Looking through my video files I found a brief clip that included a few seconds of a Krav Maga instructor. He was showing a dummy knife to some students and commented:
“The knife can be used three ways. You can use this…” (he taps the tip)
“…or you can use this” (he runs the edge of the plastic blade across the sides of the neck of a nearby student).
“…or use this.” He taps the pommel of the dummy knife on the student’s temple. He seems to think for a moment and then adds:
“The last is probably the most deadly!”
As I have pointed out in my book, there may be times when hitting the enemy with the pommel of a weapon may be better than using the blade. The head, for example, is a hard target and may cause the blade to jam or break. A blunt strike to certain parts of the head may have a more immediate effect than a cut. Our verb "to pummel" is believed to originate from striking with a sword pommel.
One of the most important weapons I cover in the book is the kongo, which I suppose can be thought of as a knife handle without any blade. Do I expect you to carry a kongo or kubotan on your person? No, I don’t, but familiarity and practice with a kongo will develop your appreciation of many other common objects that can be used in the same way. If you park your car in a dark garage it is not unreasonable to have a small torch in hand to illuminate the dark areas. If you jog, then you may hold a water-bottle (see last blog). The other night in the pub my girlfriend produced a tube of mascara. I just closed my hand around it so the ends projected. She knew exactly what I was telling her (and she then went back to painting purple splotches on my arm…) Could she find that tube in her bag if attacked? Probably not, but she is wise enough to know to use something to hand if available and not regard its absence as a disadvantage.
This item, btw, is a foot massager sold by at least one well-known high street chain. They actually work very well on tired feet and are a reasonable thing to carry in a handbag if you are in heels for hours at a time. I brought one for my girlfriend soon after we met.