1. 

I would hit him with the nearest chair I could get my hands on, BEFORE he got back up. I would continue to hit him until I knew he could no longer threaten me with the knife and was prone on the floor. If I could not reach a chair (if in a bar) a pool cue would do even better. If I was at a party (not in a bar) I would consider removing my belt and using it as a Manriki, striking with the buckle to gain position advantage and possibly strike his wielding hand and wrap the arm to lead to a disarm control. There is also the option (since he was knocked down) to side step his position on the floor and head kick him as he attempted to regain his feet.

If he had already regained his feet and attempted an attack with the knife there are more variables that come into play and attempting to describe all the possible scenarios here would be to re-write several books on unarmed defense versus an armed opponent.

The key to remember when fighting an armed opponent, to assume to know exactly what you will do to prevail will leave you guessing when your opponent does something unexpected. Extensive training is the only way to prepare for this type of situation. And even in Krav Maga (legitimate schools) we will tell you... "We won't guarantee you won't get hurt during the fight. But if you train properly, and commit to your defense, you will survive."

and it sounds like you are going to be badly sliced up.

attackers dont always react they way you plan in your head, besides there are a load or variables not accounted for.

or do you think he will just sit there and let you take the knife from him.

edit:>

it depend how much room i had, if i could grab an object and use it, how he is holding the knife and his weight distribution. there is a lot more to this then just your simple statement.

i have been in a few situations and reacted differently to each one. i only ever got a way once with out getting cut, and that was because i grabbed a garbage can cover, they work very similar to a sai and came in quite handy along with everything i was throwing at him.

Get anything longer than his knife to use as a weapon. Pretty much longer the better. Or get something to throw that is very lethal. Use either of the weapons to move the guy out of the way and bolt for the exit. If nothing’s in range to become a weapon, then I’d cross myself and try to gain control over the knife hand(usually with a hand or two on his arm). Then I’d go for a throw probably aiming for a leg trips , because these I can keep the blade pretty far from me as I do them. (Hip throws would have the arm circling back towards me as he goes down.)

Also I’d skip shady bars and not sleep in the ally way. ;)

So this drunk clown hits me and then I hit him back and knock him down. That's easy because as soon as he goes down I am doing one of two things. Either I am heading out the door or I am going to establish control over the clown so that he can't get back up and try and hit me again or pick up a beer bottle or do anything else of a threatening nature towards me or others. How much I hurt him during that depends on him but I am not giving him a chance to try and re-establish control in any way of things and what happens and that includes reaching in pockets, trying to get up, or anything else.

Some drunk idiot that just hit you that you then knocked down is probably not reaching in his pocket or boot for his car keys nor is he probably going to suddenly have an epiphany and find religion and suddenly become a nice guy.

Once things go down that road I have found it best to establish control over them and keep that control just for some of the reasons like what your situation describes. Letting them back up and everybody singing gumb-by-all and forgiving and forgetting while that person is still drunk usually leads to more problems for everyone concerned shortly thereafter.

I actually distance myself from some people if they appear to be drunk or high in some places just because that can make them unpredictable. They tend to start trouble with whoever happens to be closest or nearby and why idly sit and watch a situation develop that puts you at risk? Sometimes that of course can't entirely be avoided and I have been in the situation where I wished I had sat at the far end of the bar than in the seat I choose. Even then there are usually things that can be done before things play out like what you describe to negate things like this from happening to you and that's the smartest and best thing usually.

If you are in a strange place or in a place with questionable people why would you move to an enclosed area like that? I know it's not an answer but still why?

So now you woke up in an enclosed area, in that situation I am guessing you were passed out and even with adrenalin you are going to get cut. If you train I bet they concentrate a lot on kata don't they.

Thinking about it ahead of time or while it happens means you are going to get cut, you already lost. You don't know when or how it will happen. This is not kata, nobody is going to attack you the way you want them to.

It's not a fair question, there are so many variables. A party or a bar are two places I wouldn't carry a gun, but a dark alley? I wouldn't be caught there to begin with, but if I knew that would be my route, that's what I'd be packing. So much of self-defense begins long before the confrontation begins.

Then again, so much also relies in the instant snapshot in time during an attack.

There are many knife defenses, but all rely on moving out of the way (or better, either getting off the line of attack, or moving the line of attack). And where to move out of the way depends on the method of attack with the knife (thrust, slash, etc)

So, first thing's first: move out of the way: there are 8 cardinal directions, and depending on the direction moved, the neutralization of the strike can begin with a few dozen techniques. After that is what to do with the attacker - pin him, throw him, choke him, or even kill him: they all depend on environmental factors: multiple opponents, more weapons, multiple friends, etc - none of which you defined in your premises.

So without any of the details qualified, I think the first thing I'd do would be to just move out of the way.

This is impossible to answer because you are basing your answer on one method of attack, but the attack will be much more frenzied than that. There are many factors you need to take into the equation all in an instant and then you need to decide the best form of defending the attack. Talking about what you would do online is completely useless because it all depends upon what the knife holder wants to do and how they are going to attack you.

Bogey man was right though, if its a bar and he pulls a knife then a bar stool or chair is a much better weapon.. A bar stool can be a wonderful weapon for self defense. I would sooner protect myself with a bar stool or chair than most other things i could get my hands on.

My experience says that in many cases, self-defense whatever the situation and what your opponents are carrying, is about intercepting the attack with a strike before he reaches to you, and then control with a grappling move..Is easier like that, to take what you are going to take...

Blocks are quite second choice defense for me...You can avoid, you can intercept, blocking though is not my experience. Even with the hands up, I would prefer to have them up, just to intercept the attack by not letting my opponent get in before I strike him..

That is my experience.

Situation: your in an inclosed area, doesn't matter where, think bar or even better, party.





A guys drunk. He wants to fight you, you try to get away but your trapped. You can't run. The guy hits you. You hit him back and knock him down.





HE PULLS A KNIFE!





What would you do?





My defense I would use: An inside reap to his arm, control his arm into a takedown and get the knife OR shuto crossblock, circle and disarm him the same way. Whats your defense?

I'd tell him, 'let's finish this outdoors'. You know there are people around you don't want anybody else get hurt. If he goes for it I'd go, open the door for him and since I am a polite person would let him go through the door first and without going through the door would close the door on him and lock it. Problem solved, noone got hurt.

I like the $20 bill one and trying to buy the guy a beer too.

If I had to fight right there and then, I'd grab a chair or a table to put between myself and that guy and then try to back out. Fighting someone with a knife with bare hands is stupid. You are going to get cut.

If you have to do bare hands, depending on the attack he gives me ude osae, aiki nage, shiho nage, kote gaeshi, kote mawashi, kaiten nage, kote maki, irimi nage, ki nage,... just a few that come to mind and then I probably will need a few stitches.

I'm all for the buy him a drink idea.

If the jerk has revealed the knife he is not out to kill you he's out to make a show, he just wants you to panic, he'd rather let you run away screaming like a sissy because he doesn't want to have to use the knife.

If somebody means to kill you with a knife you find out about it after they've used it.

If you see the knife, he probably won't attack you. If he wants to attack you, the knife will stay hidden until its too late. Usually a knife attack will be very low (abdomen/stomach level) so most blocks will be difficult to pull off. If you were to get the opportunity to block the knife, mawashe uke followed by kote gaeshi is always a safe bet. You're on his outside so he has less opportunities to counter attack you and the blade is out of the way. Also, with kote gaeshi, the opponent will usually drop the knife.

theoretically there can never be any good suggestion. a fight is a ever-changing situation.

basic need is to stay out of his reach.

any kind of cloth you are wearing can be used to trap his arm,

using knee kicks are goo choice,

The thing about knife defense (and self defense in general) is that you will not know exactly what you can and will do until you actually do it. I would suggest that you practice for the most likely situations the most and get it down to an instinctual level so you can react properly when the situation actually happens.

Considering most knife attacks go down like this: