NJ Cops | Page 78

TRAINING STATION Products, Services, Classes and Seminars for On The Job Solid counter-knife tactics defeat the thrust In the practice of counter knife tactics, defeating the knife thrust in close quarters is a critical component to surviving and dominating this violent encounter. Of course, there is the possibility of taking a thrust to the abdomen/pelvic area, but you will still need to overcome the thrust that makes impact and any subsequent thrusts. FRED Whether the first thrust makes contact or not, the BAUER technique to be discussed in this article is critical to surviving this attack and worth mastering. The goal of the article is to illustrate the mechanics of defeating the thrust. It is with full understanding that real-world, closequarter combat will be sudden and violent. ReACT Defeating the thrust is based on the counter weapons principals of ReAct. ReACT is an acronym for: Re - Redirect the weapon away from your body; A - Avoid by moving your body away from or behind the weapon; C - Control the attacker’s weapon arm while countering and attacking vital areas; T - Take away the attacker’s intention/take away the weapon/take off! Figure 1 78 NEW JERSEY COPS Defeating the thrust “Defeating the Thrust” is included in the Gung Ho Chuan Association (GHCA) Program of Instruction (POI), which trains members to defeat the thrust with the following: • Execute a double arm strike; • Sweep the opponent’s weapon arm to the outside and wrap/trap it • Simultaneously counter/strike vital areas. Scenario With these methods in mind, the following illustration is based on a scenario where you and your attacker are facing each other. Suddenly, the attacker pulls a knife from his waistband and executes a thrust toward your abdominal area with his right hand. The term “outside arm” refers to your arm on the same side as the arm delivering the attack, as follows: As you face each other and the attacker thrusts with his right arm, your outside arm is your left arm. The inside arm, in this circumstance, would be your right arm. This demonstration is set up from the position most attackers will take to thrust with maximum-generated power – the right hand. A right-handed thrust will usually cause the attacker to move to their left (your right) as they thrust, (Figure 1) since it is natural to move in the direction of the thrust to generate more power at a close distance. Moving in to the left not only assists in delivering a power Figure 2 ■ FEBRUARY 2016