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Knife Defense the First Strike
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
December 5, 2025, Israel
Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of self-defense is defense vs a determined knife attack. Many martial arts tackle this problem, yet few come even close to solving it. Most Krav Maga that is taught these days fares no better. The problem begins with incorrect training.
It is very difficult to correctly mimic a real attack, as when we train, we of course are aware of the attack. (the guy is wearing a Krav Maga T shirt, the schedule says, "Knife Defense Class", well then, the attack will not be a surprise). The most common issue I have with this well intended training, the greatest flaw, is that the Defender is psychologically, physically and emotionally prepared. In fact, he is anticipating the attack. This totally negates the vast amount of Krav Maga training out there. Sorry.
I have spent decades tackling this problem. These types of knife attacks happen worldwide and are particularly common in Israel.
While I cannot claim that we have totally solved this problem I do believe that we have made great progress and that our defense is more effective than anything else out there today. Of course, I cannot, and will not, teach it here via words alone. For that you will have to make some commitment, come to training or sign up for our online program. But I will share the concepts behind our defense. No words can fully describe the techniques, only training, in-person, and videos, can help with that.
I will take the approach of analyzing some comments made by a Krav Maga instructor from another system. As always, I do not mention names, but he made some good points and seems to be at least in the correct direction, but he is not teaching what we teach. At least he is noticing what others have missed.
We begin.
He attacks a student with what we at IKI call a "Running knife attack", it is not the classic "Ice Pick" attack where the attacker lifts his arm up high, but it is a shorter, choppier attack, the angle is different. I have seen many of these stabbings in the Old City of Jerusalem. In the training video the student is of course expecting the attack, and does a decent job of defending, and yet, the angle of the attack is such that his defense, while possibly mitigating the initial damage, does get through. As the instructor says, It touched him. OK..we continue.
The instructor takes note of this and "secretly" whispers to the crowd, "the truth is, 'between us', the first strike will touch you most of the time". He correctly points out that this is because Action beats Reaction.
Two points here
1. I have heard this from many Krav Maga instructors - One must accept that the first stab will get you, will penerate you. Such is life.
2. He takes it as a given that we are always only reacting, responding.
I will address both of these points as we go on.
The instructor next points out that we "need to identify what is going on, he has already started the motion." Again, this is correct. and it is a problem we have been addressing for years with our Universal Block. My entire premise is built on the fact that all defenses I have seen are reactions, and reactions are always too late. More on that soon.
He continues, usually I will catch him here... (he demonstrates in the middle, too late), as he demonstrates that he is able to partially intercept the attack, but it is really too late, because at that angle the attacker has every advantage. The Defender's arm is not in a position to truly block the attack at this point; it is too late in the trajectory; the angle is against him.
He next points out, again correctly, that "his momentum at this point is stronger than mine". He proceeds to mock other styles that pretend to be effective. At this point I disagree, all styles are trying their best. I do not mock anyone who attempts to learn defend themselves.
Now I will get to my point, and solution, as much as the written word allows.
The First Stab Will Get Us -The popular idea that there is nothing we can do about the first strike, the first stab, so...we just accept that and learn to be tough and fight back, I totally reject. Have you ever seen a first stab? It can cut deep and cause serious damage, but more than that, it is a shock to the system, the victim begins to bleed, becomes weaker. Perhaps more important is that the first successful stab is immediately followed by another, and then yet another. Our tough guys think, Yeah, I can take a stab or two and then I will clubber him. I don't think so. Cases I have studied showed that the first step only accelerated the second stab, it is difficult to stop a process in motion. Unless one is wearing armored protection vests, I believe the first stab will cause damage and on-going effect that will be extremely difficult to stop. Thus, I reject the notion of the first stab being unavoidable and we can just take it from there. We must find a way to stop that first stab!
We are Reacting - Yes, and No. I have often used the example given by my Economics professor years ago, long before internet, by the time the ink is dry on the Wall Street Journal, all the information there is of no practical value as this information has already been absorbed into the market. Thus, there is no way you can benefit by this information. i.e. If it is written that Pepsi and Coca Cola are merging, and therefore the stock will rise, by the time you read this that information is too old to act upon as the price has already risen! The paper now is only useful for historical information, but you cannot act upon this to make more money.
It is the same with Knife Defenses. The instructor pointed out that we "need to identify what is going on, he has already started the motion." Based on Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle and the explanation about Wall Street, and his own testimony, yes, once the process is in motion, in very fast and aggressive motion, now we need to identify it? I have news for you, as my professor pointed out, now is too late! Elvis has left the building! The plane has crashed against the mountain. If we are indeed reacting, we are too late. As Heisenberg points out, an object in motion, it's exact position cannot be determined. We have position and momentum, we cannot determine both with any degree of certainty, and yet that is precisely what these Krav Maga instructors are advocating! Are they smarter than Professor Werner Heisenberg? I think not.
Once the attack is in motion it is too late for us to respond in any sort of effective way. As my professor pointed out, we need "inside information", but how do we get that? (hang on...)
In the demonstration lesson the instructor continues and says, usually I will catch him here...(in the middle, too late) but the position he is showing is a very weak position. The attacker has the upper hand, literally and figuratively. The body position is such that the Defender's arm is bent and collapsing while the Attacker has the wider angle, the top position. Anatomically the Defender has already lost. It is just a matter of body mechanics. The Defense was too late in coming and now has a very disadvantageous position.
Additionally, the instructor points out, "his momentum at this point is stronger than mine", that means the Attacker is not only in a better position but has the advantage of momentum.
Let us look at the advantages the Attacker has at this point.
1. He initiated the attack.
2. He successfully stabbed the Victim/Defender
3. He has the upper hand body position, the leverage he needs.
4. He has the momentum, while the Defender is trying to stop an objective in motion.
This does not paint a very good picture for the Defender. In the cases I have studied, over many years, the result is death. This is not good enough for me.
So how do we differ?
With the IKI Universal Block the premise is that when we sense something, some movement, any kind of movement towards us, we train ourselves to use our instinctive "arms up" to produce a powerful block. We are tapping into the body's natural resources. The instinct of fear causes us to raise our arms in defense, our training teaches how to do so properly for maximum effectiveness. (Again, you need to see this and experience it, beyond the power of words.)
The uncertainty principle is a fundamental concept in quantum mechanics that asserts a limit to the precision with which certain pairs of physical properties can be known simultaneously. Therefore, as we accept this, we understand we are dealing with uncertainty, we accept the fact that we will not know the angle, speed, direction or nature of the attack until it is too late to act upon this information. Therefore, we take a preventative Wide Approach.
As soon as we detect the slightest motion, we raise our arms in the IKI Universal Block, this will cover most attacks, whether they be punches, elbow strikes, just a push or a "chest to chest" macho attack, or a knife attack of any type of blade. In cases where we do not know if it is just a push, not so violent and not justifying a strong reaction, or a knife attack, our defense allows for blocking without taking unnecessary violence. In other words, if it turns out it was just a chest movement or a push, or an empty threat, we will not be charged with violent assault. If you work in security this is critical to saving your job, and staying out of jail.
There are modifications based on the type of attack but the beauty of it all is that the initial block will put us in a position to quickly adjust to whatever comes our way, violent or not, justifying the use of force, or not.
Summary
The instructor made very valid points, and we offer solutions to deal with the challenges he pointed out. We will not accept a first stab to our face or body. We will not try to intercept an object in motion; we will not go against the laws of physics and nature.
For more details...contact us (below). Real solutions for Real Situations for Real people.
Moshe Katz, 7th dan Black Belt, Israeli Krav Maga. Certified by Wingate Institute. Member Black Belt Hall of fame, USA and Europe.
Understand the Israeli Fighting Mentality - Israel a Nation of Warriors by Moshe Katz
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What are the Biblical origins of Krav Maga and who was the first Krav Maga instructor?
What weapons and military strategies did our Biblical ancestors use?
How has Krav Maga developed in Israel and what are its goals?
All that and more in this unique book.
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