ADVANCED KNIFE:An "In-Close Dose" to PonderHowdy all ! Many are the ways of the path of steel. Regarded as myth and rumorless than twenty years ago, now the schools of the blade flourish once again as indays of olde. Such is my dream realized and the path I carved out true. I professthat the longer range methods based upon some form of fencing are by far easierand faster to learn.The truth there is that only one hand is required to wield theweapon. It is lithe-grace and evasion mixed with fire-hot attacks and setups atthis range. As far as the close quarter methods of blade work go I profess thatthey are harder to learn and take more time to absorb. In close-quarters it ischecking hand, upper forearm control, sensitivity and flow. Niether are what we'dcall "superior". Both ways-methods are needed in ANY encounter where steel isgoing to be present. To be solely a long range guy or ONLY a close range fanaticis so backward ! You can have it all friend! Prescribe to nothing (styles,schools, etc) save the realities of the range yer in and the specifics of thespate itself ! "Favorite" anything's that people get attached to often get themkilled. It makes you too limited, too specialized to that "favorite thing" you arecomfortable with. It creates a narrow base. Be skilled in many ways, haveknowledge that's broad-based. Know how to make anything that falls into your handsinto something your enemies will dread and then fall dead. Keep an elevated mentalperspective riding shotgun over the entire mix of mayhem that is now called "YOU"lest the charm and the heady-appeal of being a real knife-man ends up gettingyour romantic badass self killed. (Think Zorro and his sword - But see Al Bundyarmed with a spork). The mottoe for the modern man of steel today is simple: BECOOL ! Meaning stay calm, leave that knife be, smile and shift your weight, but atall costs be cool. Yeah I hadda explain that one otherwise there are some knifepeople who'd be combing their greasy hair, wearing blue suede shoes and darksunglasses attempting to be "cool" cause Uncle Jim tolt'em to ! Oops ! No, no,fool, NOT that one, the OTHER cool ! Ha Ha Ha ! OK, let's move on and cease thevitrolic frolic ! We're hunting for metallic meat and this lad's hungry for more.C'mon, jump in and follow along with me, there's plenty to go around.Sumbrada Range - In-Close / The DynamicsFor everything there is a reason, for everything there is a season. So true !Taking this knowledge and running with it we come up with nothing less than thelist of critical components needed for successful close quarter knife training andfighting. In other words what season are you in? What's needed to win thisconflict? At the top of my critical component list is the ever-faithful checkinghand ! The mano of surprise that's known as the "live hand" is my recommendationto invest in learning about. And to those upon the path of steel there is nothingmore valuable than this strong, deceptive ally to have fighting upon one's side.TIMING, oh my how I could write about timing ! For hours and hours I could expoundupon timing, for therein lie many secrets and truths. The LIVE HAND needs timingto be victorious. To enter a swirling sea of sharped steel objects and come backout of it unscathed is to possess true timing. To do so and then inflict painupon, take control of and eventually vanquish the foe is also part of the livehand - checking hand duties. Oh yeah, a multi-function doozy of a tool that reallyworks. Hey, in the Comtech method it's why we add a dose of Wing Chun and Silathand skills into the mix. It continues to sophisticate the live hand well past thestandard stuff taught in most Kali and Arnis schools. Rememeber, broad basedknowledge and abilities that blend and cross-train well together are the keys topersonal training dynamite. Let's get on with more insider tips about getting yourtwo mitts up to speed for knife play !The hand itself is where we begin your education, hand-palm, back of the hand,fingers, grip. Get used to employing those parts of the hand in the early stages

of Sumbrada, Hubud, Punyo Sumbrada and pallasoot. These exercises teach us thecrucial timings, the placements and the pressures required to steal victory fromsteel. Yeah sure, you must also know the knife related parts of those drills too!Ha Ha ! Of course, done at the right timings. Remember, that's what this is abouteh? I've met several people who can do the drills quite well. But, only as donewith the actions of the knife, the checking hand work is weak! Sometimes non-existent even! So it appears that some people focus too much upon the knife ratherthan an the creation of a balanced blend of equal abilities from either side.Balance, timing, rhythm and coordination. These things to seek are good andproper. They work for you through-out your life in many ways. Their cultivation iswhat the wise player of the knife seeks.And remember gang, deal with low-line attacks with a palm up check and the high-line attacks with a palm down check. This is important, the positionings of thehand as per the line of in-coming attacks are taught, ingrained and mastered viathe drills and exercises I mention in this article as well as being covered inmany of my current DVD's! Checking hand skills revolve around this palm up or downkey principle. For more on these aspects of the checking hand come see me andlet's train or find a qualified teacher that can help you sort this shit out.Either way, it's learn or burn baby! The better you are the better the chancesyou'll survive. Be trained or be chained.As we move up and into another yet closer range of play we come in to the realm ofthe lower forearm. Mainly the back side of it, the meaty top side, yeah that part!From the wrist up to about mid-forearm is our new area of contact. No longer thehand(s). This manner of checking requires some cool body mechanics and some realsensitivity. but man, when you get this under control, it works and gives you areal advantage over others in the lethal killing range of close quarter knife. Youmay get cut pilgrim, but by God they'll get worse! Adding some Pikiti Tirsiacounter knife passing into the mix really sophisticates things even more. Itfocuses upon this area of contact more-so than other drills. Play about with itsome, have fun - relax and by all means don't play fast or furious when training.FLOW... a steady eddy rhythm of motion that is niether too fast or too slow.Smmooooth, think smooth ! Play on playah !The Kali "Thrusting Triangle" exercise from Kali is another checking hand drillthat increases skill rapidly. Plus it has value on the street immediately. Doublebenefits.This drill can be compounded nicely by adding other components to the existingshell. Grip aspects can be dealt with, half beat strikes can be entered in time,disarms can be sought.. etc, all via the Thrusting Triangle drill matrix. Yes,have this in your arsenal of skill building trix that help you grow and to knowthe flow.The Body and it's ActionsThe knife or the live hand cannot succeed without one another in the closeinterval realm. This we know. These two aspects together cannot survive withoutthe addition of certain motions of the torso, legs and hips. These actions (bodymechanics) are accomplished by first bending the knees. Then practice swaying thetorso (spine) side to side, leaning back and hollowing out the lower body area.Similar to what boxers do, but done more dramatically one might say. This materialshould go with the live hand and knife skills because it is the stuff masters aremade of. Impossible saves, daring strikes and real control come from having yourbody (torso) in leaque with your knife and checking hand pressures. This of courseconnects to footwork and the different methods therein etc... Soon we will be pastthe topic all together and into something related, yet totally new. So these areaswill wait for another time for discussion. Lastly for this segment I must tell youthat in such hi-speed close quarter ranges I want you to always use your periphial

vision. Look slightly away from the action, use the outer rings of your eyes tosee the nearly invisible motions that hi-speed combat promotes. This trick is onethat many hunters know about. They use it at night or in low-light conditions. Yousee movement better, particularly you see high-speed movement better when usingyour eyes in this way. And for us that's a plus! Practice "Magic Eye" (thechildrens books) to get your vision abilities sharper for the close quarter knifeencounter that I hope you never have! These books get you into a way ofalternative vision like nothing else out there. Valuable they are to the knifemanof today. We learn from many sources, we never stop learning, if you do stop inthis business of the blade, you die.Pressures, Surging, Effortless PowerOK, from our work we now have many sensations, sensitivity and intuitive tacticsthat aid our technical abilities. Contact is part of the CQB Knife territory. thisis all about sensing pressures aka "intent". Then "reading" that intent and beingone step ahead of the other guy comes next. Oh yes, it's a real skill. It can beyours. If you already have it, then it can be rediscovered in a new way. One ofthose "new ways" I speak of is the employment of surging power. You see, theinternal arts use this type power insituations where a conventional blow wouldn't be effective or appropriate. Usuallythis is done in close proximity with the opponent. Ah yes, therein lies the"connection".When checking hand or the forearm contact points are employed a surge of power canbe expelled via those contact points. By surge I refer to a type of shudder orshiver.This is done explosively - anyone who ever knew of the great Chen Man Cheng (TaiChi) and his ability to literally "blast" people off their feet knows what I mean.Many Tai Chi teachers can do this, so it isn't some arcane secret technique. Allit takes is some practice and getting a knack for how it's done. Then adding itinto the already existing mix. By an act of your will, you simply begin doing itin training, when appropriate, in time, in flow. Soon that shocking blasting powerwill be yours. Indeed, now the live hand truly gets more sophisticated as per ourplan! What a surprise it is to see such skills blossom so quickly. It's the natureof their mechanics.Hey Man, Get a Grip !The checking hand (live hand) must be fast, well timed, in flow and sensitive tochange. But it also needs strength. Yes, good old fashioned grip strength.Hand power that is used to catch and control an opponent must be deft, sure anddog bite strong! A product called the "SZABALL" from Laci Szabo is an ideal way toget such grip power. http://www.szaboinc.com The talon-like hand ability isreally cool when used to sort of "sweep down" upon the opponenets wrist and BAM!They are caught in a vise-like grip from hell, from there, well ... end the fightmate! What else?Never attempt to catch a swiftly moving limb with outside edge of the hand... fastthings defy being caught when you try to snag'em in that way. Instead, use theinside part of your arm, this produces a thumb-side catch. And lucky you, in thisway one can indeed catch and control a swiftly moving limb! Whether the boxers jabor the knife man's slash you will catch their limb. This inside line, thumbcatching method is from Kung Fu. I demonstrate this very thing in a skilldeveloping drill in one of the upcoming DVD's (The Desquerdes) that Pete Kautz andI recently shot while on location. It's a cool little drill that really helps youget the hang of it. Now your old level of "fast" just got "faster" because of thiswee bit O' knowledge about using the thumb to snag a punch versus the littlefinger side to try and snag it. In the world of lethal force, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.