With the fingers extended and joined you have the equivalent of a knife point, extremely effective when thrust into vital and soft areas such as the enemy’s throat. By spreading the fingers and thrusting for his eyes you have five small projections that can’t miss the target.
For “in-fighting” use your natural battering weapons. Cup the palm of the hand and ram it hard against the opponent’s chin
By doubling up the first two joints and thrusting, you deliver a more powerful blow than with the fingers extended and joined. With the finger tips thus PROTECTED, you can strike not only at the throat but at such targets as the solar plexis, kidneys and groin without fear of injuring the finger tips.
The edge of the hand, fingers extended and joined, is the equivalent of an axe and is used in the same manner. You do not necessarily have to toughen this part of the hand. It is excellent the way it is. You have used your hands all of your life, and that muscle on the edge of the hand is tough. Practice in the striking of objects is, of course, good training; it will harden the muscle and develop skill in marksmanship. Learn to strike your target with the muscle and not with your wrist or knuckles. An axe-like blow with the edge of hand can break a neck or rupture a kidney.
The opponent receives the full impact of the heel of the hand. With this blow you do not endanger your knuckles or fingers
The edge of the fist. Note how hard you can pound your fist on a table in this manner; the same blow can be delivered on the neck or groin of an enemy.
After smashing with the heel of your hand, follow through by curling your fingers over the enemy’s face and into his eyes
The heel of the hand. The wrist is locked and firm in all attacks with the hand. This one is an exception. With the fingers extended, bend the whole palm back in the same position as when pushing or leaning palm first, against a wall. The palm in this manner makes a battering ram of your forearm. The natural seat of your palm fits perfectly under the chin of an opponent. When in close, aim an uppercut at your opponent’s solar plexis or chest, the heel of the hand will sweep up to chin in a natural arc. The heel of your hand, directly backed by the bones and muscles of the forearm, will connect with the impact of a rock. Close your teeth and try it gently on yourself.
Attack your opponent’s throat at the earliest opportunity. With both hands apply thumb pressure to sides of enemy’s windpipe
Thumbs and Fingers. In tight spots the individual fingers act as probers, gouging and poking at the eyes, the bottom of the throat and under the jawbone. The fingers and thumbs are used for prying at the fingers of the opponent when they are clamped somewhere on your body. Pry one of his fingers loose, clamp your hand around it and BREAK it. The two thumbs rammed in on both sides of the wind pipe, then snapped together, is a choice way to end an encounter.
If only one of your hands is free, grasp the windpipe between the fingers and thumb and press in; then snap the trap shut
The Palm. The results of a punch to your opponent’s head in the usual manner are, in many instances, not felt until the next day, but a full resounding slap on the face or base of the skull will rock your opponent right then and there. A good single or double slap across one or both of his ears will drop him on the spot.
If enemy has you in front grip and both your hands are free, slam palms over his ears. Result is like a blast concussion
If opponent leaves himself open for blow at throat, smash at windpipe with edge of hand. Even a light stroke can be deadly
A blow at the base of the skull can break a neck. Nerves or large veins on the sides will paralyze if they are struck hard
The Knees Two more of nature’s battering rains. Use them against the groin, head or anything else that comes within their range. When you are standing over a downed opponent drop your whole weight behind the knee as it falls on some part of his anatomy.
Your knees are powerful battering rams. Use them when you have the opportunity. Opponent’s groin is a vulnerable target
The Feet The broad length of the foot is effective when used as a ram against the opponent’s knee in your foot attack. Smash down on his shin bone or shatter his instep if he is standing. The point of the foot can be driven into your opponent when it is safe to do so, especially when he is down – to the neck. cheat, or joints. Stomp the heel down on his instep or use it to kick backwards at his shin, knee or groin.
Notes A small rock will add weight to your clubbing fist. Any small item, cigarette lighter, stone, or piece of wood will tighten the muscles on the outside edge of the fist. A small stick – protruding a bit, front and back – will provide added effectiveness. A small, tightly rolled piece of newspaper may be used instead of the stick.
TARGETS
In your initial contact with your enemy there are only two primary targets in which you are interested. Only one well placed round, or blow, in either the throat or the groin will set your enemy up for FINISHING OFF. There are many other targets that you might have to hit repeatedly, all disabling to some degree, but generally speaking, they will be only a prelude to stunning or blacking your opponent out with a blow or blows in one or both of the primary targets.
The Neck One of your opponent’s primary targets is the neck. A severe blow anywhere on the forward half of the neck will cause extreme damage or death. If the blow is delivered at an angle with a back sweep of the edge of the hand, the windpipe will receive a severe jolt or fracture, and the enemy will probably CHOKE to death. A shocking blow at the windpipe delivered in any form was termed the “Black Death” by the late Colonel Biddle. The enemy will either pass out immediately from the shock and pain, choke to death, or remain standing, his face turning darker and darker as he tries unsuccessfully to get air into his lungs. Finally he will pass out.
This angle shot at the throat can damage the vessels which carry the blood to the enemy’s head and shock the enemy into immediate unconsciousness by paralyzing the numerous major nerves located in that area. There is NO bone in that whole area to prevent the blow’s full effect. If you were fortunate enough to hit so hard from the front, or the back, that you damaged the only bone in the neck, fine. You have finished your job; you have broken his neck.
Attack the front neck area with hand thrusts straight in, finger thrusts, edge-of-hand smashes, (both hands) fist smashes and elbow smashes. Attack the back of the neck with fist and edge-of-hand smashes.
If you are on the ground and the enemy advances, hook one foot behind his ankle and smash his shin with your other foot
Coordination of the two feet is very important; the lower foot hooks ankle at the same time that the other foot smashes out
Groin Attack your opponent in this area with everything you have; but remember that this is the ONE AREA a man does not have to be TAUGHT to protect. He will instinctively make it very difficult for you to get in a good blow, especially if you try to attack this area by kicking. Don’t try a kick at his groin unless you are VERY sure it is unprotected.
In an attack from the rear, make approach with left forearm ready for whipping blow across the front of opponent’s throat
Snap forearm hard on enemy’s windpipe. Right arm is ready to lock left forearm in place. Force his midsection forward
Whip right arm under left palm, snap right palm under base of enemy’s skull. Lock your muscles in arms, back and chest
Force the left forearm against enemy’s front throat area and as you drop to ground wrap your legs around his midsection
The Head Attack the head with elbow smashes, fist smashes, or a heel-of-hand smash to the chin. Hook your hand behind his head and snap his head forward and come up with a knee smash to his face. When the back of his head is available, smash the edge of the fist or the open edge of the hand across the BASE of the skull. If he is in too close, curl all four fingers into the region of his eyes and start pushing. To force a man to release his grip on you, ram two fingers up into his nostrils and push his nose upward. Your antagonist SHOULD let go!
Rib Cage When you attack, close in and start your smashing action with elbows, fists and knees; use the head and feet if you can. When your elbows smash against the rib cage ANYWHERE they can inflict severe damage. If you connect around the lower ribs in the front, you will jar the solar plexis nerves. A blow in the lower ribs on the RIGHT SIDE will jar the liver. If you strike the lower ribs in the BACK you will be injuring the kidneys. The whole rib cage is packed with organs and ALL of them will be affected by a severely concentrated blow which lands ANYWHERE in that area. A punch driven into the upper stomach region directly under the center of the chest, will drop your opponent hard and fast. After he drops, a few well placed kicks or stomps or a knee drop in that lower rib area will finish him.
If your opponent gets a bear hug on you from rear and both of your arms are tree, grope for an exposed finger or thumb
When you find the finger or thumb, peel it free and be opposition to the joint. If you loosen two, spread them apart
If your arms are pinned down in a bear hug, arch the back, bend forward and apply pressure to your enemy’s midsection
When you release the pressure suddenly you will be creating a gap wide enough for you to smash your fists into his groin
The Joints All of the moving parts on the main can be placed in one category. If they are small enough to break with your hands, break them. If your opponent gets his hands on you. find one of his fingers and break it by wrapping five of yours around it and bending it in a direction nature did not intend. Larger joints should be attacked with blows. Slam your heel or foot down on his instep or kick at his knee cap until he is down. Then stomp and kick the moving parts. The ankle, knee, fingers, wrist, elbow and. of course, the neck are good stomping grounds. A KNEE DROP in lieu of the kick for the neck joint will leave you out of danger as far as that one enemy is concerned.
Large Muscles Smash with fists, knuckles, toe kicks and stomps. A good blow “ill incapacitate the forearms, biceps, calves and thighs. CONFIDENCE in yourself – the self assurance that you CAN DO IT – is the first requisite: the rest is a matter of KNOW-HOW and PRACTICE. This confidence will allow you to stay LOOSE, mentally and physically, until the moment which necessitates the application of your chosen plan of attack. Then HIT FAST and HARD, pressing the attack to its successful conclusion.
The Stick
Years ago the cop who walked his beat, swinging his night stick, knew that it was fine for clobbering drunks and thieves on the head, but it is doubtful whether he realized the versatility of that short length of hard wood he carried. Today, however, there are a number of effective, fighting tricks with sticks. The uses of the stick are worth passing on to you because sometime it may become necessary for you to defend your life with nothing more than your natural weapons and any stout stick you might be able to pick up. The list of common articles, usually available and easily adapted for use as “sticks”, is limitless. Swagger sticks, broken broomsticks, mops and shovel handles, snapped-off billiard cues, rungs of chairs or short branches of trees. Ladies in the subways will find a short umbrella or a rolled-up magazine equally effective.
THE SHORT END TECHNIQUE
For the most part, the development of this short end technique must be credited to Colonel William A. Kengla, USMC. Pick up your “stick,” whatever it may be, and we’ll show you how much damage you can do with it. If you’re at home, pull a towel rack off the wall; if you’re in jail, pull a bar out of the window. ANYTHING long, stout, hard, about 22 inches in length will do. Go it? Good. Here’s how you’ll hold it:
The Grip Grab it just as you would a KNIFE. The fingers are wrapped se-curely around it, allowing approximately three inches of the stick to protrude OUT IN FRONT of your hand. The remainder of the stick lies along the forearm, forming a straight line from the point to the elbow. Now allow the long end of the stick to drop by your side.
The short end technique. Grasp your stick about three inches below the forward end; the body must be very well balanced
The Stance Your stance may be either that of the boxer (left foot forward) or that of the knife fighter (right foot forward). However, the left foot forward, stick in the right hand, is recommended for most situations.
The Attack ANY ONE of the blows described here will be decisive if planted properly in a vital target area. Your choice of attack will depend upon the situation.
The opponent’s solar plexis is your target. The impact is on end of your stick, backed by power of full arm and shoulder
THE SOLAR PLEXIS BLOW is delivered from the boxer’s stance, your stick cocked against your forearm, your LEFT foot forward. With a driving, piston-like action of the stick arm, you smash the stick directly into the solar plexis of your opponent. The blow is carried in with additional force by advancing the right foot as you strike. If you CONNECTED, you have succeeded in discouraging your opponent and he will show no more interest in the fight.
Your stick will form a bar in a split second if you whip it to the left and into your left hand with a simple wrist movement
However, if you missed or if your blow was blocked, FOLLOW THROUGH by WHIPPING the LONG END of the stick over to your left side with a single movement of the WRIST. Your LEFT HAND, PALM DOWN, should be ready to receive. Your stick is now a HORIZONTAL BAR, gripped in both hands and held at a midsection level.
The bar is smashed up under chin with the full power of the arms and shoulders. Complete smash with full follow through
DRIVE the bar up UNDER THE CHIN of your opponent. All right, so you missed on the way up-SMASH IT ACROSS THE BRIDGE of his nose ON THE WAY D0WN. Draw it back to yourself and smash it straight to his nose, teeth or throat. If your opponent is still obstinate, MOVE IN.
If you missed or merely grazed the chin, leaving bar over opponent’s head, you are in a position to continue the attack
Follow through with a sweeping downward smash. Bring the bar crashing down on enemy’s nose if his face is turned up
Bring bar back, close to chest, and prepare for direct smash
Bar is smashed into enemy’s throat, or head between the eyesGrab enemy’s shirt and return your stick to forearm position
To MOVE IN, release the left side of the stick and bring it back, along the forearm, into its original position. Now, with your FREE LEFT HAND GRAB A SOLID HUNK OF YOUR OPPONENT’S CLOTHING, somewhere around his right shoulder area and pull him in close. From now on, wherever he goes, you go! Start smashing with the SHORT END of the stick – duck low and drive it into his groin, solar plexis or rib area. Strike ANYWHERE, let him have it under the chin if you can get there with it.
Crouch low; smash the small end of stick up to enemy’s groin
If the groin attack misses, try for your enemy’s solar plexis
If you are attacked from the rear while engaging an enemy, drive the long end of your stick straight back at the offender
Direct short end of stick to opponent’s neck, jaw or temple. Anywhere the weapon lands will be a painfully damaged spot
If he is blocking your targets, start swinging around the OUTSIDE. Try for his temple, ear, jaw or side of the neck; try for a blow in his lower rib section. ANYWHERE your point lands will be a painfully damaged spot. And a lot of sore spots add up to ONE BIG PAIN. And a painfully bruised body offers LESS RESISTANCE. Now, you may wish to resort to a PIVOT PUNCH. This outlawed boxing blow is delivered like a right hook to the opponent’s jaw, but the piiint of the elbow, rather than the fist, contacts the target. The upper arm, shoulder to elbow, is too short to deliver this blow effectively without accompanying the blow with a wheeling body movement. The stick is kept along the arm, protecting your elbow as it smashes across your opponent’s head after your right hook swing. When you deliver this blow, put plenty of “WHEELING BODY” behind it DON’T PULL YOUR PUNCH!
For the pivot punch, bring the long end of the stick securely along the forearm. Stick will protect your elbow as it strikes
Pivot the body and apply a right elbow smash to enemy’s jaw
All right, you missed again. Your blow failed to drop your opponent. Don’t worry, you are now in a position to back smash with your right elbow. Make a HOOK with your stick by a slight movement of the wrist; come back across, hooking your opponent’s neck with the stick. YOUR LEFT HAND SHOOTS ACROSS IN FRONT OF YOUR OPPONENT, GRABBING THE LONG END OF THE STICK. This is it, Mac, now you’ve got it made! Your opponent’s neck is now uncomfortably nestled in the DEATH TRIANGLE. The stick behind his neck forms one side, your CROSSED arms on his throat are the other Hvo sides. SNAP THE TRIANGLE SHUT AND SQUEEZE! Incidentally, this triangle treatment is excellent for curing enemy sentries who have “shouting sickness.” You will find that it is a neat, silent way of dropping the sentry from behind. The triangle is simply reversed-the stick flashes in FRONT across his throat, your arms cross on the BACK of his neck. Squeeze until you feel his windpipe close; he can be revived! To kill, squeeze hard!
Follow through. Hook is formed with stick around his neck
Arms cross; other end of stick is secured. Snap triangle shut
From this stance you are in a position to attack your enemy with the short end of the stick or whip it into a bar instantly
To block a kick, whip the long end of the stick across to your left hand. It has again become a horizontal bar, but instead of bringing it up to his chin, snap the arms straight down at the oncoming leg. Aim for the shinbone if possible; then follow up with a chin smash since the stick is in a position for this movement.
If your opponent attempts to kick, snap your stick over into the bar position. Your feet firmly placed; body well balanced
Snap your arms straight, directing your bar to the shin of opponent’s raised leg; lock arms against power of his kick
Smash your arms out straight against a down swinging blow. Make use of your feet or knees against any exposed target
Your opponent’s overhand or underhand blows may be blocked in this same manner. Smash straight out for the descending arm, or bash aside the upcoming arm. FOLLOW THROUGH AT ANY TARGET OPENING.
If your opponent tries an upswinging blow, direct your bar straight for his wrist or forearm. Draw trunk out of range
At the completion of any block with your bar, follow through immediately with a smash to enemy’s forehead, chin or throat
THE LONG END TECHNIQUE
Fundamentally, this technique is the use of the stick in the same way you would use a knife.
The Grip Grasp the stick a few inches from the BACK. This protrusion is a reserve for clubbing in close or smashing back at an opponent who may attack you from the rear. The LONG END of the stick is out in front – held out like a knife. The point and the elbow form a STRAIGHT LINE.
The Stance In COMBAT use the knife fighter’s stance. Keep the point directed at your opponent and thrust the same way as in knife fighting.
The Targets Thrust for the throat, face and solar plexis.
The Attack In combat, if you are otherwise unarmed, find a club and sharpen both ends with a rock. Since you have no cutting edge, direct the whipping action of the club to your opponent’s temple, neck. shoulders, joints and muscles. Use the point in full thrusts. In attacks, from the long end technique, a bar may also be formed with a movement of the RIGHT WRIST. Unlike the RIGHT hand grasp used in the short end technique where the RIGHT KNUCKLES are DOWN – the fingers UP – the bar formed from the long end stance will have the knuckles on BOTH hands UP. The bar may be used to smash or the stick may be whipped from either end by releasing the grasp of either hand.
The long end technique. Extended long portion is directed at your opponent. Grasp stick about three inches from the end
Thrust the point of the stick into your enemy’s solar plexis. Your left arm whips back, adding power and velocity to blow
Slash with the long end of your stick in the same manner in which a sabre is used, striking at enemy’s joints and muscles
The stick is readily converted to the bar position by flicking long end over to the other hand with a simple wrist movement
When you assume this position with your bar, you are in an effective non-aggressive stance, but bar is ready for action
To strike for an exposed target on the opponent’s right side, release the grip of your left hand and strike with your right
To strike at a target on the opponent’s left side, release the right hand and smash across, holding your stick with the left
To attack an enemy from the rear, form hook with the stick and your arm. Whip the stick across front of enemy’s throat
Cross your right arm with your left and grasp the stick with your left hand. Then snap triangle shut and apply pressure
The Come-along. Whip the stick between the legs of offender and turn it across his thighs. Grab his collar, lift and push
POLICE WORK
While on police duty, you may wish to assume a NON-AGGRESSIVE stance with the stick. Either the SHORT STICK or LONG STICK technique may be used. To achieve a non-aggressive stance with the short stick, grasp it about three inches from the front, allowing the remainder to hang down, pointing to the ground. The short end is now pointing upwards; the fingers grip the stick firmly; the thumb is on the inside, next to the thigh. This position has an innocent appearance which will enable you to come in close to your suspect without arousing suspicion from him, yet you are in constant readiness to whip the stick up, alongside your forearm to the elbow, and ram its SHORT end directly into the midsection of your suspect if he becomes aggressive. Follow through with your attack as previously prescribed. BUT USE ONLY AS MUCH FORCE AS THE AGGRESSIVENESS OF YOUR SUSPECT DEMANDS.
When you “escort” an offender through a crowd vou may wish to move behind-him. To move him RAPIDLY and with VERY LITTLE resistance, grasp your stick in the middle; insert it, end first, between his legs and turn the whole stick so that it crosses his thighs; then move it UPWARDS. At the same time grasp the back of his collar with the free hand and PUSH FORWARD. In this manner you will be able to carry him along on his tip toes and completely off balance. This technique is very effective for quick, short trips from curb to wagon or from bar to street.
The use of the stick as a horizontal bar is an excellent technique for the law enforcement officer. He may take his stance in a relaxed manner, his stick horizontal, without conveying the obvious intention of a club raised in a striking pose. YET HE IS IN READINESS TO STRIKE instantly at the offender’s hand, forearm, elbow, knee cap or shinbone. The advantage of this technique is the opponent’s uncertainty about the direction from which the blow will come. The officer may release either hand and strike with the other. He will do this without premeditation, making his attack without any indication of the side from which it will come.
But whether you’re a cop on a beat, a guy walking home from a date late at night, or a mud-sloshin’ infantry man, if you’re weaponless except for a “stick”, these few tips will have given you something to rely on in case of an unforeseen attack. The stick is a versatile weapon and its technique rises far above the common thought of bashing in your opponent’s head. And that’s a good defense, too.
Knife Throwing
Only a few of the local boys around Times Square noticed that something was missing. The lights on the Palace Theater sign had gone out. Backstage, the old doorman paused for a last, wistful glance at the darkened house; then he picked up his coat and shuffled through the stage door, locked it for the last time, and stepped sadly into the alley. The Palace had closed; vaudeville had died. The years which followed left only memories of the acrobats, the ventriloquists, the jugglers, the wire-walkers. But those who mourned vaudeville seldom mentioned one of its most gasp-provoking acts – The Knife Thrower. The closing of the Palace had been a symbol, it had meant the end of one night stands and split-weeks in the provinces; it had meant that a lot of little boys wouldn’t go to bed nights, dreaming about a new ambition – to become knife throwers. The fascinating desire to throw a pointed knife across a room and make it stick in a solid surface is a natural inclination, but this urge was always stimulated by the glamourous knife throwing act: a roll on the drums, colored spotlights, glistening blades flying through the air, outlining a pert lass in a spangled costume posing against a wooden backdrop. The man in the satin shirt never missed; every knife he threw pinged into the board point-first – and stayed there! Ever wonder how he did it? Well, here are the practical principles based on the science of professional knife throwing:
THE END-OVER-END METHOD
The END-OVER-END METHOD, used by the professional knife thrower, is the most accurate of the three knife throwing techniques; gratifying results may be obtained quickly and safely by observing its easily mastered principles.
The Grip Raise the right forearm until it is parallel to the ground. Make a natural fist with the knuckles UP. Now place the knife VERTICALLY between the thumb and forefinger. If the knife has only one full cutting edge, this edge should face FORWARD. Straighten the forefinger, vertically, along the right side of the blade and adjust the knife up or down with your left hand until the tip of your right forefinger is even with the point of the blade. Clamp the blade tightly against the forefinger with the thumb. Your blade is now VERTICAL to the FOREARM; well secured in a UNIFORM manner, and you are ready for the throw.
The end-over-end technique. Line up the knife on the target. Your arm is extended fully and your blade is held vertically
The Throw From a pistol shooter’s position, RIGHT FOOT FORWARD extend the RIGHT ARM, full length in the direction of the target. Be sure that the knuckles are UP; the blade is VERTICAL; the wrist is STRAIGHT and LOCKED. From this position draw the blade back to the right side of your head. Do NOT develop a BEND IN THE WRIST or in any way change the position of the knife in your hand.
You now have LOADED your weapon, COCKED it, and are ready to FIRE. Thrust the right arm out, STRAIGHT AT THE TARGET, allowing-the blade to leave the hand BY ITSELF. This action is FAST, consequently natural errors can bring about early disappointing results. The following instructions will help to prevent or correct these errors. When you thrust your arm at the target, be sure that you are making a FULL THRUST. Do NOT try to apply any WRIST ACTION to “help the blade.” The arm when fully extended will stop abruptly, causing a natural whipping action of the FIST. This action plus the WEIGHT of the blade, will make the blade leave the hand in a uniform manner EVERY TIME if it is unassisted by anything other than VELOCITY.
The foregoing instructions should give you consistent results within the first five minutes of practice, provided of course, that you are throwing from the correct distance. When you find this correct range, put a marker on the ground as a guide. Later, with practice, you will SEE the proper range of ANY TARGET, and you will be able to adjust your throws accordingly.
Draw your knife well back and keep the wrist straight. Your forefinger should be pressed firmly against the side of blade
Thrust your knife arm vigorously straight forward to target. Note that the blade remains at a right angle to the forearm
When your arm is fully extended in your thrust, knife leaves your hand automatically. A wrist snap might result in a miss
Your Guide For Distance
If you are using a blade with an overall length (including handle) of approximately 12 inches, you will stand about six feet from your target. If the blade is longer, step back a few inches. At this range, your blade will revolve three-quarters of a full turn from the time it leaves your hand until it strikes the target. If, after a few perfect throws, the handle of your knife strikes the target in a downward position, you are TOO CLOSE. Move back a few inches. If your knife consistently strikes the target with its handle facing UP, you are TOO FAR from your target. Move in a few inches. If you throw according to these instructions you will gain consistent accuracy, your blade entering the target perfectly each time, and you will be controlling the handle well at short range. After mastering this range, you may wish to double the distance, ADDING ABOUT ONE FOOT to take care of the ADDITIONAL quarter of a turn. Do NOT advance to this range until you are capable of controlling the handle angle with ease at the shorter range. You need NOT have a professional “balanced” throwing knife to achieve satisfactory results; with this technique you can throw practically anything that has a point. Although thrown in the manner prescribed on these pages, such items as ice picks, bayonets or letter openers will each demand their proper range. A balanced throwing knife can be compared to match ammunition, but ANY knife can be thrown with moderately accurate results.
THE POINT-FIRST METHOD
Unlike the theatrical knife thrower, the early frontiersmen and gamblers’of the gold rush era threw their knives POINT-FIRST. This method is very effective at close range and the EXACT RANGE is unimportant because the knife does not TURN after it leaves the hand.
The Grip Raise your right forearm until it is parallel with the ground. The fingers are extended and joined, THE PALM UP, the wrist STRAIGHT. Now place the handle of the blade in the palm of the hand, the point of the blade ON A LINE with the elbow. The handle rests in the palm, forming an extension to the forearm. Without disturbing this line-up, secure the knife in this position with the THUMB. Merely move your thumb over to the handle and press. You are now ready for the throw.
The point first technique. The knife lies in the palm of your hand, the thumb hooked on the handle, keeping knife in place
The Throw From a LEFT FOOT FORWARD position, draw the knife WELL BACK. Be very careful that you do not upset the ALIGNMENT or the STRAIGHT WRIST. You are now ready to RIFLE the blade to the target with a forward whip of the forearm. SNAP the forearm forward in a direct line to the target, channeling the blade to the target without WHIPPING the FINGERS or the WRIST.
Keep your wrist straight as you draw your knife well back. Elbow and the point of your knife should form a straight line
ALLOW THE BLADE TO LEAVE THE HAND BY ITSELF. Eventually, after a little practice, you will be able automatically to release the thumb pressure at exactly the right moment. Don’t try to SHOVEL the forearm straight out from TOO HIGH A LEVEL. This will cut down your velocity. The proper level to obtain maximum results will be approximately eight inches below the belt line.
Your blade is rifled forward in a straight line to the target by the knife hand. Your wrist and fingers should remain firm
DON’T try to draw the forearm straight back horizontal to the ground, and PUSH forward. When drawing the blade well back for the throw, it should be poised about 12 inches behind you, or your right side, your forearm and blade, point down, almost vertical to the ground. From this position you RIFLE the blade straight to the target WITH NO FINGER OR WRIST ACTION. When completing the throw, follow through with your arm. In whipping the blade forward your forearm will not be horizontal until the last moment. This fellow-through is very helpful in controlling the course of your blade.
Practice Start your practice throws VERY CLOSE to the target. If your point shoots UPWARDS, striking with the handle DOWN, you have either WHIPPED with your FINGERS OR WRIST, or you have released the blade TOO LATE. If your blade strikes with the handle UP, you have released the blade TOO SOON. If your blade strikes with the handle RIGHT OR LEFT, it is possible that your blade was NOT in a STRAIGHT LINE with your forearm in the beginning. A HEAVY blade is preferable for this technique; light blades respond too easily to any error you might make. The blade for POINT FIRST throwing should have a smooth handle. Knobs or other irregularities will hinder uniform throwing. There are no minimum or maximum ranges for this technique. Your primary object is to make the blade fly through the air STRAIGHT – and with VELOCITY. When you have mastered “sticking” the blade at a given range, you will be able to detect and correct your errors by MOVING BACK BEYOND your effective range. At greater range, slight errors become more obvious.
The knife leaves the hand horizontally. Any attempt to guide your knife with a wrist action is likely to foul your accuracy
THE OVERHAND METHOD
THE GREATEST VELOCITY will be obtained from this technique. The knife shown in the illustrations has completely pierced a truck body and penetrated a one-inch oak panel when thrown at its natural, range, approximately 12 feet.
The Grip Grasp your knife with the right hand as you would for a knife fight, and throw it from this grip – the fingers wrapped around the handle, the thumb on top, THE SABRE HOLD.
The overhand method. The knife is held by its handle with the fingers wrapped tightly; thumb is placed on top of the handle
The Throw With your LEFT foot forward, merely throw the knife as you would a baseball, following through with a right step forward and a full natural swing. Unlike the baseball throw, you will add no intentional WHIP. In this technique you will adjust the knife and your DISTANCE to conform with your own NATURAL throw. If you fail to achieve consistency at your natural range, it is likely that you are adding an unnecessary wrist snap. If you have a NATURAL WRIST SNAP it will be included in your natural throw and will give you no trouble.
The wind-up and position are identical to the baseball throw. Full power and velocity are obtained in this throwing method
The handle should slip out of your hand smoothly, the blade making ONE FULL TURN in the air. The 12-inch knife shown in the illustrations will make one turn to strike point first at a 12-foot range when thrown by the author. This same blade, when thrown naturally, in the same manner by someone else will make that same turn from anywhere between 11 and 13 feet. YOU WILL HAVE TO FIND YOUR OWN RANGE FOR THE KNIFE YOU ARE USING. In knife throwing, there is little possibility that you will cut yourself if you are using the proper grip. It is advisable in this technique to have a knife with a smooth handle. If a bayonet is thrown in this manner, many complications can be avoided by holding the handle FLAT in the hand, with the small knob to the LEFT, the edge to the LEFT. The grip is the same, thumb on top. When thrown, the flat sides of the handle will slip along the fingers.
Your natural overhand throw propels the blade to the target. Release the knife without a wrist snap for accurate results
If you are unable to achieve consistent results, look to your basic swing as well as to the wrist. The swing should be a full overhand throw with fellow-through. IN THE PRACTICE OF ANY OF THESE TECHNIQUES, safety precautions must be taken. A bad throw means a ricocheting blade – and ricocheting blades are treacherous. Knife throwing can be a lot of fun, but it can be a very dangerous pastime. The “point first” knife throwing frontiersmen and gold rush gamblers are gone these many years, but the old Palace Theater has opened its doors again to big time vaudeville; maybe the forgotten art of “end-over-end” knife throwing behind the footlights will have a rebirth. Then, too, there’s always television…
Complete your throw with a full and natural fellow-through. When you have found correct range, concentrate on accuracy
Protective Arts 