Are you ready for the speed, surprise, and violence of a real-life knife attack? This officer got very lucky that his vest stopped most of this attack, and he got off the line of attack just enough not to be seriously injured by a suspect intent on killing him. I am glad he practiced Active Self Protection!

News coverage of the attack with more details: http://get-asp.com/vkum

How do I protect myself against a knife attack?

1. Attackers don’t announce their attacks, so knowing how to survive the ambush is critically important to covering our ASP. Tony Blauer talks about the ambush and the startle flinch response all the time, and for good reason! Surviving the ambush and turning that startle flinch response into an effective self-defense tool is critical. Against a knife attack it is even more critical because it’s a deadly threat.

2. We see it SO often and lately it seems to bear repeating again and again, but the TASER is a distance force multiplier. To work correctly, it needs distance so that the prongs spread enough to cause Neuromuscular Incapacitation (NMI). If that doesn’t happen, it turns into a pain compliance tool. The officer could have used the unit itself as a third point of contact to cause wider spread as well. At any rate, recognize that the TASER is a less lethal force multiplier that should be used against non-lethal threats. (of course, if you’re LEO, refer to your SOPs…I am not telling you how to follow your department guidelines!) Even though it ended okay, that officer could easily have died from being stabbed in the neck.

3. Even with his tool in his hand and on target, the suspect was able to launch an effective attack against the officer before the officer could stop him. Empty-handed skills are critical when dealing with an armed opponent who is inside contact distance! You must be able to use your hands to fight your way to your force multipliers.

4. The Five Ds are effective against armed opponents, and we can see them working here. Deflect, Dominate, Distract, Disarm, Disable. First, we see the officer deflect the blade with his body position, then with his hand. Second, he dominated the suspect by pinning his lead (knife) hand and turning him away. Next, he distracted with the pain of the TASER. Then he and his partner disarmed, then finally took him into custody and therefore disabled him. We teach this pattern not because we like it, but because after watching hundreds of attacks we see the pattern again and again and again.

5. It takes a great deal of emotional fitness to fight against a knife attack. Knives are scary by definition, and when someone attacks you with one they are right in your face at bad breath distances. The way to build emotional fitness for surviving the ambush and winning the fight is to do it repeatedly on the training floor!

Attitude. Skills. Plan.