Anatomy of a knife attack

Steve Collins delivering training to a class of 60 women police officers from around the world on the true dangers of the edged weapon

 The thought of being stabbed or slashed with a blade fills us all with trepidation.

Throughout history criminals have always known that the knife creates more physical and psychological terror than any other weapon. This is why knives are often the preferred weapons of the armed robber and, as 9/11 showed us all, the use of edged weapons can create such terror and control over others that the end result can be so catastrophic it doesn’t bear thinking about. There are literally hundreds of knife fighting styles around the world, but whether they are Oriental or Occidental, the techniques of knife attacks fall into two main categories: slashes/cuts and stabs/thrusts Slashes/Cuts A slashing cut is the most often used strike in a knife attack and there are three types: the power slash, the snap cut and the hook cut. The power cut is a forceful blow using the shoulder and back muscles, similar to the forehand stroke of a tennis player. Although quite a large movement, this cut can be executed in a surprisingly small space. The snap cut involves a different body motion, resembling the strike of a cat’s claw. The knife is snapped out towards the target, wrist cocked back. When contact is made with the area to be cut the blade is simultaneously drawn sharply back. Although not as powerful as the power cut, it is much, much quicker. The hook cut is aimed to the rear of the area to be cut, and is ripped though the target with a powerful semi-circular hooking action. Stabs/thrusts As with slashes there are three kinds of stabs or thrusts: the standard stab, the snap thrust and the hook thrust. In the standard thrust, the knife travels in a straight line to the target. Power is critical if deep penetration is the goal. The snap thrust however, is jabbed at the target quickly and lightly without a pause, a bit like a piston. Power and deep penetration are not the objective of this type of attack. The hook thrust is exactly the same as a boxer’s hook punch and is usually aimed at the side of the body below the ribs. The hook thrust is a powerful, penetrating stab. Types of knife wounds A proficient and skilled knife fighter will have a practical knowledge of human anatomy in order to enable him to inflict as much damage as quickly as possible. However, if you are attacked and cut it makes no difference whatsoever whether your assailant was skilled or not, your wound will fall into one of three categories. It will be a bleeder, an immobiliser or an instant kill. Bleeder wounds result from the severing of an artery. They are often fatal if unattended. There are several arteries that if severed, will cause death in less than one minute. (This is not classified as an instant kill). A bleeder will almost always be caused by a slash, as an artery is very difficult to sever with a stab. Blood from a true bleeder will spurt with each heart beat as opposed to a superficial cut, which may bleed profusely at first but will clot and stop after a few minutes. Immobilising wounds are usually dealt to specific muscles and tendons of the limbs. A true immobiliser will cut to the bone, rendering the muscle group and limb useless, but even a small cut can have the same psychological effect. As with the bleeder, the immobiliser is usually achieved with a powerful slash. All knife wounds can be fatal; however wounds that cause death in ten seconds or less are called instant kills. All the targets are located on the head and torso. Most instant kill targets are partially protected by bone; some are totally covered by it. Therefore this type of attack requires skill, accuracy and an extremely powerful delivery.

So what’s the answer?….Awareness!!

Awareness of just what an edged weapon is capable of, even in unskilled hands. Awareness and an understanding that virtually anything can be, and has been used as an edged weapon. Being aware that the vast majority of people that are attacked with a knife will be cut, and that you are probably no exception. A penetration of only a few millimetres into the throat can be fatal, and a blade of less than two inches long can penetrate vital organs including the heart. Severing a major artery (a bleeder) can cause unconsciousness in seconds and death in a minute or so. You must understand that a small blade is just as deadly, if not more so, than a large one. Point being, you can see a large knife, but with a small or disguised knife you could be cut or stabbed twenty times before you’ve even realised he’s armed. The sudden realisation of even a small cut can have massive psychological and debilitating effect on some people. Shock, trauma, paralysis, hysterics, nausea and vomiting…and you don’t know how you will react until it happens. So don’t allow it to happen. Learn how to recognise disguised knives and be aware just how deadly a blade can be. Plus, never forget…If you carry a knife you are a potensual murder.

Read my post  ”If you carry a knife you are a potential murder”

 

If you carry a knife you are a potential murderer…

…A good enough reason not to carry one I think!!

Readers of my journal PCW Review will remember the features we have run on knives and knife attacks. However many do not fully understand the ease with which knife attacks can cause death. The increase in knife related crime on the streets all over the world is at an all time high.

Although the carrying of knives has been with us for the past few thousand years and is therefore never going to go away, there does seem to be a new ethos with adolescents and teenagers that carrying a knife is not only necessary for personal protection but a really cool thing to do.

Hospitals receive hundreds of victims of knife attacks every month, with figures of 55% of murders attributable to knife wounds being reported.

It’s simple, if you carry a knife you are a potential murder.

If you attack or defend yourself with a blade and you don’t kill the person it’s probably luck. Just piercing the skin can be all it takes. There’s a very fine line between a minor cut and a fatal wound.

TYPES OF INCISED WOUNDS INFLICTED BY A KNIFE

Scrape

This wound occurs when skin is rubbed or scratched away at the surface. A scrape is normally not a fatal wound, but it has been known for people to get a small scratch infected and die from blood poisoning.

Laceration or slash

This wound is a cut, split or gash in the skin. It can have either a jagged or smooth edge. It is longer than it is deep.If a wound such as this involves major blood vessels, it will be life threatening, but generally this type is not as seriousas a stab wound.

Puncture or stab

This wound is when the skin is pierced. It is deeper than it is long. Because they penetrate more deeply than lacerations they tend to come into contact with vital organs especially in the chest and abdomen. Stabbing is the most common cause of homicide in the UK.

It is crucial to understand that stab wounds, although less common than slash wounds, can be made with minimal force. Once the point of a blade penetrates clothing and skin, very little force is required to follow through and create a deep wound. Furthermore, the faster the stab the easier it is to penetrate.

Impaling

This wound is basically an extreme form of puncture. It is when a blade such as a sword, bayonet or any other sharp object has passed totally through a part of the body.

Avulsion or flaying

This wound is when a portion of skin is torn. This can be partial, with a portion of skin remaining as a “flap.”

A total avulsion, is when a body part is completely torn away.

DEFENSIVE WOUNDS

Victims can sustain very characteristic injuries when they have tried to ward off blows from a knife attack. There are often multiple lacerations across the palms of the hands where there have been attempts to grab the blade. Also it is common to see defensive wounds found on the outer aspects of the forearms. It’s as easy to kill with a laceration as it is to wound with a scratch. If the body is punctured or impaled it will only be by chance if the blade doesn’t hit a vital organ or artery. Most people who carry a knife believe that it offers them protection. In reality it only offers them a life sentence or even a death sentence.

The bravado displayed by knife carrying adolescents and teenagers is frightening and is born out of total ignorance about what a knife can do. However, accidental murder is still murder. Stab somebody in the chest, it might just hit the bone and the victim may survive. But, if the blade gets through the ribs and penetrates a vital organ, well that’s a different story. Any knife, no matter how large or small, can kill. From combat weapons to the potato knife in your kitchen drawer they are all are so accessible, any one can get hold of one, but most people are totally oblivious of how easy it is to inflict a fatal injury.”

Like father like son

Change the Script and Take Control

 

Change the SCRIPT

Playing your role….

Human behaviour often falls into set patterns. We are all, generally speaking, predisposed to act out certain role-plays, almost as if we were reading from a script. An understanding that certain kinds of behaviour will almost certainly trigger responses that can be manipulated and therefore used to your own advantage is a very useful tool. Furthermore, when you realise that the vast majority of people will not even understand why they are responding the way they are, can put you in a very powerful position. It is possible to manipulate a situation without the other person realising what is happening to them, until of course, it’s too late.
An example of this type of manipulation is the predator/prey role-play. Most of us are conditioned from being young children to respond to authority in a certain way. We are usually instilled from a very early age with the belief that authority should be respected and therefore, even if we don’t like it, we are generally predisposed to comply with it. This conditioning is what the predator relies on. The process of manipulation begins with the predator handing you his script and in a very authoritative manner explains that you are about to co-star in his play. The story line is where he attacks you and, because in the script you are described as ‘the helpless victim’, your role is to do everything you are told to do. He continues to explain that the story has a happy ending and by following the script to the letter, he gets what he wants and you get to go home unharmed. Not following the script however will result in severe punishment. Most people will follow the script. Why? Simple. It’s because the predator has typecast them into the role of victim, and they are being manipulated into a situation that has triggered a predetermined response to comply with authority, especially if the consequences of not doing so will result in some sort of punishment being administered. They are conditioned to believe that once the curtain goes up and the play begins they have reached a point of no return and therefore must continue to act out their role. This is not true! If you can change your role in the play the script will change too.
In this type of confrontation one person has already assumed the role of aggressor/predator. Conventionally the other person is now left with two choices:

1. Frightened and compliant victim.
2. Counter-aggressor.

The predator will be expecting and relying on you playing the frightened and compliant victim role. If you go down this road the predator will act accordingly. He will posture, threaten and intimidate. Showing fear will fuel the fire of his aggression and play to his ego. Statistics show that the likelihood is that he will still harm you regardless of all the promises to the contrary. Begging not to be hurt is a sure fire way to get just the opposite.
Playing the victim role is not the way to get off lightly. More often than not all it means is that it takes a little longer before you get hurt, as well as robbed, raped or even both.
The role of the counter-aggressor is also fraught with danger. If you go back to your own childhood, or even look at your own children taking the role of counter-aggressors with you, it would be considered an act of defiance, insolence or insubordination and dealt with accordingly. The rules are plain and ingrained into us all. Subordinates simply do not answer their superiors back. Remember this is the predator’s script, he is the star and his role is a superior one to yours. Now faced with a sudden threat from a counter-aggressor the predator will react in a predetermined manner and his own defensive reflexes will kick in. He will, almost subconsciously, make the decision to attack and probably with extreme violence.
So as you can see neither of these scripts actually has a happy ending. If you are going to change your role and as a consequence the script, you have to do it as far in advance of the curtain going up as you can.

CHANGE THE SCRIPT AND TAKE CONTROL!!
Most of us are comfortable when we are following a set pattern. We are in our comfort zone; we know what to do and what’s expected from us. If someone or something breaks our pattern and we suddenly find ourselves in unfamiliar territory, we become confused and uncomfortable, as a result we are less natural and what we do and say requires more thought.
Breaking the aggressors set pattern, or in others words changing his script to your script is the key that will help you change your role from prey to predator. The aggressor is locked into a pattern of behaviour that has been predetermined by his script. If you break the script he has to formulate a new response, which means he is forced to stop and think about what to say and do next. This whole process slows the situation down because thinking out a new response is obviously going to take longer than following a set pattern.
This is all well and good, but how do you change his script without becoming the frightened and compliant victim or the counter-aggressor?

1. Don’t react at all. Stay calm and just walk by as if he wasn’t even there. This isn’t in his script, it makes no sense, your supposed to follow his lead and act out your role in the play. The aggressor will be confused, but only for a second or too. Hopefully, in the time it takes him to amend his script, you will be out of the danger zone and ready to run as fast as your legs will carry you.

2. Act out the cool but ready-for-action role. Simply stand your ground without making any aggressive actions, verbally or physically. Say nothing, just stand and stare with a calm, expressionless face. Training will help you to remain calm under stress, but even with no training you have given him a big problem. This type of response, or in reality lack of it can be very intimidating. It manipulates the situation by giving out a powerful massage saying I don’t consider you as anything that I should be getting concerned about.

3. Respond verbally with something totally irrelevant to the situation, non-aggressively with friendly dialogue. Often the best thing is to say something that requires him to think of an answer. Ask a question. “That’s a fantastic jacket, where did you get it?”
“What’s the time mate I’m in a real hurry?” “I’m looking for Benson Drive do you know where it is?” Anything that stops you getting drawn into his script.
Once the pattern is broken a new one must take its place, and this time with you taking the leading role. However, never lose sight of the fact that this person standing in front of you is probably still predisposed to violence. Therefore it is imperative that you use whatever time you have to open a window of opportunity and extract yourself from the situation as quickly as possible.

Your action could be as simple as just running away. Or even, but only as a last resort and only if you’re sure you have no alternative, launching you’re own pre-emptive attack. Almost all street predators are cowards, on the look out for helpless victims. Often they are incapable of tackling someone one face to face. Unless that person is playing out the victim role of course. They’re quite happy with the surprise attack from behind, but when faced with a calm and resolute person they are often fazed and unable to continue in the light of the opposition. Ask yourself this simple question: “If a common street robber thought that by attacking you he would probably be injured, restrained and forcibly escorted to a police station, would he still attack you?” Answer, NO! Although that somewhat idealistic scenario is never likely to played out in full, it does illustrate the mind set you should be in and it is the image you should be portraying. Be careful not to give these people any reason to resort to violence and remember, the frightened victim or the counter-aggressor is just the trigger they need. Also, don’t fall into the trap of being pushed into making the first move, giving them the excuse to retaliate. You must not provide the trigger, but you must be ready to act as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Make your move when you’re ready not when they’re ready. Remember, the predator does not want to fight you, he wants to control and intimidate you into following his script. Don’t allow yourself to get locked into belligerent exchange, in other words don’t let your ego take control as this will inevitably lead to violence. Give the predator the chance to walk away without losing face. Many street robbers when faced with quiet resolve have to make a decision about what to do next, and assuming they’re not too stupid they will recognise the opportunity to move away from you and on to an easier target.

DO
Do learn to recognise the signals that tell you if someone means to do you harm.
Do try to stay calm and composed.
Do use friendly dialogue if you decide to speak. A little diplomacy and tact will go a long way to averting violence.
Do try and take control of the situation as quickly as
you can.
Do be ready to run when the opportunity presents itself.
Do be ready to fight if you are convinced there is no alternative.

DON’T
Don’t be the frightened and compliant victim.
Don’t be the counter-aggressor.
Don’t let your ego take control.
Don’t give any reason for them to resort to violence.
Don’t make any aggressive moves.
Don’t make your move until the time is right.
Don’t hesitate to launch a pre-emptive attack if you believe yourself to be in imminent danger.

The Stages of Violent Crime

Angry confrontation

Victims of violent crime often say that it seemed as if it came out of nowhere. The fact is that’s hardly ever true, there will have been plenty of warning, and plenty of opportunity to recognize and evaluate the danger signs in advance, but sadly most of the time the victim didn’t see them, ignored them, or just didn’t recognize their significance.
There is a common saying among personal safety teachers: “What you think you know will kill you”. Meaning that familiarity often blinds us to the significance of the signals of pending danger. What you “think” you know about violent crime could blind you to the importance of the warning signs. In the R.E.A.C.T System we talk about ‘Recognising the Threat’, and there are a set of simple and obvious stages to help you do this. These stages are inherent in the development of a violent crime. If you are aware of this process you will see that they are predictable and quite recognizable. Understanding these stages will enable you to spot and react to danger in advance.
There has to be a build-up to an act of violence. Criminals are not generally speaking sitting in front of the TV with a nice cup of coffee and a jam doughnut then suddenly leaping up and attacking someone. As human beings the act of actually committing a violent crime requires us to go through a set process that takes time to develop. Even the most violent of people are not normally capable of instantaneously becoming violent; they need time to go through a set of recognizable physiological and psychological changes in order to attack someone physically. Only in cases of severe and extreme mental instability, as found on a mental ward, will a person be capable of erupting instantly into violence.
Any person who is preparing to attack you physically will give off certain signals. Their body will literally betray their intent. People who have been assaulted often say, “I knew there was something wrong but I just couldn’t put my finger on it”. As I said earlier, the victim didn’t see the signs, ignored them, or just didn’t recognize their significance. The first letter in the REACT System is R for Recognise. The following five basic stages will help you to do this.

INTENT
The decision has been made to commit violence in order to obtain a goal. Often a person who has decided to launch a physical assault will either look for a reason or excuse to attack, or will try and hide their intentions until they are ready. Fortunately, despite the exterior appearances, many times there is enough nonverbal communication coming from an attacker to warn you that something is wrong. People have to undergo certain physiological changes for the body to be ready to attack or defend. These are reflected in a person’s body language. While they can be very subtle, they are recognizable to an observer, either consciously or unconsciously. Trust your gut instinct. Often your subconscious recognises the physiological danger signals being displayed. Even if a situation looks normal but your alarm bells go off, do not ignore it, start to look for the next two stages developing before it’s too late. Knowing and understanding this process serves as an early warning system for the recognition of the danger signs. Your attacker’s body will tell you he’s about to attack, even if the words are calm and normal.

INTERVIEW
Remember the assailant’s personal safety is a critical factor in deciding whether or not he attacks you. The ‘interview’ is where the decision of whether or not he is safe to attack is being considered. If for one moment the criminal thought an attack would be unsuccessful they will almost certainly move on and seek easier prey. “Will I succeed?” That is a major incentive for what any one of us decides to do or not do. The ‘interview’ is the test, and this is one interview you definitely want to fail. By failing, the assailant will decide that he cannot successfully, or easily, attack you. There are four basic types of interviews.

Standard
This is the most common. The approach is often under the guise of an innocent request, i.e. needing information, a light or the time. This is a distraction. While they are talking, they are not only getting in position to attack, but checking your awareness of what they are doing and your commitment to defending yourself.

Hot
A sudden verbal outburst. You are minding your own business one minute, and the next you have a threatening, obscenity screaming person in your face. The success of this strategy relies on you not being accustomed to dealing with extreme emotional and verbal abuse and reacting in a stunned and confused manner.

Escalating
Unlike the hot interview, which starts out immediately hostile, an escalating interview starts out normally, but it rapidly turns hostile. The person is testing your boundaries by escalating offensive behaviour. The more they get away with, the more the behaviour escalates and becomes more and more extreme until finally they attack. This is a very common interview technique for date rapists. It is also common with groups of loitering youths looking for trouble.

Silent
A silent interview is when the street predators put themselves in a position to observe you. They may never speak until the attack, but they have been watching and observing you for some time. They may position themselves out of sight in order to follow you. Or they may make their presence known and decide to attack if you show any signs of fear.

POSITIONING
This is the criminal putting himself in a place where he can successfully attack you. Typical street robbers are cowards and do not want to fight you; they want to overwhelm you with intimidation and fear. To accomplish this, they have to put themselves into a position where they can do it quickly and effectively. Positioning is the final proof that someone is trying to put themselves into a place from which to attack, and therefore removes all doubt that the situation is innocent. You will seldom, if ever, be mugged or raped in the middle of a crowd. Therefore a key point of all positioning is what we call the fringe areas. A fringe area is where you could be close to people, but out of range of immediate help. You won’t be robbed in the middle of a busy shopping centre, but could be in the car park, toilets, at the ATM machine or the stairwells. All these should be considered potential positioning danger areas. Even a separate room in a crowded house can constitute a fringe area, as many women who have been raped at a party will testify. There are three basic types of positioning for a signal assailant.

Closing
The most basic form of positioning is simply walking up to the victim. The closer you allow a criminal to get, the greater their ability to overwhelm and control you.

Trapping
This is the second most basic form of positioning and the most common. He/she approaches you from a direction that traps you between himself and a large object, like a car or wall etc. This also entails putting themselves between you and an escape route.

Surprise
This is your classic ambush. The assailants position themselves in places where you can’t see them, or certainly not until the last moment. From this position, they can easily step out and attack. Once you know these types of locations, this kind of positioning is relatively easy to foil.

ATTACK
If the first three stages have been achieved, there is no reason for the street predators not to use violence to get what they want from you. Many robberies and rapes are committed with the simple threat of, or just a display of, violence. A violent, verbal outburst will not physically harm the victim, but clearly indicates that unless he or she cooperates, the victim will be hurt. Weapons can be displayed to convince a victim to cooperate. Other attacks are no more than brutal and outright physical assaults. Such attacks can come both with and without warning. At its most extreme, it means the criminal simply walking up to someone with a gun and pulling the trigger. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine which one you will encounter. An attack can turn from one type to another in a heartbeat. What was just a verbal threat a second ago, can explode into deadly violence.

AFTERMATH
This is how the predator feels about what they have done. In the aftermath of mugging someone, the street robber could decide on a whim, to beat, stab or shoot you despite the fact that you have cooperated fully and offered no resistance. Of all the aftermath reactions, one of the most consistently dangerous occurs among rapists. If the rapist feels that the rape was not as satisfying as they hoped it would be, extreme violence often occurs. It is a fact a large percentage of women who have been raped are seriously harmed by the rapists after the actual sexual assault. This puts paid to the ‘lay back and think of England’ theory. In any circumstance, until the assailant is completely out of your sight, you are still at risk of the aftermath, even though you have been totally cooperative. The unpredictability of the criminal’s reaction is another reason why it is far easier to avoid violence than it is to try to extract yourself safely from the middle of it.
Knowing these five stages is a consistent guide by which you can assess the potential threat of a situation. The stages are inherent within crime and violence. The stages give you an external set of standards to check against someone’s behaviour. If the collective behaviour is present, you are, indeed, in danger and need to take steps to ensure your safety. You need to do this no matter what is being said, since actions almost always speak louder than words.
There is no one thing that will inform you that you are in danger. This is why the five stage checklist is so reliable. A single element might be misconstrued or explained away. However, you will never get the collective presence of all five accidentally.

DO
Remember that during the first three stages, you can prevent an attack without resorting to violence. It is at this stage that the aggressor is still deciding whether or not he can get away with an attack without endangering himself.

DON’T
Don’t attempt to contest the threat; rather try to foil it before he commits himself at the INTERVIEW AND POSITIONING stage.

5 Golden Rules of Women’s Self Defence

5 Golden Rules

The R.E.A.C.T 5 Golden Rules for Women’s Self Defence

 

1. Your friend is not always a friend

More than 70% of rapes and attacks on women are perpetrated by someone they know, and more than 50% of attacks take place ether in or close to the victim’s own home.

2. There are always warning signs

The vast majority of attacks are preceded by some form of verbal assault. We call this the ‘Interview’. Knowing how to recognise and deal with the warning signs that the ‘Interview’ sends out can help you avert most attacks from ever becoming physical

3. Have a sliver tongue

Talking can sometimes do the trick. Reason, diplomacy, tact and a little psychology even compassion and sympathy can go a long way to subduing a potentially violent situation. The verbal defuse is a powerful tool and a few carefully chosen words can make all the difference.

4. Hit & Run

Get away as quickly as you possibly can. The Hit & Run principle has nothing to do with fighting. It means you must do something that interrupts the attackers thought pattern. Hit him with an assertive and confident yell…NO!!!! Or ask a question that makes him stop and think for a moment, it only takes a split second to breakaway and run. If you have no choice but to physically hit your attacker go for his eyes. 90% of the time a short sharp jab in the eye with a finger nail is all you will need to create enough time to escape.

5. Fight like a man

You have tried to talk your way out, to no avail. You seem to have no means of escape. The situation is getting uglier. What are you going to do now? Street predators have no scruples and do not attack a woman any differently than they would attack a man. If you fear for your life defend yourself with extreme prejudice using any means at your disposal. Become the predator and turn the attacker into your prey.

 Think like a woman, but fight like a man and focus like a predator.