Galle Face Green, Sri Lanka

My wife and I took a trip to Sri Lanka for a few weeks at the beginning of this year.  Other than the delicious food and some nice natural scenery, the trip was unfortunately a real disappointment.  People attempted to scam us several times a day, there were incredible numbers of stray dogs on the verge of death at every turn (hairless, missing legs, crushed paws, open sores, etc…very depressing), and overall there just wasn’t much to see.  We travel a lot, and this was the first trip I remember where we were ready to get back home well before it was over.

Train Ride

We traveled from Colombo to Galle on the same train line that was made famous by the terrible tsunami in 2004, and did see some pretty beaches:

Sri Lankan Beach

But most of Sri Lanka looked more like this:

Sri Lankan Road

Anyway, one of the only cool things I managed to find on the trip was this beautiful antique Sri Lankan knife called a piha kahetta:

Piha Kahetta - Sri Lankan Knife

It was very rusty when I bought it, but I spent this morning cleaning it up and I must say it’s a very nice looking knife.  It’s heavy, and extremely solid.  I love the carved handle:

Piha Kahetta Handle

Here’s a picture with the wooden scabbard:

Knife with Scabbard

Jab & Stab

All empty hand vs. knife defenses are problematic.  The guy with the knife has a huge advantage.  With that said, there is one unskilled attack, common in prisons, that is harder to deal with than the rest…the jab and stab, shove and stab, or sewing machine.  In this attack the attacker uses his lead arm to shove you and keep you away from the knife wielding arm while he repeatedly stabs you.

Sewing Machine

Even if you manage to block the first stab the attacker just pulls back cutting your arm, or continues to stab you faster than you can block.  So what do you do?  Here’s a solution as good as any: The Jab & Stab Defense.

I’ve been meaning to post for months now, but haven’t had the time recently.  Last week I was able to film a couple of videos, one on Pekiti Tirsia Knife Tapping and another on wing chun trapping and boxing.  I’ve just put the PT video up, which you can access from the previous link, and in the next few days I’ll get another up on wing chun and boxing.  Let me know what you think.

-Justifiable Use: There are a very limited number of situations when knife use is legally and morally justifiable. In these cases there are better suited weapons.

-Inability to Adjust Severity: You can’t really decide how much damage you do with a knife. It’s always potentially deadly.

-Lack of Impact: When people get stabbed or slashed they don’t feel it. Wouldn’t an impact weapon be a better deterrent?

-Required Range: You need to get close with a knife. An expandable baton, pepper spray, or even a gun gives you more options.

-Nastiness: Attacking someone with a knife is nasty! There’s going to be blood all over the place.

If you’re going to carry a weapon for self defense, choose a better one. The knife has too many disadvantages…unless you’re going to carry a machete that is.