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Read The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler!
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Phillosoph

Cowboy Figure Eight

I have been reading up on knots again the past few days. Knots are a subject we have touched on a couple of times in this blog. I used a Fisherman’s Knot to create an adjustable lanyard for my kukri and a combination of Overhand knot and Fisherman’s Knot to create my tenouchi. I have been debating whether to add a post or two dedicated to the subject of useful knots since it is a subject some people have trouble with.
While researching I became aware that the following application for a Figure Eight knot was rather conspicuous by its absence on the internet. I came across this in the Time-Life Book on Cowboys. I no longer have the book but fortunately I had sketched it and scanned the sketch onto my computer when I cleared out a load of old papers a few years back. Playing with my favourite graphics program produced the image below.
The application is to quickly tie off a lasso to a saddle horn, but the knot itself and how it is tied can be used in other contexts.
The left end of the rope has been thrown around a steer or mustang and is about to come under a considerable load. The cowboy holds part of the lariat in his right hand near the green arrow. The rest of the lariat is on his left.
The cowboy pulls the rope against the left side of the pommel using his right hand and then brings the free end of the rope over the top of the taunt rope, around the right side of the pommel and through the loop held by the right hand.
This is quite a useful technique. I have noticed that with some cordage the knot will tend to slip if the free end is not further secured. The cowboy doubtless made a loop in the free end and slipped it over the horn to create a half hitch. Once the figure eight has taken the initial strain this is easy to do. Alternately a couple of half-hitches can be applied to the standing part.
My original sketch, also showing another method of dally. The advantage of the figure eight is that it can be applied to a mast or tree where you could not throw coils over the top. It is easier to apply under strain than, say, a round turn and two half hitches.
More on Knots
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Turkey Season

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Shark Night

There are things in life that you want to learn, and there are things in life that you need to learn. You may not have a desire to know how to stop arterial bleeding, but it is something you should know.
The other night I was watching a movie called “Shark Night”. Now, I enjoy a good creature feature but cannot say I was impressed by this one.
In the movie there is a scene where the character “Beth” (Katharine McPhee, above) conceals a knife in the back of her panties. She uses the knife to stab the evil redneck. In the movie, the redneck swears and his mate laughs and says “Scars show character”. The shoulder wound doesn’t seem to bother the redneck much and they feed Beth to the sharks. I could not help but think that if Beth had known a bit about combat anatomy, as described in my book she might have known to drive the blade into the spot beneath the redneck’s ear or into his kidney. If she had read the sections on knife use she might have known enough to keep her blade and use it against the other redneck. OK, the other redneck has a pistol, but at that range she might had had a chance rather than no chance at all. If she had read the book she would have known about gaining the outside gate and could have used the first redneck as a shield.
Most people don’t want to know how to use a knife against another human being and that is to their credit. Most will hopefully never need to. But some of them will, and knowing how to defend yourself with likely available weapons or how they may be used against you comes under “should know” rather than “want to know”.
Visit the preview page for my book and invest in a copy. It might save your life, and not just against shark-fixated rednecks.
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Fireworks

Today is Guy Fawkes’ Night, a time for fireworks. Of course, fireworks have actually been going off since before Halloween. There are also likely to be fireworks for the next week or so. The Hindu festival of lights, Diwali is nearly upon us. Its proximity to November 5th means that the modern festival of lights now includes fireworks.

Although there will be firework displays tonight many individuals and local councils chose to schedule theirs over the last weekend. Over the last two days fireworks have been going off sporadically. Some people have even been setting them off during the daylight, which seems pretty daft.
Just once I’d like to see everyone keep their fireworks until a scheduled hour, and then the whole city let off everything they have all at once. Fill the whole sky with light and colour. That would be a sight to see!

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Phillosoph

Phoenix Eye Fist

Further on the topic of Phoenix-eye fist.

On the left is a twisting punch viewed from the front. Note that the hand starts off open and is closed on its way to the target to create greater initial speed. Also note how the non-punching left hand maintains a constant guard. Initially the palm defends the right side but in 5A it becomes mainly a left side defence as the extended punching arm moves into a position where it can cover the right side.
The right side of the scan shows a punch from the side, but in this instance the non-twisting variant. Note that in photo 6A the arm is not fully straightened. In fact it can be seen that forearm, hand and the proximal bone of the finger form a smooth curve to allow an uninterrupted flow of force
Image scanned from “Phoenix Eye Fist” by Cheong Cheng Leong and Don F. Draeger.
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Phillosoph

Folding Principle Counter to the Scissors Block

This is a quick follow-up to my recent Halloween themed posts. In “How to Survive a Slasher Movie –the Sequel” I detailed some of the proposed defences against an overhead attack. In keeping with the theme we were assuming a knife in icepick grip, but these discussions are equally valid against a club, lead pipe or many other weapons.
If you refer back to that post I will draw you attention to the observation that many of these proposed counters seem to assume that once the attack has been blocked the attacker will leave his arm stationary long enough to apply a lock or execute a throw. Assumptions are often dangerous.
For example, let us once again consider the cross-block. I recently read that “the scissors block is good for when there is a flurry of punches” –which I have to disagree with! A flurry of punches is one of the best ways to defeat this move. The scissors block may stop the first blow, but you have effectively occupied both your arms and obscured your own vision while leaving your flanks and lower body exposed.

Let us consider an overhead knife or club attack. Will the attacker leave his arm up after his strike is stopped? Many fighters, including those that have read my book will be familiar with the “folding principle”. In this context it means that once the attack is blocked the arm will relax, fold at the nearest joint and re-attack on another line. In the above examples the attacker would bend his elbow and then make a fast lateral strike under the defenders arms and into his side or belly.
Another thing to consider is that most attackers have two arms. If my overhead strike with my right was blocked as shown above one of my first reactions would be use my left palm to knock his arms off to my right. If you want to think of this in esoteric eastern terminology my blocked arm goes from Yang to Yin, allowing the other side of my body to become Yang and strike/deflect/parry. The Yin-state right arm can of course fold so as I am knocking his guard aside and him off balance my knife/club/fist is coming in the other direction to hit his abdomen.

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A Final Post for Halloween

A few years back I am watching a Friday the 13th movie with my then newish girlfriend.
“We should go camping!” she suddenly announces.
“Are you not paying attention here? The killer always goes after the young couple in the tent!”
“We will take our kukris! When Jason turns up, Ha! No more Jason!”

How can you not love a woman like that?
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Edwardian(?) Self-Defence

I came across this on scribd.
How to deal with a hoodlum using a Flying Mare. You can tell that he is a hoodlum since the bounder isn’t wearing a jacket.
I’m sure some idiot will claim she was just asking for it dressed like that!

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Something for Halloween

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Some Quick Thoughts on Some Body Weapons.


Palm-Heel.
The palm-heel is probably one of the most useful body weapons that you have. It is a technique that nearly anyone can use, can apply great power and it useful for both hard and soft targets. Suppose you encounter an aggressor wearing a motorcycle helmet and an opening occurs for you to hit his head? If you use a punch there is a good chance you will damage your hand. Most people, however would be confident at striking the helmet with a palm heel and can probably hit with enough force to jar his neck or knock the attacker off balance. If you can do that, think how effective a palm-heel strike would be against his unarmoured jaw, kidney or top of the sternum.
Palm-heel is one of your primary weapons and should be used whenever possible and practiced until its use is second nature.

Hammer-fist.
Hammer-fist is a somewhat neglected weapon in many martial arts but is one to master. Hammer-fist can be used in many of the applications usually suggested for a back-fist or knife-hand strike. It is more powerful and more versatile than a back-fist and easier to use effectively than a knife-hand. Its larger impact area means that it is often recommended for applications where permanent injury is undesirable. Many Police officers are taught to use the hammer fist or palm-heel instead of the knife-hand when striking the brachial plexus or vagus nerve, for example.

Knife-Hand
The main applications of the knife-hand are against the limbs, neck, kidneys and between the ribs. In many manuals the knife hand is shown with the fingers apparently straight and the thumb sticking out. I suggest you experiment with the palm slightly cupped and the thumb tip placed just behind the middle joint of the first finger.
Practice knife-hand by striking it against the palm of your other hand. This also conditions that hand for palm-heel striking.

Back-fist.
Back-fist is a staple of many martial arts but is in fact a somewhat limited technique. Hammer-fist is an easier, more versatile and more powerful technique and generally more useful. To use back-fist effectively requires “Loose wrist, Tight fist”. The hand needs to be clenched tightly on impact but the wrist needs to be relaxed to produce and in and out snapping action. Striking area is the first two knuckles and if you are relaxed enough the front rather than the back of the knuckles will hit.

One-Knuckle Fist.
Because it is a relatively low powered technique for most of use it is not good against large volume soft targets like the torso. Main soft targets are the nose and the larynx. Most targets for the back-fist are boney areas such as the mind-point of the jaw, eyebrow temple, sternum, philtrum etc. Since it applies a relatively small bone against larger bones good technique is essential. In most self-defence techniques where you see a back-fist used see if a hammer-fist can be used instead
One-knuckle striking techniques such as Phoenix eye fist or middle-knuckle fist are seen in many martial arts. These techniques are best used with a circular rather than linear punching technique, particularly against harder target areas. Bend your wrist slightly so that the forearm, hand and promimal phalanx form a smooth curve.