If someone with a knife attempted to mug you what would you do?

I don't carry money to give muggers, but I always wear flat shoes (so I can run and/or fight) and 'utilitarian' clothes - nothing like a long skirt or extremely tight pants which would restrict movement.

So no - I don't think you are paranoid.

This is off topic, but the syllable 'oid' in 'paranoid' is a morpheme. Does the 'paran' part mean anything on its own?

 

I am some what amazed over many of the reactions I have had do to my training.
I could only hope that I could remain calm enough to cooperate with my assailant. I dread that a rush of fear, adrenaline, and practice come together at the wrong moment and someone gets seriously injured, either myself or the attacker.
We train for ourselves, out of enjoyment, physical fitness, or to better ourselves both mentally and physically. I feel just as much sorrow for the person who attacks a practitioner as I do for the artest.

 

well first i waould try to give the guy some cash and if the dude whants more. give it its not worth getting stabbed (unless ou have the winning lato ticket) But if the trys to attack you and you manage to get him on the ground STOMP HiM tiLL HE DOSNT MOVE! if he gets back up after you kicked him a few times he will be ****ed off. If you can stomp him to death or KO thats good.....then rob his ass and see how he likes it.

 

If you do decide to fight back then kicking above the level of the knee would be very silly indeed. My advice would be try and talk your out/give money. Once you make the decision to attack then try and cover the major arteries (sp?) by not flailing with your arms and defineately no fancy kicks. Accept you are going to get cut and do your best to drop the opponent as fast and as hard as you can. Limit the damage done by his cuts to the outside of the arms by closing the distance between you and the opponent. Take a serious cut on the leg and you loose the ability walk/run/move efficiently.
Thankfully I have never faced a knife weilding attacker (touch wood) but I am well aware that making the decision to attack (rather than being forced to defend) may be the hardest decision I ever have to make. If the situation arises then do what you can to survive. At the end of the day thats whats its all about. Just hope the attacker isn't trained in using a knife!!

 

Ah, but you need to have made the decision beforehand about what you would do in that situation. If you have to decide when the situation actually arises, then you are unlikely to decide quickly enough to have time to act.

SoKKlab, how did you find the Filipino systems for knife defence? Any luck with STAB? I'd be interested to know where it's taught in the UK.

 

If there is any doubt as to how messy a knife fight is, get some of your friends together, put on white shirts, grab some big red magic markers and have fun, you will all walk away "Dead". I dont care how badass you think your Kicks, disarms etc are, you're gunna get cut. So the anwser is Give him the Money and run. Unless they tell you to get in the car, or the ally or trunk, B/C all those instances cause death for the victim in most cases in the end. For me unless They are threating my Sisters moms or aunt, I'm going to RUN, no need to prove my skill. Boys in Oakland will hold you up with a gun, but guns are are actully easiar to disarm, so I'm good but I heard all them Thugs in the UK carry Shanks. Correct?

 

Not true (IMO). Nobody knows how they will react until they are in that situation. You may fight back; you may curl up into a ball and accept your fate. It doesn't matter whether you would "like" to think you would fight back. Until the situation is presented to you, any decisions you make beforehand are completely meaningless.

 

Shoot him, if he has a knife, I have a gun. If he has a gun, I have a bigger gun

Seriously though, try to run first off, and get any friends or other civilians nearby to run as well. Failing that I would give them what they wanted. If they continued to threaten me I would attempt to disarm them and throw the knife away. If I was then uninjured I would proceed to give him one swift strike (either to the face or the groin, depending on how nice I'm feeling). My first concern is my safe and the safety of my friends, then comes the safety of other people, and finally justice. Nowhere in there would I include attemping to show off by disarming them with some flashy technique.

 

I don't advocate fighting back because it is 'badass', I advocate it because I believe it's better to die severely lacerated knowing you are a fearless warrior than be safe knowing you are someone who runs away.

 

But isn't that your ego / bravado talking. What good is being fearless / a coward / rich / poor / great fighter / poor fighter if you are dead? Knowing when to run is a healthy survival tool.
Analogy time:
1. I think we would all agree that a lion is a fearsome animal. Not to be messed with. Does a lion fight every animal it comes up during it's travels. Off course it doesn't. It picks its fights. If it is out numbered / out muscled it runs. Is this cowardly or sensible. After all, we still consider it the king of the jungle.
2. You are an army general. You have 1000 men with pistols. The enemy have 2000 men with rifles. Do you attack them directly? Probably not, you and your men would be slaughter. What good would that do? Instead you retreat until you are in a position to fight and have a chance of winning.
3. You are on walking down the street and get involved in a conflict. You are on your own; you have fists. The enemy are two in number and have knifes. Do you stand fight or attempt to run?
Fighting (defending yourself) is not about being a hero. It is about survival and strategy. I would much rather look like a "coward" and run (therefore survive) than be dead.

 

Here's what I'd do:
1) wish I was old enough to carry a pistol
2) wish I was in a state that allowed me to carry a pistol.

Course then there's always the idea of looking for a cop while they're mugging you, but then you realize it's only 9:00 AM and they're still on doughnut and coffee break... Oh isn't the law so useful?

 

I'm sure Custer felt the same way.

 

Ahh the assumption that a gun is a panacea. The problem is that gun is holstered, and we'll assume it's some place concealed. And that means that you need to draw it, release the saftey (unless you're craze enough to carry it with the safety disengage), aim and fire (all of the above under duress) while the person has a knife out in front of you. How do you like being a pin cushion?

There are a number of reasons why police can shoot a person weilding a knife at 10 yards. Because it's very easy for that person to close those ten yards and start slashing before the cop can drawn and discharge their weapon.

Guns are a BAD self defense weapon at close ranges. And I've talked with different police officers and trainers who have stated this over and over.

- Matt

 

What i would do, being a dragon


1)If i was cornered, and the attacker was going to attack me, My sixth martial arts sense would come into play and tell me this. I would then pretend to be scared and helpless putting my wallet and phone or w.e. onto the floor infront of me . And saying take it please dont hurt me repeatedly and when they go to pick it up ( this is a good idea and my friend did the same and it worked for him) KICK HIM or KNEE him in the face as hard as you can so they are knocked out you. If you don't knock them out your pretty much screwed.

2) Look for a wall, Point Wrist , Flick middle finders down , WEB ON TO the wall and get out of there.

3) RUN LIKE A MO FO Whos on fire

 

Glad to see everyone in this thread is so experienced in street defence that they won't be shaking with fear. I assume everyone who has said they will win must train in a martial art that teaches unarmed defence against random attacks with live (sharp) steel blades. No? Then don't be so cocky. Put 10 years of live weapons training behind you and then you might get away with being cut rather than killed. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to get familiar with a few stabbing and slashing lessons!

 

Actually no, I should have made my meaning clearer. I don't care what others think of me, it's proving myself to MYSELF that I care about.

 

Shotokanwarrior sorry you feel you need to prove it to yourself but I feel you may be making a mistake.
If you are overmatched and can avoid the fight then avoid the fight.
I've payed with weapons a fair bit. After a while I got to thinking I was pretty good. Then I played a little more realistically and I learned how big a leap it is from cooperative training to real life risk.
I'm not saying this to put you down in any way. I've seen enough of your posts to repect your strenght of character and independence.

You seem to suggest it would damage you mentally to run from a fight.
That's not always a fatal injury.

 

I'd kick his **** :woo: :woo: :woo: :woo: .... he he he, or give him my stuff, then chase him down & stab the F**ker! lol we do alot of these scenarios in my "self-defence" (cough Mauy Thai cough) class. But no amount of training or practice can prepare yo for the moment

 

I like this idea

 

Made it squeaky clean

Those who break before bending are not strong or noble, they're just brittle.

I agree with everything Matt Bernius has said in this thread.

Anyone here ever had to deal with mental patients? People that have become somewhat unhinged? You learn a certain way to deal with them: composed and in control, but visibly taking them seriously. It's one of the most important factors of defusing any potentially dangerous situation.

A human being is not just going to walk around stabbing people for fun. By the time a person is at the point where they're ready to go start attacking people, they're not in their normal state of mind. They're psyched up, and you want them psyched -down-. If you don't give him any reason to attack, the chance that he will begins to decrease pretty drastically. Give him the *darn* money. He wouldn't be rattling bladed weaponry at you if he didn't need money, and you wouldn't feel half as bad if someone politely asked you for it. If he just came up looking pathetic, you might even feel sorry for him. But someone in an equally *rootin'-tootin' unhappy* state evokes a completely different reaction.

It seems like some of the posts in this thread have been concerned about ego more than anything else. Seems like a couple people are more concerned about feeling dominated by another human being than their own health. That's a personal issue. You can remain "on top" while complying.

Good points have been made though: stay with people, be aware, etc. The best way to survive a knife attack is not to be attacked with a knife.

I'd do everything I just said, personally. I'd take out my wallet, ask if he wants my wallet or just the money. If I didn't have any money I'd offer to go the ATM. Ask him how much he needs. Take control, but never make it a challenge for dominance. Keep your crescent kicks in the closet and use your mind. I thought a lot of martial artists were supposed to philosophical, merciful and compassionate types. Or does that go out the window when you feel unsafe?

Edit: Hunter S Thompson made a point of stating that you can turn your back on a person, but never on a drug. If he's REALLY amped up and ready to go, just give him the wallet, say nothing, and move on as quickly as possible. Sometimes it's best just to cut all losses.

Pun intended.