The Other Reality of Knifefighting

This was originally written for the Rapid Journal, the only Journal/magazine on martial arts available in the Philippines today. (see www.rapidjournal.com)

Again, let us talk about knifefighting, considered to be the "backbone of Filipino Martial Arts"

In knifefighting, some emphasize the science of handling and they tell us what works in the streets, in the dark blind alleys and even in the modern battle fields. So there are knife drills, techniques, here and there.


Others would show the art of handling the same blade, mesmerizing us the way they handle the balisong or the artistic way of diverting the supposed opponent’s blade from side to side.


Likely, all these scientists and artists of the knives, impress us almost all the time.


Lately, I met this veteran knifer. He is neither the familiar scientist nor artist we often see in the gym. He is no black belter, not a sifu, and not a guro. He is not from Shaolin but from the Maximum Compound of the New Bilibid Prison. This former bosyo of the Batang Cebu (BC .45) gang is a cold killer since age twelve and already had facilitated seventy-seven souls out from this physical realm of existence, most of them by knifing, while he was behind bars.


Shem Jakosalem is his name and both of us are currently working on “Shem’s Paradigm” a book about his past experience. This book is written not to glorify all these “blade-happy” killers but to learn things from them. There is no substitute for experience. Hopefully this will be available either late this year or early next year.


After my initial chat with him, I realized that there are things that many of us in the martial arts missed. No wonder many high-ranked martial arts enthusiasts were/are killed in the street by people who never set foot in any of these so-called dojos.


“So Shem what’s your favorite way of stabbing?”


“Well, I stab them while grabbing their arms or sleeves.”


So where’s the impressive technique there, I asked myself. It took me few minutes to realize how profound his words were.


Grabbing while stabbing, huh? I never thought of that. Why? Perhaps, because most of the techniques I saw usually happen between two people squarely facing each other where the person with a knife “innocently” just thrust the knife forward’


Yes, what if somebody with a knife grabs your sleeve and simultaneously inserts the knife to your side, not just once or twice but more, before you can say abracadabra? Shem said, “Knife attack is so sudden. Once you noticed you’re punctured, it is already late.” This proves that the hands are faster than the eyes.


Martial artists would likely talk among themselves, their awesome techniques of knife handling and defense. The discussion may include, among other things, the flow, speed, counter-to-counter, the live/checking hand, de-fanging the snake, disarms, knife interactive drills, etc.


The knifers like Shem, on the other hand, seldom talk about the procedures . . . since they are more concern instead, on killing with a knife. In the prison they don’t talk about theories of knife fighting; they simply don’t even have the luxury to rehearse. The moment one stepped in, “it’s show time!”


Both the martial artists and the knifers like Shem consider realism, of course, but the emphasis differs.


Many of the contemporary martial arts are “sanitized” so much so that the “original” concept/intent of hurting, maiming or even killing, and the defense against these are no longer there. Since the emphasis nowadays is defense, the knowledge of correct and precise hitting are almost forgotten. Training partners thrust their knives forward as if giving alms to a pauper. Now, how can one expect to execute a realistic knife defense with that? A lousy delivery or uncontrolled way of the knife attack during practice session can be deleterious.


Another real fact I extracted from Shem, “Many times I got cut in my palms or fingers when I stabbed, especially when I hit a hard par. That’s why we wrapped cloths around the hand.”


The chest cavity is partly protected by the ribs and when one hits this bony part, the hand may slide forward and get wounded, so the experienced knifers’ advice is to position the blade horizontally relative to these bones for easy penetration. Part of the palm is also used by some knifers to push the knife forward.


This article is sort of a reminder that the real truth about knifefighting is not about learning the beauty of techniques but about survival.

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