Knife Culture

Admin Joined : 16 Aug 2007 Posts : 232

Hi all,

I've been thinking recently about edged weapons. In light of the media coverage that is prevelant in the UK at the moment the topic is one that seems to be at the forefront of everyones mind.

I remembered a comment I read some time ago in relation to training with edged weapons. It went something along the lines of

"Train the FMA approach to edged weapons because the material comes from a knife culture."

That seems logical and I can't disagree with the sentiment at all. At its essence it is saying, "learn from the experienced." Sound and valid advice.

Then I got to thinking. I also come from a knife culture and mine is a vastly different animal to the Filipino universe. Methods of carry and deployment are different. The driving forces are miles apart (even though the end result is the same). The terrain is different, the method of approach are at opposite ends of the spectrum, the group dynamic is altered and types of attack are radically different. Not to mention the differences in the type and model of weapon utilised.

We have to be careful to ensure that we are training to neutralise the threat as it really exists in our universe, our domain.In the same way that jungle survival is not the same animal as desert survival. You need a completely different skillset, one that is applicable to the reality of your environment.

Examine and understand how predators utilise edged weapons in your part of the world. For example it has become apparant in the UK that fixed blade weapons are the killer of choice. Victims are being stabbed rather than slashed. Blades are secreted in pockets or slipped into belts. Predators are not operating alone, they are acting in groups. Often the group neutralises the victim while the knife is brought into play. Most knife attacks are not carried out as part of a robbery, where the blade is used the reason is normally one of ego and reputation.

And so on and so on.

The point being that you need to examine thoroughly the world that you are living in and reference that to your methods of training.

Have training partners carry the weapon in a realistic way. Have them wear appropriate clothing, ensure that you factor in a realistic group dynamic and that you are training on the correct terrain. Above all, ensure that when your training partner attacks they do so in a realistic way consistent with a frenzied, adrenalised and hate fuelled attacker.

You must ensure that you are training for the attacker that you may face in your location, rather than one which perhaps exists thousands of miles away.. or even worse thousands of years in the past.

Subject: Re: Knife Culture Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:14 pm

Hi Chris,
You wrote:

Joined : 17 Aug 2007 Posts : 46

Some years ago, whilst still serving as an LEO I researched all the violent crimes in my division, specifically looking for knife incidents. I was involved in designing a knife awareness package for officers. I cannot recall the exact results now but out of the hundreds of knives there was only one which looked like a combat type knife and then it was a cheap copy and all the rest were domestic knives (steak knives, bread knives and utility knives) all found in a kitchen. They were all fixed blades and had an average length of 6 inches.

So the truth is, we are definately looking at multiple stabbing wounds and the odd slash. Wounds tended to be upper chest, mainly left side and upper abdomen.

Coops

Joined : 17 Aug 2007 Posts : 36

Joined : 17 Aug 2007 Posts : 46

I can't. That would have meant digging out each and every crime file connected to the weapon and reading through the case papers to ascertain the ins and outs of the specific incident. That was to difficult to do as the research was done when I wasn't answering a radio call and much of it when we had a quiet spell on nights. It was hard enough in some instances to find any paperwork connected to some of the items.

What I do know is that generally, most of the knives came into police possession through domestic incidents, being found during street searches (some quickly discarded prior to the search, but not quick enough) and some found in vehicles when stopped and searched. Can't be more specific than that.

Coops

Subject: Re: Knife Culture Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:12 am

I guess teenagers dont have the money to buy good knives and find it a lot easier to steal one from the kitchen or even buy a cheap set of kitchen knives, their only other option is to buy second hand which is not a great market unless you get on ebay which would mean having a bank account and getting the knife sent to your home also not a good option for many teenagers.

Alan

Subject: Re: Knife Culture Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:52 am

On holiday last week I read No mean city.

From the Back Cover
No book is more associated with the city of Glasgow than No Mean City. First published in 1935, it is the story of Johnnie Stark, son of a violent father and a downtrodden mother, the 'Razor King' of Glasgow's pre-war slum underworld, the Gorbals. The savage, near-truth descriptions, the raw character portrayals, bring to life a story that is fascinating, authentic and convincing.

The story is based in 1920's Gorabals, one of the roughest areas of Glasgow, it's a gritty depiction of life and the violent culture of the time.
The authors are at pains to point out that although a ficticous story they have not exagerated in any way the level of violence that existed at the time, including large scale gang fights, razorings and even wife beating which seemed to be generally acceptable.

This leads us to the point that knife crime although more widely covered in the media is not by any means a new problem, rather it something that floats to the surface in times of depression and unemployment.
Some of us live our lives relatively untouched by the present "credit crunch" but in our urban estates which house thousands conditions are still pretty deprived, violence has always been an outlet for young men in these areas, often fuelled by peer pressure and cheap strong booze (Buckfast - also known as Electric soup - is a favourite in Glasgow).

Is it really any worse than it was 50-70 years ago.

Alan

Admin Joined : 16 Aug 2007 Posts : 232

Subject: Re: Knife Culture Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:30 am

sometimes when kids grow up they change, Geoff T being one example, sorry I cannot cite more I have a distinct lack of knowledge regarding MA figures.

Ofcourse its anecdotal based on a tiny minority of people I know have come good but...........

regards,

Den.