In yet another sad addition to the catalog of violent attacks on school campuses, yesterday at Lone Star College near Houston, Texas a deranged individual went on a slashing spree with an exacto knife, wounding fourteen innocent people, two seriously. Thankfully, there were no fatalities.
I will not get on a soapbox rant why I think this episode underscores and SCREAMS to legislators why college students should have the right to carry a concealed weapon on their person while in class..(not just in their vehicles or dorm rooms). I will leave that for a later date.
What I will discuss is the need for all CO’s out there to have under their belt some type of REALISTIC counter-knife training. Lets be real guys, the proposition of facing a crazed nut job chasing people down while wildly swinging an exacto knife unarmed without a gun is not what I would call ideal, but it is not impossible either. After all, it was unarmed, but very aware students who took it upon themselves to take this idiot down and hold him until the cops arrived.
In most all police academies, there is a drill shown to the cadets to prove the fallacy that just because you have a gun, you are safe from a knife attack. It is called the “Tueller Drill”. In this drill, the instructor shows the cadets how fast a determined attacker could charge and stick a blade into you from 21 feet (7 yards) away. The cadets must draw a holstered handgun and make several “good hits” on target before the attacker reaches them. In most every scenario, the cadet get wounded or killed, most of the time, getting no hits onboard the attacker. Although a bit dated, the drill is still relevant in teaching movement of the X and making a clean presentation of your weapon.
The area that is often forgotten or neglected with knife attacks is close quarters situations. Where by no fault of the CO, the would be attacker is in close proximity when the attack begins. I want to take a moment here and say something about the so called “reactionary gap”. Most all of us have heard or been trained to always keep a minimum of “21 feet” distance between us and the bad guy. This type of thinking may be relevant on a battlefield, but when we are talking about everyday life, ie, the hum drum existence of most CO’s reading this, the distance (not the ideal) is ludicrous. Think about it, at your job, in the classroom, in the grocery store, at the bank, we are close to people all the time, it is just how the world is. Having said that, this in no way means the CO has to let their guard down.
I have always maintained that keeping a good “arms length” space (2-3 feet, depending on your wing span) between people is a realistic distance. If you combine this with solid situational awareness, and probally your biggest (and under-used) weapon, your voice, you are way ahead of the curve. If somebody gets too close or breaks your “personal space”, call them out on it.. begin politely and then escalate in tone and language as needed.
When you approach how best to neutralize a knife attack (not disarm), you need to approach it from the combative perspective; in other words, no matter if I had a gun, knife, stick or empty hand, I will approach the problem the same way, this creates a simplistic training approach and not a multi-tiered “system” as some trainers promote. Remember, when under severe stress, simplicity and violence of action rules the day!
Contact HCS today for our training schedule.. our Civilian Operator 101, 102 and 103 courses offer SUPERIOR edged weapons defense training!
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