Blade Once Was Immediate End...pt.1

 ...or, in a word - Bowie! It is probably safe to say that my interest in combative use of the bowie knife comes from the same dimension as that regarding tomahawk. This time however, I will split the review of the materials into three categories: introductory; comprehensive course; and additional resources. In presenting them, the order in which the materials are presented is based on the alphabetical order of the authors' last name. So, without further ado...

James Keating's double video package titled Legacy of Steel is essentially the edited recording of one of his legendary Riddle of Steel camps that he used to run annually for a number of years. It was professionally recorded and edited by the good folks of the Paladin Press, so we all can benefit from this work. And benefits abound! The first volume of the pack is titled Left Hand Path and deals with the close quarters use of smaller knives, the method being strongly influenced by FMA approach, and as good as it is (more like awesome), we shall focus today on the second volume - the Right Hand Path. 

What we have here is roughly a 50-minute introduction to all the fundamental aspects regarding the usage of bowie-type, i.e. big knives. Keating starts with a spoken introduction to the specifics of this kind of knife, thus providing the context for the better understanding of the instruction that follows. He is than joined by another Comtech instructor, Rob Langford, who gives an excellent explanation of the timing that makes the bowie knife such a feared and respected implement. In practice, he analyzes and demonstrates teh mechanics of non-telegraphing striking, exemplified on this occasion by the straight thrust. Keating takes over the instruction to work on the topics of guard, with focus on the blind-spot targeting, and stance that serves as a mobile platform for the whole thing. Next, he shows the tactical maneuvers of in quartata and passata soto that allow you to place your thrusts as counters to the opponents initiative. In the last section, Langford steps in again to teach the functioning of the often mentioned but rarely understood specialty of of the bowie - back cut! 

All in all, this is a great video, which should give an excellent overview of what the bowie knife is about, and if you practice the material diligently, it should give you a fairly sufficient command of the tool in practice, in case you do not want to investigate further. 

The next piece is a book from Marc Lawrence, with a rather interesting take on the subject. Specifically, as indicated by the title American Bowie Knife Methods From the 1880s, the author takes a HEMA-type approach. Even the historical overview of the origins and popularity of the weapon itself is shown through a newspaper article from 1888, with all of the possible inaccuracies and bias, so the interpretation is left to the reader. When it comes to the fighting methods, he uses two newspaper articles from 1890 and 1888 (in that order for some reason), and then uses the information therein to formulate a couple dozen drills and exercises in order to put the material into practice. According to him, the goal here is to help the readers/practitioners to the level of skill demonstrated by the exponents, as described in the original articles. 

Now, this approach is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, most instructors teaching the bowie knife today are explicit in saying that there is no a sure way to establish the period-authenticity of the techniques and methods used, i.e. that we can't know with certainty how Jim Bowie himself or other exponents in the first half of the 19th century, presumably the heyday of this type of knife, fought or taught their craft. Lawrence attempts to get us as close as possible, using the information that is as close as possible to the historical period and geographical region concerned. Second, while most practitioners would use this kind of resource to maybe pick up a couple of techniques or tactics at best, he strives to look beyond mere individual nuggets and see a bigger picture, thus developing an actual training plan that would get us to a higher level of understanding and, consequently, skill. 

It has to be noted that the two articles used as mining source are quite similar, possibly a retelling of the same story.What are the implication of this fact to the historical authenticity and technical accuracy of the content...I leave that to the reader to ponder. 

Among these three resources, James Loriega's book Behind the Bowie Blade is the only one that offers some comprehensiveness in its historical introduction, regarding the origin of the tool, particularly with regards to the influences of other cultures and earlier blade designs that were present in the southern part of today's USA in 1830's, where the roots of the phenomenon are. 

Unlike the previous author, Loriega adheres to the subtitle - A Personal Method of Edged Defense - when treating the hands-on portion of the book. It means we get to see his own interpretation of how a big knife ought to be used for the combative purpose. While doing that, he covers all the bases required for a well rounded grasp of the situation: cuts, thrusts and related fundamentals; attack and defense; footwork and targeting; recommendations for safe training, including several suitable models of training knives for this kind of work. 

Now, the author offers a rather succinct sort of instruction, primarily relying on written descriptions and very few illustrations. In itself that wouldn't bother me much, if there wasn't for the fact that out of 100 pages of this book as many as 15 (fifteen!) are used for a selection of posters and pictures from the a number of movies and TV shows that dealt with the lore of Jim Bowie. Aside from a possible bit of nostalgia trip for some of the readers, it seems to me that this space would have been much better used for a somewhat more detailed coverage of the instructional portion of the book. That said, it is an expensive book, and probably goes in tandem with Keating's video better that the previous one, due to a more conceptual method of approaching the material.

If these resources succeed in awakening more interest for the subject matter, keep en eye on the following posts about it.

Down 'n' dirty shanking school

 When I first got interested in knife related combative issues, back in mid-90's, there were few printed resources available, and not all of them good. Having had a few years of traditional/typical martial art training under my belt, I was, naturally looking for methods that looked legit by having a more or less set curriculum and training progression to follow...and actually found a couple of training  manuals that fit in with such criteria. Then, I stumbled upon a small book that didn't, but instead it raised some uncomfortable issues and made me ponder difficult questions, which happened to shed a new light on the whole subject...

Obviously, it offered a look from the perspective we don't usually think of, thus painting a more realistic picture of the problem that one may face, involving blades. To be honest, I don't know whether the book is still available, but ultimately - it doesn't matter.

Enter the main topic of today's post - Medusa edged weapons system! The background story doesn't sound too uncommon: a couple of practitioners weren't exactly satisfied with regular, readily accessible methods of dealing with knife threats and associated problems, so they started looking for more practical solutions. The fact that they were a father and son combo of Mike and Seth Raymond  makes it a bit more interesting, but ultimately they turned to the US penal/correctional system, reckoning that most of today's reality blade users reside there. If you are interested into their research method, check this interview out:

Another key figure in the development of Medusa is its leading instructor Jason Schultz, a long time practitioner of martial arts and combatives, with an eye toward practicality and focus on the combative methods with roots in WWII. The thing is, Mr. Schultz really boiled the teaching down into a set of tools and principles that accelerate the training process, and then he wrote a manual about it. 

Now, it is a rather short read, but covers all the info you need in order to develop a functional skill in handling a knife (or shank) in a defensive situation. Besides, there is not much talking here about history, lineage, (pseudo)philosophy, or even knife related stuff like selection, carry or deployment (all of which are often predicated on individual preferences and environment), nor on the legalities of using blades in self-defense situations (variable from one locale to another). 

What the author does cover, on the other hand, are the topics of basic tactical protocol, grips and thrusts, stance, movement, target zones, some specific tactics (throttling, stick shifting), and a few sample sequences/combos to work on. Interestingly enough, the section on knife vs. knife type of encounter is very short. That is because Mr. Schultz stresses the importance of mindset and simplicity of technical arsenal as the foundation of the Medusa approach to fighting. 

The way I see it, the real significance of this manual, and Medusa system as a whole, is not in coming up with another "ultimate supreme" new combative recipe, but rather in helping you understand the problem, i.e. the kind of adversary you might one day have to face...and hopefully prevail. In that regard, this is probably the best source you can find at the moment, and I cannot recommend it enough. After studying the material in this book, and putting it into practice, that task should be easier to complete. After all, what use are the latest, cutting edge technology sights if you are aiming in the wrong direction? 

If you are intrigued, the manual is available as a PDF download, so you can "get your hands dirty" ASAP. If you are more of a video type of person and would like to learn more, make sure to find and follow the author on Instagram, where his profile is benkei_sohei.