Cutting vs Stabbing vs thrusting

BRAM · Post by **BRAM** » Sun Oct 20, 2002 3:15 am

I know it might be a moot point..and nothjing is written in stone...but there's advantages and disadvantages to each type of attack or counter.
Cutting brings into play the tools best asset the edge..of course one needs a closeness that thrusting or stabbing doesn't need..and cutting usually does wotrk as expected but depth of the cut can make a diffrence..
A straight line thrust that punctures can end it all..of course if you are off by a bit then your thrust doesn't work at all..
then I guess stabbing....multipul small thrusts..that make sure that there's plenty of holes...

In self defense and In combat I prefer cutting..
Cutting takes less specific targets,..even in a bio mechanical mode one is targeting areas not specific small points of entry..
Cutting usually shuts down function... Stabbing & thrusting might and they certain ly might kill- or disfunction someone..except it might be later rather than now...

Less blade length is needed to cut whereas to stab or thrust the greater the length of tool, within reason of course the better the result...

cutting makes and takes less committment to the action..leaving less to counter attack from..

Of course if you're a thruster you're thinking I'm crazy..ROFL..
and in some cases I might be,...

be safe..

Bram

Dan Anderson · Post by **Dan Anderson** » Sun Oct 20, 2002 9:50 pm

Another thought to ponder: as stabbing requires more committment, it also leaves you open to a disabling bio-mechanical cut unless done at close range.

Also, there is the viewpoint of where you doing the knife fight in the first place. Are you in public with people watching? Are you in a war zone? Are you in private where no one knows this is occurring? Civil liabilities are the point here.

You can defend yourself and win the fight and get thoroughly hosed in civil court if you are in public and a martial artist. The courts require magical Bruce Lee-ness from martial artists.

Just some thoughts.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

BRAM · Post by **BRAM** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 3:56 pm

Dan would know about countering..Hes made a specialty about seeing actions and countering..
Thats part of the fighting game..
look and you will see..

I know people say length of blade will make a real difference in cutting so thrusting or stabbing is better...
OK.. organs feel no pain.. stabbing may kill someone, it might give shock results or it might do nothing..
many people come to emergency rooms with multipul stab wounds complaining of back or stomach pain and never realize they have been stabbed ...( I worked the ER for a few years..in my ypounger days as a EMT-1 and PA)

If a blade is too short to cut with why atempt to stick it into something..???
OK OK..I know this might be diffrent with 41 inches of tapered steel, a rapier..and we are combative fencing..Yes I know in swords..makig point works..yes.. I know it can work in knives..
BUT the weaponbs of war are cutting tools as well, more so than thrusting tools..Rapiers never made it to war..
they were street events .., person to person affairs..
not viloent combative encounters per se..

Form follows function..I have more edge to use than point..so I personally use the edge to stop funtion by destroying the existing form..

Human tissue is soft and gives on impact..cutting keeops going right through the tissues..
I can cover myself and cut- slash..
Can I do so with thrusting-stabbing? yes in reverse grip I can do panic thrusting-stabbing in a hammering motion..

I don't think either way is good for the bad guy..

I think alot of this is personal..

I'd prefer to slash for it affords me more options as i go within the flow of usage and I see it as the only way toenact Bio mechanical shut down..

be safe

Bram

I. Woolley · Post by **I. Woolley** » Fri May 30, 2003 5:58 am

cutting IMO tends to cuse more shock by the impact and severing of tissue much liike ho gun shots kill. trusts can be dealier than cuts but only if if in the critcal areas other wise it could take while to kill.

Halford · Post by **Halford** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:58 am

to fully resolve this question, you need only attempt to slash,stab, thrust or cut people to see the effectiveness of this but you must use a wide variety of blades with varied characteristics, no doubt, and you will find some are better at these things than most of us will ever be,simply because they've killed more people doing this! Armchair discussions of such only lead to further arguments so get a job in a slaughterhouse,although today things are not the same as they once were, and see what you can do with meat,etc. I am not being sarcastic, exactly, but a good point raised by some here, is that seeing the victims of stabbings,etc. as in the case of medical work, is something that will aid in understanding these things better. Of course, you can go to Africa and see the various people walking around(?) with amputated limbs and then you can also draw some other conclusions about such things. Most of us are not too adept in hacking, stabbing, thrusting, strangling, and chopping people to death but surprisingly how an emotionally aroused person can do such and those trained in various self-defense arts, usually cops, are unable to stop them short of a bullet! Thanks for your time. Halford

BRAM · Post by **BRAM** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 2:52 am

To those that post on here..I've been in and out of country teaching, designing new knives and training methodologies...and working on other forums..
sorry for the long absence..

Halford:
nice to hear from you..You sare correct in that working with meat adds to ones credible understanding of the cuts & thrusts..However..I don't feel that looking at amputees adds credibility or significance to cutting or thrusting.. Amputation or rendering of limbs to non functionality and the subsequent ability to function as a human being AFTER the grievous wound or medical operation is healed...has no bearing on whether it is a thrust or cut..nor to it's effectiveness..BUt it does serve to show that people continue. people survive and that medical intervention can save lives that normally would have been lost...

Cutting meat..cutting animals does give some idea of usefullness of the action..
Cutting meat allows for feel of blade...
Hunting with blades gives another view...animal -instinctive reation to attack.the cutting of resistive flesh..very differen t than slaughtered meat...
Working in Emegency rooms and surgery again gives a view point of the effectiveness of the medical version of cutting -thrusting and the ability of modern science to deal with the gravity of those wounds..
People bend, spindle, mutilate and don't die..pretty amazing..

Thanks for adding your expertice to this thread...

be safe

Bram

Halford · Post by **Halford** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 3:19 am

Thannks for your kind reply. What I meant about amputations is this: so few of us in modern society(in the West) see such widespread amputation as the result of conflicts, wars, ethnic cleansing that the reality of such is a shock to those who have not seen such. Usually, the limbs,etc.n the West have been trea ted and doctored(no pun intended) and artificial devices attached, implanted,etc. to restore some function and shape,etc. Say plastic surgery for some.... that when such is not there, and we see vast amounts of this, well, I think you know what I mean by now. No, you are right, such does not really indicate the manner in which the limbs were hacked off,etc. Have to dash. Halford

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Halford · Post by **Halford** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 5:19 pm

It has been a very long time since I have been able to post anything on this website and a lot of things have happened,some of which will bear on this topic due to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere as we read this. The entire world seems engulfed in wars and conflicts of one kind or another and descriptions of such will vary for a number of reasons too intricate and difficult to mention objectively. On the continent of Africa alone we can find that amputations, stabbings, hackings and the like are everyday occurences along with rapes, forced slavery, child warriors and so forth. If you are able to interview returning veterans of any war who have had limbs hacked off or other injuries, what will you find?

emattson · Post by **emattson** » Fri May 19, 2023 8:07 pm

Just showing the knife may be enough to scare away the threat, which is all we need. While heading home on Boston's subway, I overheard two guys yelling at each other. Hatred grew at a horrifying rate. Then a man pulled out a knife. The unarmed man blew up, furious at being threatened, but he couldn't do a thing because of risk of terrible injury. He insulted and screamed, but didn't touch the knife holder. He stormed out of the train car, Nobody was hurt but the situation was extremely dangerous. By no means am I saying it works all the time. He may draw a 44 magnum gun. He may not care about his risk and start throwing punches.