Let’s talk about knives.
Nothing tactical here; rather nothing but strategics, motivation,
ambush psychodynamics and criminal psychology.
Let us discuss the whys and sometimes the whens
that can make the short blade THE weapon of choice.
ONE: DISTRIBUTION OF VICTIMOLOGY
The weapon is often THE choice of the single silent
killer stalking a lone victim when noise-discipline is utmost in the predator’s
mind.
At the far end of the spectrum…
Let me ask you this: What number of possible victims are
able to fall prey to a blade attack?
Right now, the record stands at 2,977 dead as the
result of a single episode all germinated by substandard blades.
Yes, I am talking about 9/11.
19 evil coprolites armed with box cutters led to a
single day death toll of 2,977 lives.
Yes, the distributed specific causes of death were a
wide spectrum: fire, smoke inhalation, airplane crash impact, et cetera but…
We must not undervalue the fact that the weapons of choice
to instigate all of this notorious hell were bladed tools that all knife
collectors would turn their collective noses up at.
TWO: DISTRIBUTION OF PREDATORS
Who chooses the blade?
As mentioned, terrorists, but we can also add to the
list…
Felonious Predators in general.
Domestic Abusers
The Emotionally Disturbed
·
Side-Note:
I, personally, class the emotionally disturbed with felonious predators. When
you or a loved one is facing a threat, we have no need to understand motive,
nor do we have the time to assess such distinctions.
·
You are facing a threat, we need not know
more than how do we escape, deter, defend, or eliminate the threat.
·
If we are facing an attacking dog we do
not need to pause to consider if the dog is trained to attack, feral and
defending territory, or in the unfortunate throes of rabies.
·
Motivation is meaningless in dire moments,
responses to concrete realities are the linchpin of life.
·
The “What were they thinking?” “How
were they raised?” “Maybe he’s mad about healthcare?” are all for the safe
ones in the aftermath who did not face the threat.
·
You, the one who desires martial and life
truth, choose to live in facts of act not guesses at cranial interiors that do
not aid the moment of dire need.
·
If you find yourself nodding in agreement,
I wager you are a martial scientist.
"Science must begin with myths and with the
criticism of myths."—Karl Popper, Conjectures and Refutations
[1963]
We add to our list of not necessarily evil, but
Predatory users all the same…
Military Special Warfare Silent Assassins
Indigenous Tribe Coup Raiders
The Why’s of Knife Use aka Why & When
Is It THE Weapon of Choice
ONE: Availability
Knives or knife-like objects are in practically every
non-policed environment.
A brief inventory of examples…
·
Your kitchen.
·
Every restaurant in the world.
·
Every toolbox or junk drawer contains a screwdriver,
box-cutter, chisel etc.
·
Every store in the world that stocks
knives, silverware, tools, ink pens…
·
In short, every human environment that
does not actively police for knives or knife-like objects—prisons, jails, hospitals
etc.
TWO: Easily Improvised Nature
Knives need not be knives.
Any object, even vaguely knife-like, can be wielded
with deadly effect.
Ask any prison guard or jail officer and they can
relate the staggering ingenuity to make shivs from most any material ranging
from…
·
Sharpened toothbrushes to heat plying linoleum
into “daggers.”
Human creativity does not begin and end with the arts.
Add an element of necessity and double that with
malice and you will soon realize that there are “knives” everywhere.
THREE: The Visceral Effect
Knives strike fear into the hearts of many, if not
all.
And for good reason.
Those who have seen what sliced and diced truly is in
real-world contexts will never forget it.
Those who have seen stabbed screwdrivers still
protruding from someone’s sinus cavity will possess that image forever.
Even the everyday man or woman who has accidentally endured
a minor cut in the kitchen or suffered a paper cut should marvel at the damage
that even a “paper edge” can do to separate skin.
Recall how a minor splinter in the fingertip can
throb.
Now, imagine a knife in the kidneys.
FOUR: Easily Concealed
An AK-47 is easily spotted.
The Glock G19, the standard conceal carry of many is
still an easy spot for those paying attention.
Good luck on “reading” a pocketknife, or a short fixed-blade.
Where I live [the state of Tennessee] there are no
longer exceptions for the legal carry of blades beyond 6”. One can also legally
carry switchblades, automatic blades, and more.
If it is legal to carry, those not necessarily “into
law and order” damn sure will carry something that is hard for law and order to
spot.
FIVE: Silent Kill
It is THE choice of night-predators for the reason
that it draws no attention.
There is no “inconvenient” gunshot to draw attention.
It is this silent killing aspect that makes knife mass
attacks in crowded areas so insidious.
A mass shooter alerts relative direction from the
first gunshot, the first spotting of muzzle-flash.
Whereas the knife-wielder, even in crowded quarters is
tough, one may hear screams, one may know something bad is going down, but unless
one is in close proximity or has direct eyeline, it is often hard to tell who
is doing what where.
SIX: The Infinite Reload
Knives never run out of ammunition.
“Reloading” is commensurate with the wielder’s stamina
for action.
SEVEN: Weapon of Choice for The Court
Concerned
The law often sentences knife-wielders less harshly than
predators wielding firearms.
The “It was only a knife” mentality and more
lenient sentencing leads to making the knife a higher choice for a certain
class of predators “thinking ahead” in their felonious careers.
SEVEN: No Learning Curve
Combat Knife Instruction
·
Pick it up
·
Swing it
·
Poke with it
·
Done
The cognitively impaired, the clumsy, even a child can
do it—all of them have.
No need for “Where’s the safety on this thing?”
no need to hit a Weaver stance, no need to aim straight.
If it’s sharp enough and one is willing to swing the technology
works.
EIGHT: The Allure
Yes, I made the blade sound simplistic in the prior observation,
that’s because it is.
That is not to say that there is no difference between
a skilled user and a zero-skilled user.
Observation Seven simply states that being skilled is
not necessary.
But…being skilled does have its perks.
In gang sub-culture from time immemorial, be that “gang”
renaissance Italy’s condottiere, Spanish Gitano “slip knives,” Comanche raiding
party bone-knives, to a show-off MS-13 enforcer impressing with a butterfly knife
skilled show-off knife displays impress comrades, raise the wielder in the hierarchy
and…leads to increased use of the knife by those impressed by such things.
NINE: Optionality
The blade can be used to intimidate, punish, or to
kill.
“Sure, Mark, but that’s the same for all weapons.”
Yes, in the first and last regard but…
Sometimes the mere flash of the blade and “Do what
I say, and you’ll be OK” is all that’s needed.
The blade can be flashed in a crowded area when noise-discipline is key where a gun threat bluff cannot.
The blade can punish as in the Roman buttocks stab,
the Liverpool up-slash, the Plains Indian nose removal etc.
These are incidences where the intent is not to kill,
but to humiliate and/or mark for life.
A firearm does not allow for such finessed leeway.
Kill. Sure…all weapons can do that.
Number Nine simply reminds us of the knife’s
versatility of options.
TEN: The Overkill Effect
A hallmark of serial killer cinema and, unfortunately real
life, is the overkill effect.
Often blade wielders due to a personalized hatred for
the victim or those in the throes of manic activity inflict far more damage
than is necessary.
Infinite Reload allows this sating and ultimate expression
of rage.
It is not uncommon to see hundreds of stab and slash wounds
on a single victim, the vast majority postmortem.
Far less common with a firearm.
[This is Part 1 of a several part series on Knives &
Knife-Fighting. The series will culminate in the release of our coordinated
Plains Knife Course. Subscribe to our newsletter, or blog to not miss an
article—both free. Subscribers to The Black Box Subscription Service will
have access to The Training Program.]
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