what are trainer folding knives for?

I look a karate like a sport, a way to pass time and stay fit. but regularly training for a knife fight just seems a bit paranoid.
 
I figured if we already pushed into the realm of talking about being hit by baseball bats and shot by 12 guages, it wasn't that much of a stretch for me to talk of a common sense approach to self defense. reality is that there are not just "bad neighbourhoods" but bad people who venture into "good neighbourhoods" and sometimes people run into those situations where a stroke of bad luck puts them into a situation where they are going to have to defend themselves. you may be practicing karate to keep fit, but karate was designed to pick your opponent apart with precesion strikes and if you were forced into a bad situation I guarantee that "sport" of yours will have instilled the muscle memory that was referred to earlier on in this post and perhaps that sport may be the advantage you need to save your life.... just as the ability provided to do as realistic training as possible with these training blades may be the advantage someone deciding to carry a knife may need.
 
rustyrazor said:
I figured if we already pushed into the realm of talking about being hit by baseball bats and shot by 12 guages, it wasn't that much of a stretch for me to talk of a common sense approach to self defense. reality is that there are not just "bad neighbourhoods" but bad people who venture into "good neighbourhoods" and sometimes people run into those situations where a stroke of bad luck puts them into a situation where they are going to have to defend themselves. you may be practicing karate to keep fit, but karate was designed to pick your opponent apart with precesion strikes and if you were forced into a bad situation I guarantee that "sport" of yours will have instilled the muscle memory that was referred to earlier on in this post and perhaps that sport may be the advantage you need to save your life.... just as the ability provided to do as realistic training as possible with these training blades may be the advantage someone deciding to carry a knife may need.
Click to expand...

there's a severe distinction between sport karate and SD karate, just like there is a difference between contemporary capoeira and traditional capo, but any training helps
 
What I meant was that people take self-defense classes, MMA, Krav Maga and whatever because they are drawn to it for different reasons. Saying that someone who trains in knife-fighting is paranoid is just plain stupid; because it would be the same thing as calling anyone who trains Kendo, fencing, Escrima, Aikido, Boxing or whatever just as paranoid. The emphasis on weapons doesn't make it less of a past-time than let's say Karate, which the OP feels is a sport. Knife-fighting is a sport as well, but it's purpose derives from combat - just like Karate or whatever combat sport you'll throw into the mix. A regular wrestler can pose a real threat in a self-defense situation, even though his sport is confined by rules and regulations. Mind you, wrestling comes from the battleground as well.
 
One thing I remember is that the Ghurkas never had any sort of "martial art" or weapons training until very recently but they are, and have always been, legendary fighters with those kukris.

Anyways I think it's a bad idea to carry a small folder for self-defense. The best weapons are your feet - to run away. Or a handgun.

I wouldn't try to fend off some guys with baseball bats and kitchen knives with a Delica.
 
While I agree that fleeing is a great policy, some people have families that they feel compelled to protect. Sure a gun would be nice...preferably one with greater fire power than whomever is attacking you and yours. However, the reality is that there is always a chance that you will be caught with less than the other guy...that is when you hope to rely on superior tactics that perhaps could come with good training.

So you see, in the end you can choose to do nothing and hope for the best, or train to use whatever you are able to carry (knife, stick, gun, defense spray, whatever). It is a personal choice and there is no wrong answer. Judging others and their choice to train in the best way they see fit is presuming that you know more than they do. Assuming that you know more than the other guy is pretty arrogant and dangerous.

So back to the original topic. Trainers are for training. Lots of people feel that they are worthwhile. If you do not, that is your choice.
 
sogflash said:
I look a karate like a sport, a way to pass time and stay fit. but regularly training for a knife fight just seems a bit paranoid.
Click to expand...

Knife sparring is also done as a sport...and is just as unrealistic as sport Karate.:D
If you think it doesn't keep one fit, you haven't tried it either.;)
 
Just a note - trainers can inflict very serious injuries. They're not for "sparring."
 
Especially if you dremel off the edge and tip of a normal production folder. Most people should spar with a rubber knife and eye protection.
 
JNewell said:
Just a note - trainers can inflict very serious injuries. They're not for "sparring."
Click to expand...

Just put the gear on and you can.:)
Then you can also punch and kick and grapple too.
I just got back from doing that, and strangely, I'm still alive.
It was great fun as well, and reminded me (as if I needed reminding) of just how easy it is to get cut. Nothing cures you of Superman fantasies like realizing your throat would have just been slit.:eek:

I'm probably going to get some NOK trainers too, so there's less chance of injury...but no chance of injury makes life very boring.;)
 
sogflash said:
I look a karate like a sport, a way to pass time and stay fit. but regularly training for a knife fight just seems a bit paranoid.
Click to expand...

I have done some Martial arts training and knife fighting practice and although it is a good skill to have I take it mostly as a sport. but why not be prepared for the worst?

I guess some people will call me paranoid for carrying a gun and regularly practicing with it although I also enjoy it as a sport.
 
paranoid is a funny thing. If you train in whatever form of self defense you figure that will give you at least a fighting chance or carry a folding knife because you are prepared to use it and its all you've got then you're just being as prepared as possible. some would say "better safe than sorry" ...paranoid is sleeping in your tub wearing a tinfoil hat.
 
Boberama, I had the honour of getting to know an old ghurka officer in a retirement home and talked to him for an hour a week for a couple years.
A truly amazing man with a whack of medals.

He told me nepalese boys get their first kukri at 6 to 8 yrs old and their biggest dream is to be a ghurka warrior. They carry and use them on a daily basis for years before the army. Fathers pass techniques to sons. Nobody just magically becomes a "legendary fighter" by owning a blade. That is like becoming a sniper without any practice on the range.

Don't think for a moment they don't practice, they are muslims......knife use is their culture. Plus with their proximity to china, india etc do you really think a 2000 year old warrior culture does not have martial arts. They fought the British so ferociously with kurkri charges against rifle and bayonet that the Brits gave them a levy, armed them and has been using them as shock troops for 150 yrs or so.

I also have chai once a month at one of my accounts with a cook from nepal who has had ghurka's in his family

The run away option is great until it is taken from you and handguns are not an option in many countries. If the bat and kitchen wielders corner you that delica might have saved your life.

I know someone who after being knocked down and repeatedly kicked almost out by 2 guys. Pulled his folder discretely underneath him and hamstrung one and cut forearm of the other guy deeply. He truly feels they could have killed him or given him even more brain damage.

He needed 27 stitches, a broken orbital bone and three teeth, I visited him for a week with a drainage tube in his head. Also had post concussion syndrome for like 6 months, just getting up fast would turn him white and woozie. His doctors have forbid him from contact sports forever.

I am not trolling but have some of these posters ever seen some hard times or rough stuff? Those that have don't post naivety or easy cookie cutter gun or run diatribe.

2 of the 3 police in my immediate family that are in the field carry folders and one on the door kicking squad also has a fixed blade on the opposite side of his gun.

I feel better now, thanks for listening.....
 
couldn't agree more, you can't always run, and you're more likely to be able to carry a dicreet folder than a pistol.
 
espnazi said:
I guess some people will call me paranoid for carrying a gun and regularly practicing with it although I also enjoy it as a sport.
Click to expand...

Bah, training with a gun! That's for brandy snifter-wielding Ed Hardy wannabes. In the real world, you gotta TYPE IN ALL CAPS and use random slang expressions while taking arbitrary verbal jabs at strangers ON THE INTERNET.

Oh. Wait.

How anyone cannot see the usefulness in training is beyond me. I'm not saying they'll ever need it, but to argue that it doesn't do any good is about as absurd as it gets. You don't become a proficient artist by keeping a pencil in your pocket and never using it. You don't become an accurate marksman by locking your gun away and never practicing.

Two guys are in a fight: one has a knife and has trained in its use as a method of self defense for a couple years. The other guy's got a broken bottle with no formal training, and has just grabbed it at random to assault the other guy. Who are you going to put your money on? If you think it's a wash, there's simply no helping you.
 
I agree. It has to also be enough training to develop muscle memory and whoever has the most awareness, confidence, and aggressiveness is often the last man standing.

I've been training since I was a little kid and was teaching disarms to local Northeast Ohio PD's as a teenager. I still got injured by the guys who had a knife in a couple real life encounters. Without training I could have been very seriously injured or a murder victim instead of just a few ugly scars.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top