Over the past year or so I have
been working and experimenting much more with the “opposite direction” of the
edge when using the knife in the reverse grip mode. The idea itself is
certainly not new, probably first presented in the public by James A. Keating,
while some other prominent proponents who have had influence on my approach to
it are Southnarc, Ray Floro and some others (I am working on a monster review
of their materials in a post to be done soon). OK, for those who are not sure
what am I talking about…
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| Note the orientation of the cutting edge |
This way to hold the knife is
known under several terms, such as inverted edge, back edge, scythe
grip etc, but the term I will use here is reverse grip edge in, or RGEI for short, simply because it seems to
be the most widespread one.
Of course, one of the first
questions to arise is: “why would I wanna use this one”? well, obviously, for
the advantages it has over the regular reverse grip, with the edge turned out. Attention!
It does have its shortcomings too, but for the sake of brevity, this time I
will only address the advantages.
So, first and foremost, this grip
works very well with regards to both human biomechanics and mechanical
construction of your average folding knife (naturally, mechanically speaking,
fixed blade knives are superior to folders). When I say human biomechanics, it
means that it is much easier to generate force by pulling an implement towards
yourself then pushing it away. Therefore, if in a combative situation you have
to cut through your opponents obstacles, it is much easier to do with RGEI then
with the “normal” grip. In view of the mechanical construction of a typical
folder, if you hold it with the edge out and should happen to miss your target
on the stab and only hit it (or something else) during the retraction, the
knife’s locking mechanism is much more likely to fail than with RGEI.
Second, this grip really forces
you to focus on the manner of application that is actually most suitable with
smaller knives, i.e. stabbing over cutting/slashing. It is not my intention to
engage in what seems the never ending debate among the combative circles,
relating to which action is better tactically. Again, I am simply talking about
the circumstances dictated by the logistics, i.e. physical features of the tool
at hand. Having that in mind, it makes training an average person, with little
previous experience in this field, somewhat easier and quicker. See, coupled
with the previous aspect of natural mechanics of motion, plus prevalence of
gross motor movement under stress, this makes for the wining combination.
Stemming from the previous two
points (I really like how things are so compact here), the techniques that lend
themselves naturally with the knife, used in RGEI mode, tend to translate
rather well and almost directly with so many improvised weapons, or weapons of
opportunity, such as ball pens, flashlights, smaller water bottles, even rocks
and a host of other things.
OK, I lied… I will address what
is probably the biggest disadvantage of this grip. Actually not the grip
itself, but the procedure of its acquisition. If you are able to carry a fixed
blade knife on a daily basis, then this is not even of concern. If, on the
other hand, you are sporting a folder, then the deployment of an average knife
in this grip is a bitch. One way to circumvent it is to obtain the specific
tailored knife, such as Southnarc’s Spyderco P’kal.
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| P'kal |
