How to defend against a knife?

S

sandeejs

New member
So, I got my CCW a while ago, basically to learn how to shoot. Just started carrying on a regular basis, because when I work I get home well after midnight.

An incident from over 30 years ago got me to thinking, though. I was taking pictures, maybe in Boston(?), and a guy pulled a knife on me - he thought I took his picture. At the time I did two things. #1: I kept my hands in front of me, so if he did lunge at me I'd be able to limit damage to arms or hands. #2: Using "non-existent" E.S.P. I willed a friend of the male persuasion to come across the street and talk to the nut.

So, how could I best defend myself if the situation happened again? Off hand, I'm thinking backing away, putting my hand on the gun as soon as possible, then leave the area.

Thanks for any thoughts on this.

~SJS~
 
Any time you're faced with a knife you had better be prepared to be cut. Something's can minimize this but to be very proficient at it I suggest taking a martial arts class or 2 on the subject. Knives can be more dangerous than guns in the hands of a properly trained person. If you have a gun keep a distance greater than 7 feet and be prepared to backpedal quick.
 
Give your self a little more distance, step back at an angle. This gives you time and the guy with the knife will have to change directions because you moved away at and angle.
 
two thugs in georgia pulled a knife on me wanting my money i took the guys knife and kept my money almost kept his knife too but i gave it back before reboarding the greyhound bus i was on enroute to florida
best wishes
 
The Police will not wait for the knife guy to charge them before drawing, as he can cover the distance and have the knife in you before you can draw your weapon.
In my opinion... If confronted with a knife as you said, I would most definitely draw on him and start backing away. A verbal threat to him to stay away, while putting distance between you and him is more than benevolent.
If he comes after you then he is attempting to take your life and you should deal with it as you see fit.
 
Legally, a knife is deadly force, every bit as much as a firearm or an RPG7.

In Ohio, if not in home or vehicle, I'm required to ATTEMPT to retreat. That does NOT mean run away, only ATTEMPT to retreat.

If the guy with the knife thwarts that attempt, the odds are he's getting shot.
 
I think distance from the knife is going to make the biggest difference. If the bad guy used his element of surprise, he will most likely be well within the 21 ft, more like within 3 ft, and which point back pedaling is futile. I would at that point be focusing on the knife and controlling the hand that is holding it while guarding my head.
 
i'm with DCkilla, instantly turn and bolt. Run like hell, while drawing your gun. Maybe run around a corner, or around a car and check the knife wielding jackass to see how close he is, providing you don't hear his footsteps. I am no hero, martial artist, nor a billy bad a$$. Why take the chance unless you have to. This turn and run theory would only apply if I was not with my family of course, or if I was alone.
 
I must be the sillyass one here, but if someone pulls knife on me, dependant on the background behind the BG, I'd take one step back with my strong side foot, draw and stop the threat. If you can while stepping back, throw your opposite hand out to draw attention while you draw. This will only give you about a second and a half BUT by the time the BG figures out what just happened your weapon will be out. YOUR choice to shoot to stop the threat or by your engagement to elevate this encounter is again up to you and your States applicable Laws.
You pull a knife on me, there will be powder burns!
 
I am no hero and older but not to much slower on the draw, in Texas when he pulled the knife he stepped over the line of deadly force, again distance is important, he would be lucky he was not dead.
 
At a minimum, don't ever depend on ESP like in your first encounter. A knife attacker within 7 yards is at best a bad cut! Draw and shoot the attacker.
 
Get proper distance to draw and shoot. Plus it'll be a great defense if you go to court that you had attempted to back away and the guy with the knife kept closing the gap on you. Great justification to let lead fly.
 
If he is going to threaten deadly force against you, draw and use deadly force against him. Be prepared to get cut though.
 
Why do you have a CCW and a gun if you have to ask this question?If someone comes at you with a knife SHOOT THEM!
 
sandeejs said:
So, I got my CCW a while ago, basically to learn how to shoot. Just started carrying on a regular basis, because when I work I get home well after midnight.

An incident from over 30 years ago got me to thinking, though. I was taking pictures, maybe in Boston(?), and a guy pulled a knife on me - he thought I took his picture. At the time I did two things. #1: I kept my hands in front of me, so if he did lunge at me I'd be able to limit damage to arms or hands. #2: Using "non-existent" E.S.P. I willed a friend of the male persuasion to come across the street and talk to the nut.

So, how could I best defend myself if the situation happened again? Off hand, I'm thinking backing away, putting my hand on the gun as soon as possible, then leave the area.

Thanks for any thoughts on this.

~SJS~
Click to expand...

Where you licensed to carry at the time of the incident?

Presuming that you were,
If the assailant with the knife was less than 21 feet away from you, you could have allready been stabbed (killed) way before you even had time to draw out your sidearm.
(See the '21 foot rule')
If you would have had time to draw your sidearm and aim it at the assailant, you probably would have been justified in using deadly force if the person with the knife was indeed threatening you with it. (Depending on what City & State you were in of course).

If anyone ever pulled a knife on me in a threatening manner, I would immediatly try to increase my distance from the assailant while simultaneously drawing out my sidearm and shouting at him/her to 'STOP'.
a) If the assailant then backs off or flees the scene, no harm, no foul...I would then immediatly call 911 & then notify law enforcement of the situation.
b) If the assailant continued towards me with the knife in a threatening manner, I would then aim & shoot at center mass of the assailant to stop the threat. Once the threat is stopped, call 911 and inform them of your location and situation. Then I would call my lawyer a.s.a.p.

 
Knives are more dangerous than firearms imo. There is alot to say about this sort of situation. Of course avoiding the situation is the best defense but this could happen to anyone if your awareness fails you. So, what do you do when confronted with someone with a knife? Are you alone? Children? What is the intent of the person with the knife? Distance? What is the condition of the person with the knife? drunk? Cognizant? You need to consider many things in order to make a decision and determine the intent. In this situation the guy was clearly a psycho and didn't realize that in public there is no preception of privacy so you can take pictures of what ever or whomever you want, I mean this is america. Anyways, the intent here was to threaten/intimidate/God knows what else. In addition to running away I would recomend drawing attention by yelling "knife! he's got a knife!" all the while drawing your firearm. I would also recommend that anyone, weather or not you carry to take a self defense class of some sort. Krav Maga is an excellent defense system which is easy to learn and very practical. Especially when it comes to empty hand defense. You did do the right thing seeing that you are here today telling us about it. And keeping your arms in front of you is a good defense. Be careful though, getting cut on the inside of the arm could be fatal. If youre going to get cut its best to present the top of your forearms as if youre looking at the palms of your hands.
 
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