Dixie Rough n Tumble Knife “Games” by Mark Hatmaker

 “You can tell a Southerner by the knife-fight scars.”—Roy Blount, Jr.

Pre-Civil War, the southern Border States from Virginia through Tennessee southward to the Gulf and westward to the Mississippi was considered the original Wild West.

A rough unruly legion noted for dense trackless forest, seemingly endless mountains that would break into numerous rivers, gorges, vast canebrakes and, at last, endless miles of cypress forests, swamp regions and all the hazards that entails.

The land was settled by rough and rugged people who would rather hack out a harsh existence in unforgiving territory than co-exist in the relatively peaceable environs of New England and the Atlantic Border States.

[For a deeper dive on this see our article The Real Josey Wales.]

These rugged people were a rough n tumble culture.

Rough n tumble in living.

Rough n tumble in surviving.

Rough n tumble in fighting.

Rough n tumble even in the sportive ways.

Let’s allow this iteration of The Mountain Code to get us into the headspace.

THE MOUNTAIN CODE

“The Code was as necessary to survival on the lean soil of mountains, as it had been on the rock ground of Scotland and Wales. Clannish people. Outside governments erected by people of kindlier land, of wealth, of power, made no allowance for the scrabbler.

“As a man had no coin, his coin was his word. His loyalty, his bond. He was the rebel of establishment, born in this environment. To injure one to whom he was obliged was personal; more, it was blasphemy. The Code, a religion without catechism, having no chronicler of words to explain or to offer apologia.

“Bone-deep feuds were the result. War to the knife. Seldom if ever over land, or money, or possessions. But injury to the Code meant---WAR!

“Marrowed in the bone, singing in the blood, the Code was brought to the mountains of Virginia and Tennessee and the Ozarks of Missouri. Instantaneously it could change a shy farm boy into a vicious killer, like a sailing hawk, quartering its wings in the death dive.

“It all was puzzling to those who lived within government cut from cloth to fit their comfort. Only those forced outside the pale could understand. The Indian—Cherokee, Comanche, Apache. The Jew.

“The unspoken nature of Josey Wales was the clannish code. No common interest of business, politics, land or profit bound his people to him. It was unseen and therefore stronger than any of these. Rooted in human beings’ most powerful urge—preservation. The unyielding, binding thong was loyalty. The trigger was obligation.”—Forest Carter, The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales

This version of the Mountain Code may come from fiction, but Carter based his work on real sources. It is backed up by the record again and again—the hardscrabble Border Reivers of Scotland emigrate to the Southern Regions. They commingle with the “unwashed” and “unwanted” “Undesirables” of other lands, and they co-exist with, fight with, and intermarry with the indigenous peoples [unwanted “savages”] and an entirely new animal is born.

An animal even scrappier and harder-edged than the stock from which it was bred.

The South revered and maintained a Code of Honor reflective of the Mountain Code.

It was a curious mixture of clannish/family/tribal fealty, the chivalry of Walter Scott’s novels [popular at that time and present in many a log cabin], and various mores of the indigenous tribes.

Honor, “manliness,” chivalry, dueling were taken mighty seriously in this region.

One must not forget it is the peoples from this region that made the primary push further Westward and carried that Code with them and made much of what was the Wild West and Code of the West what it was.

Much can be understood about the “Wild West” is if we see it as a migration of the rough n tumble Southerner to Westward regions.

One must not forget the man y mano was so instilled into this Southern region that there was even a revival of jousting as found in the knightly tournaments of yore.

Good ol’ boys atop good horseflesh tilting for entertainment at vast barbecues. This was a thing. This happened.

This culture sought many ways to express honor, courage, “manliness” prowess.

This is reflected in their games—which were often violent. Brutal. Cruel.

Be these games “played” with animals, or amongst themselves.

Let’s repeat our opening quote.

“You can tell a Southerner by the knife-fight scars.”—Roy Blount, Jr.

Let us now focus on one area of these honor competitions, these courage “games.”

The games that emphasized the knife.

There were many “games” featuring the blade where the goal was first blood, and then an admittance of defeat and then the next player was in.

One can imagine bladed blood-games often turned into something far more deadly but, nevertheless this was the way.

These games wound up building a fearsome aggressiveness.

They spawned unique ways to enter, move, shift.

They educated footwork that was dictated by handicapping rules.

These games gave these good ol’ Southern boys an edge over other bladesmen as these Southerners “played games” that were wilder than many a European duel.

Let us turn our attention to just one of these games to put this into focus.

Tennessee Snick-Snack

The Rules.

·        Two “Players” sit across a table from one another.

·        Both with knives.

·        They must remain seated.

·        They begin to slice, poke, stab and whip the blade.

·        Acceptable Targets: Head, face, and knuckles of the opposing player.

·        First Blood was not the winner here, rather first to back their chair away was the loser.

This was a game of speed, evasion while seated, and quite frankly, how much minor slicing one could endure.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that was considered a game. Fine sport for whilin’ an afternoon.

It was one of but many bladed entertainments. Others include Strap Fighting, Clasp-Fighting, Snuff the Candle, Hardin’s Corner, Give Way, Pugglin’ and King of the Ford.

To our modern eye these games seem devised for fools, but there can be no doubt that those who played well and lived to play another day likely knew their intestinal fortitude better than many another man, and likely possessed tricks and tactics of balance, footwork, subtle shifts of position and the like not privy to blade cultures that proceed in an orderly upright un-constricted manner.

Our instructional video Dixie Rough n Tumble Knife Games will…

·        Cover the rules of all the games mentioned: Strap Fighting, Clasp-Fighting, Snuff the Candle, Hardin’s Corner, Give Way, Pugglin’ and King of the Ford.

·        Supply safe drilling forms for we modern soft ones.

·        Offer solo drills for those lockdown times.

Spend a good deal of time on the game of Pugglin’ as it…

·        Educates footwork, good defensive tactics, and canny re-counters that can be used by all bladesmen no matter the current discipline.

No ifs, ands, or buts about it, these “Games” Drills, tactics and tips made fearsome bladesmen and it can do the same for you. To purchase see here.

To Purchase at a discount consider the below. [I'm talking as much as a savings of $48.50.]

[For more Rough& Tumble history, Indigenous Ability hacks, and for pragmatic applications of old school tactics historically accurate and viciously verified see our RAW/Black Box Subscription Service.]

Or our brand-spankin’ new podcast The Rough and Tumble Raconteur available on all platforms.