Reach Out and Touch Someone Enter Teuk Gong Moo Sool (Part 7) by Master Guy Edward Larke Sometimes It’s Better to “Not” Get the Point… Out of all the threats man has faced from one time or another, one of the worst has to be the knife fighter. Even the mighty Samurai many times fell prey to their Shinobi counterparts who employed far shorter blades. Now with the martial arts revolution well established in the world, the average knife fighter is even better prepared than a few decades ago. The idea of doing jump spinning hook kicks to disable a knife fighter is a sure way to see an early grave. It should be no surprise that GM Park’s discipline has a strong knife defense component. The techniques for this method of defense are taught at the upper colour belt level. By the black belt level the focus is much more concept based as he firmly believes that when the time comes there is no time to consider exact combinations. The following concepts are in addition to all the other lessons discussed in previous articles from stances to breathing to body positioning. According to GM Park your senses are important. You cannot hear the fighter so you need to focus on your sight. You first have to consider which hand the blade is in. Secondly, what kind of grip is being employed. A third consideration is type of attack. In TGMS they are divided into 5 basic types: • Stab • Cut • Slash • Jab • Backslash A fourth consideration is the distance between you and the assailant. Number five would be if the intended target point is high, middle or low. With those considerations taken into account quickly you need to react. In TGMS stepping VS a knife is done forward, sideways or diagonally with blocks being employed downwards, sideways or upwards. The big decision you need to make quickly is whether you should put your bodyweight into the defense or just snap out a block. You get only one chance! If you decide you prefer to keep a distance you should check the technique quickly with a snapping motion and follow up with a few well placed kicks and/ or upper body blows. For this you use just one hand to check or block quickly and counter simultaneously. For those who prefer to keep close and gain control the weapon you obviously close in throwing your body weight in towards your aggressor, then grab, throw or subdue him. For this both hands are required. The 7 examples detailed hereafter are examples of simple defenses against the 5 basic knife strikes (and a few variants) listed previously. As stated these are concept based. More details would be explained in seminars.
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