From Nick Drossos: “Niko was the second person to volunteer in our knife defense social experiment. He was curious to see how he could use self defense to help him out in a knife attack. In this video, we are looking at a different perspective of knife attacks when standing up.
When Nick asked Niko what his instinct told him to do in this kind of situation, he answered something pretty common and normal, something that is probably the first thing on everyone’s mind: Run away.
Instinct might tell you to run away from a dangerous situation. The thing is, what if it isn’t possible? Say you can’t run away from a knife attack, what do you do? You defend yourself and you fight back using strategic moves.
Take into account that if you’re going to be in a knife attack, and someone is coming straight at you, and in close range, you will need to fight. In one case scenario, your opponent might come straight at you, demanding an item you have on you. (The best recommendation is to comply. A material object is not worth your life, of course).
Most importantly though, you must take into account your attacker’s stance and demeanor. If he has a hand behind his back, you have to assume he has a weapon to use against you. You need to assume the worst, and do what it takes to survive.
Now, let’s say he’s demanding the item, and the moment you go to give it to him, he moves frontwards and pulls out a knife. What do you do? You maintain a passive and neutral stance in front of your opponent. You cannot show fear.
You should always strike first if you notice something is wrong. However, it’s possible to be caught slightly off guard. If this happens, the moment he goes to strike you, you trap the knife. You must try to make your opponent drop the knife, if possible. To strike back, go with an elbow or a palm strike, or even a powerful head butt.
Time is precious, so do not on any account waste it. You must attack. It’s best to step in right away and incapacitate your opponent as quickly as possible. You need to do everything in your power to endure the attack and to make it out alive. If you don’t fight back, you will surely die.
Surviving is the only thing of importance in this predicament.”
