Knife Defense Tip from Michael Janich’s Counter Blade Concepts

One of the key things Michael Janich teaches in this Counter-Blade Concepts program is what he calls the “anatomy of a knife attack.” These are the most common assaults based on Janich’s research. Here are the ways assaults usually unfold:

Anatomy of a Knife Attack

1. They start close range.

2. Typically, the weapon isn’t brandished beforehand.

3. Most people are right-handed, so most attacks are right-handed.

4. Attackers typically use gross-motor skills with forehand motions.

5. the non-weapon hand is used to grab and gauge distance.

6. Attacks involve repetitive motions; they’re seldom a single cut or thrust.

Janich then based his Counter-Blade Concepts (CBC) on a sequence of actions that form the foundation of its self-defense tactics with the anatomy of knife attacks points in mind. He came up with a sequence of six actions that he teaches in his program. I believe anyone teaching self-defense, especially defense against a blade, would be wise to keep this sequence in mind when practicing or teaching self-defense tactics.

Knife Self-defense Sequence of Actions

1. Minimize injury to yourself.

2. Counter and disable immediately, or draw your own weapon, if possible.

3. If you cannot disable immediately, maintain contact and control the attacking limb.

4. Attack and disable.

5. If you’re duty bound (a police officer, security guard, etc.) restrain, control and disarm.

6. If you’re not duty bound, break contact, evaluate, scan and escape.

One of the keys to Janich’s CBC system is understanding that the principles are more important than techniques. (This is true of most, if not all, martial arts and self-defense systems.) So after you understand the sequence above, you must grasp the significance of the term “concepts” in the name and embrace the importance of the principles.

Janich expresses the principles of his system in the four phases of training he teaches. These are: Deflect and Counter, Control and Counter, Returning Blade, and Combined Skills. I’ve practices these phases and found them to be a good solid foundation for knife defense. And while there isn’t room in this sort blog to expand on them, they can be found in his Counter-Blade Concepts DVD as well as attending his live classes and seminars.

The importance for this blog is to recognize the above six sequences of action in a knife fight and analyze if they are being addressed in the system or style you are practicing. If they are, great!  If not, you might want to look and see where you can incorporate these ideas into your style to become even more prepared if you ever have to face a live blade.

Remember to train hard, train safe, and always look to improve on what you are doing. That’s the warrior’s edge way to training.

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I used Michael Janich’s article from The Ultimate Guide to Reality-Based Self-Defense for this article.  Check out the book at amazon: