Combat's Cardinal Rule
by Hanho Sang H. Kim
Many years have passed since I survived dozens of missions as a
special agent while serving in the Korean military. Many missions
involved combat, both with weapons and with fists. A few members of
my elite 202 unit survived, many never made it.
Looking back, I find something valuable for my friends who couldn't
make it at the time. In the Academy for Special Agents at Jeong-
Neung, Korea, my combat instructor T.K. Kim used to scream at us
during the grueling knife-fighting training sessions, "Do not run
away from your opponent, get closer to him! Dissolve the knife in
your head!" I remember that most of my comrades who tried to run away
from their enemies got killed. Those who got injured by choosing to
stay closer, by following T.K. Kim's instruction, survived.
The cardinal rule of combat, whether against a knife or an empty-
handed adversary is "Stay close to your opponent!" Especially when
your opponent is armed with a knife, there is often no way out but to
stay close and fight. The keys for surviving in close quarters combat
against a knife are:
First, read the intent of your enemy. In combat, the enemy has only
one motive, to eliminate you and obtain his objective. This often
made the first assessment for me simple - there was not option to
escape or placate my attackers. In civilian life, however, you must
read your attackers intentions. Assess what he wants from you: your
money, your car, your pride, your honor, your life - assailants have
many motives for attacking their victims. If you can buy your way out
of a situation, whether through material possessions or your wits,
this is your best option. Do not hesitate to give the attacker if he
wants if it means he will spare you injury.
Second, assess the intensity of his hostility. Try to determine if
your attacker means to hurt you or to kill you; if he will be
satisfied by getting what he wants or if he is bent on violence for
the sake of violence. Many times you might find yourself faced with
an assailant that has no mercy and is bent on inflicting pain no
matter how you respond to his demands. If you cannot escape and your
attacker is intent on hurting you, you have no choice but to fight
back with all your might.
Third, acknowledge that you will get hurt. Once you commit to a
defense against a knife-wielding attacker, you must accept that you
will get hurt. Without overcoming this psychological hurdle, you
cannot hope to survive. Accepting that you will get hurt, allows you
let go of the notion that you must defend yourself perfectly. There
is no perfect defense against a knife. Things will not go as you
planned or practiced. You must be prepared to respond without
prejudice or preconceptions, something you cannot due if you cling to
the notion of a perfect defense.
Fourth, do not try to intercept the knife. Focusing on the knife is
the most deadly mistake you can make. The knife is simply an
inanimate object. You place your focus on the stopping your attacker,
not the inanimate object in his hand.
Fifth, attack the forearm, shoulders, neck, and head. To defeat the
knife, you must attack the limbs or if possible the intelligence that
is controlling it. The most practical initial attack will be to the
attacker's forearm (of the armed hand). The second most practical
attack will be to upper arm or shoulder. Both of these targets will
allow you to gain partial control of the knife wielding hand or at
least to momentarily divert the attack. Your final goal should be an
attack to the neck or head of the assailant to either control his
body or render him unconscious.
Sixth, cut in to the side or rear of the enemy. To attack the head or
neck, you must bypass the knife. To do this you have to divert the
attack with a looping, deflecting, parrying or cutting technique.
Once past the knife, you should always move to the side or rear to
take the attacker's balance and keep the knife as far from your body
as possible. This is the stage where staying close becomes essential.
Once you establish contact with the assailant's body, you have to
stick to him like glue. Any space between you and your attacker works
to his advantage, giving him space to maneuver the knife or take your
balance.
Seventh, destroy the central senses of the opponent. When you are in
close, you should have access to the assailant's head or neck to
apply a finishing technique. In combat, this is often a killing
technique, using the assailant's weapon against him. For civilian's a
lock, choke, or immobilization technique is suitable until help
arrives.
Simply put, to annihilate the opponent's intention to use the knife
to kill you is the best tactic. When this first option is not
possible, the second is to destroy the functionality of the weapon in
the assailant's hand by attacking the forearm, shoulders, head or
neck. In order to achieve this goal, you must stay close to get the
chance to break into the enemy's vulnerability during the split
second movement of the opponent's cutting or thrusting attack. When
you retreat, you give your assailant space to advance continuously
and drive you into the fatal psychological corner that magnifies your
fear and desperation.