Counters to Knife Quick Draws

By W. Hock Hochheim

s a young man my police instructors warned me aboutthe hands. Empty hands can be a tip-off to impending danger. How they point, chop the air, roll in and out of fists can predicate an attack. As if empty-handed attacks werent enough, these same hands bury deep into pockets, belt lines, armpits, ankles and pull out various weapons of destruction. As police officers, we have the fear of the criminal quick draw drummed into our psyche, and not just quick draws from the body of the assailant, but from anywhere he could reach and snatch a weapon with those hands. The environments in which I had to keep track of the hands were inside cars, motel rooms, streets, houses, apartments, fields, so many different rural and urban places over 23 years, surrounded by drama, confusion, and most times low light and darkness, I cant even begin to name them all. Somewhere in all that cacophony of sound, emotion and motion, they still expected us to zero in onthe hands. But enforcement and correctional officers are not the only ones who need to worry about the hands and hidden weapons of strangers. Martial artists and citizens also need to observe the hands of those suspicious around them in their everyday lives. Soldiers cornering and herding prisoners of war need to watch the hands. The list goes on and on. All these groups spend little or no training time focusing on these problems. We must look to the police sciences as the veteran source of experience and intell in this endeavor. Then we look to martial strategies to take action. Watch the hands. The hands reach for weapons. It is the hands that will kill you. The first step in countering knife quick draws is tosee them coming! We cannot walk around through our everyday lives in a state of combat readiness. Such would eventually burn your nervous system and brain to a cinder. One must study the odds of where and when most attacks occur, and then prepare accordingly. When entering those dangerous zones in our lives, we must become more alert. Once alerted, this aware state allows you to bring your combat metabolism into a battle ready posture.

The Basic Knife Quick Draws Carry Sites

Learn the common, primary carry sites of the knife. Quick draw carry sites are pockets, belt line, armpit, small of the back, upper back, chest/necklaces holsters, forearm rigs, lunge and reach, the
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Watch his hands! Its the hands that will kill you!
The Gunslinger Quick Draw The Napoleon Quick Draw The Detective Cross Draw The Gypsy Quick Draw The Cobbler Quick Draw The Lunge and Reach Quick Draw The Hybrid Quick Draws Practice these quick draws yourself, and observe a training partner do them multiple times. Identify the common quick draw hand, arm and body movements to get to these primary and secondary sites. Obviously to grab the knife, the hand is involved. To position the hand, the arm is involved. The torso may well also move to facilitate the arm. And lastly, the legs may bend at the knees to facilitate the quick draw.

The Gunslinger Quick Draw: A knife pull from the hip

The Detective Cross-Draw: A knife pull from across the body

Three Phases of The Quick Draw

Identifying the three phases of a quick draw, earlyphase, mid-phase and late-phase, help you scientifically study this process and then design steps to defeat it. Phase 1) The early phase is when the weapon is actually about to be extracted or is in the process of being extracted, say about the first 20 percent of the quick draw. Phase 2) Mid-phase is when the weapon is out and in the first 20 to 60 percent or so of going into action. Phase 3) Late phase is the last 60 percent of the pull. The knife pull can result two ways:

The Gypsy Quick Draw: A knife pull from a backpack or kit

The Napoleon Quick Draw: A knife pull from a neck knife carry

physical reach proximity, bags, purses, camera cases, carry items, belt-like wallets, and fanny packs. Secondary or back-up carry sites usually do not facilitate quick draws and require some digging to pull the weapon.

Quick Draw Movements

I am going to list nicknames for easily identifiable quick draws, and I hope they will leave a lasting impression on you. This is the first scientific step in studying them and learning their counters.
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he Cobbler Quick Draw: A knife pull from an ankle carry

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2 2
Hybrid Quick Drawers: Like this one from a forearm rig

a weapon presentation threat a slashing or stabbing attack

Counters to Quick Draws

Once you have identified the carry sites and the movement to reach them, martial science can provide some solutions. Here are but a few examples. 1) Early Phase Counter: Gunslinger Quick Draw Counters Smash the hand while he opens his combat folder. When someone is trying to open their folder, they do not obtain a normal and powerful grip on their knife. Their fingers are trying to access the opening mechanism. A powerful hand smash can jar the knife out of the opponents hand and/or knock the partially open blade back into the handle. 2) Mid Phase Counter: The Arm Bar Hammerlock or Rear Arm Bar The Gunslinger Draw offers you The Triangle. There is a list of grappling techniques you may use to take maximum advantage of this arm positioning. A very successful and thorough technique is the Rear Arm Bar or Arm Bar Hammerlock, which is depicted next. Follow up as needed.
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1
Invade the Gunslinger Triangle
Here is a powerful invasion and interrupts a quick draw and wraps up the enemy in a containment choke.

4
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3) Early Phase Counter: Counter the Napoleon Quick Draw Here is just one counter tactic. Follow up after this. Identify the triggers, the carry sites, the movements to the carry sites, and apply martial sciences to counter them in early, mid and late phases.
CCQMag took this excerpt from Hocks upcoming book, Volume 3 of the Knife Fighting Encyclopedia Do or Die! Unarmed versus the Knife due out in early May 2001.

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