In two weeks I will be in London, Ontario teaching a two-day knife defence seminar. I had a fantastic time with the wonderful people of London last year and expect another great time this year.
I am ecstatic to get two days to cover everything in my book “Watch Out For The Pointy End.” When I taught the Alberta Peace Officers at their 2017 conference earlier this year I had one day. One day was enough time to present the material but with two days we can take the time to make sure everyone has it and learns how to train and condition the required responses.
Of course, with the book now out they will have a complete reference for everything covered in the seminar – no need to even take notes.
This time next week I will be teaching my knife defence system in London, Ontario. I will have two days to cover the material in my book, “Watch Out For The Pointy End.”
I am looking forward to working them through the material in a proper pace.
The first day will be all about introducing the realities of a knife assault, the thinking that should be done ahead of time to be prepared and laying the ground work for them to have the skills and understanding of the principles to make this simple approach work.
The first day will remain in what I call the Learning Zone and only introduce how to move to the Conditioning zone.
The second day we will cover all the remaining material in the book including situations where you are caught by surprise and the knife is used as intimidation as well as using improvised weapons.
The main part of the second day will be working the Conditioning Zone and teaching how to build the needed response into a tactical habit. There are certain factors that simplify your choices in this deadly encounter. If all goes well by the end of the day they can slip a little into the testing zone to see where they need to go as they continue to work the material later.
By the end of the two days they will have everything they need to continue training and preparing for a knife assault. At that point it will be up the them to put in the time and work to build what is needed but the London people are super people so I know they will. And not to mention they have a complete reference because the book covers the entire program.
“The best training you can get without being there.”
Ever since I was attacked by a person with a knife, I have taken numerous knife defense courses and training. There is a lot of training out there that does not grasp the reality of a knife attack. There are many people and martial art instructors that do not grasp that there is a difference between fantasy and reality. Rick Wilson knows the difference. Rick Wilson's knife defense system is very reality-based. The concepts and the training drills presented in this book will increase your reaction time when attacked with a knife. I also love how Rick separates the principles and techniques for if you are law enforcement/ security or if you do not have that duty to control your attacker.
If you are a martial art instructor and want to teach your students skills and techniques that actually work in real life - Buy this book !!
If you are a person that is becoming increasingly concerned with the random violence today and want to learn how to protect yourself or your family members - Buy this book !!
Shawn Baker
Control Tactics Instructor
Edmonton Alberta
I don’t know who wrote the second review of my book “Watch Out For The Pointy End” but I truly appreciate it – thank you.
5 out of 5 stars:
“Definitely Worth Reading”
I've studied martial arts for years and still learned a lot about knife attacks I didn't know. I just wish I had this book when I first started training.
Another very kind 5 out of 5 Stars review on Amazon too:
"Rick’s book accurately reflects his encyclopedic knowledge of human kiniseology and the realities of facing a hostile with an edged weapon. If there were 10 stars this book would rate that score. Looking forward to his next book!"
The gentleman who posted the review messaged me which I appreciated. He is a FMA/Combatives instructor in Ottawa which makes me appreciate his review even more.
On Amazon.ca
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great resources for teachers and the serious student
July 29, 2018
Rick Wilson has written an excellent book on empty hand responses to knife attacks. The language is clear and precise. Favouring a technical vocabulary rather than the terminology of a specific martial art, Mr. Wilson has written a book accessible to both martial artists and defensive tactics teachers regardless of their training background. Mr. Wilson proposes a curriculum in which proper body mechanics are emphasized and the responses taught are principle-based and layered in a progressive fashion. This book should be a welcome addition to the library of anyone teaching or looking to learn knife defence skills.
The most recent review of my knife defence book “Watch Out For The Pointy End” on Amazon.ca and Goodreads
VERY comprehensive and positive – thank you.
SLHinchey:
5.0 out of 5 stars- Comprehensive work book and training guide to increase your chances of surviving a knife assault.
October 16, 2019
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Rick Wilson's knife defense book "Watch Out For the Pointy End" presents a very pragmatic approach to developing a set of self-defense skills that would improve a person's chances of surviving a knife assault.
In addition to surviving and minimizing injury, law enforcement officers and security personnel may be duty-bound to gain a position of control over the attacker to disarm and handcuff them. By contrast, usually the best strategy for a civilian after dealing with the initial assault is to gain distance so that they can run away or grab an improvised weapon. This book addresses strategy and tactics in detail and explores these kind of contextual distinctions.
This book is very up front and honest about the harsh realities of a knife assault and makes no unrealistic promises. The best self-defense training can only ever improve our odds of successfully handling an assault - there are no guarantees. What this book does, however, is show you step-by-step how to develop an integrated, working skill set that enables you to respond to a knife assault by gaining control over the attacker as quickly as possible while avoiding the blade. From there, you can either disarm and disable, control and cuff, or gain distance for escape or to grab a weapon.
This book differs from those self-defense offerings which take a technique-based approach, meaning that material is a presented in a format of "if the attacker does this, then the defender does movements A, B, and C". By contrast, Watch Out For the Pointy End takes a very gradual, principles-based approach where each component skill is taught, drilled, then added on to the larger piece, with principles emphasized at every step. Principles refer to the "how" and "why" a self-defense technique succeeds or fails and provide insight on how to self-correct a technique that’s not working when tested during training. The author lists 21 principles in all and references them throughout the book to explain how the principles are being applied in the drill being worked on.
The approach taken by Watch Out For the Pointy End has a number of advantages over the more common technique-based approach. For one, the technique-based approach assumes that you'll go away and drill the sequence until you've ingrained the movements, meaning that the instruction is more about providing you with information rather than a training guide. By contrast, this book structures your learning very deliberately, with the skill set built up layer by layer, though of course it’s still up to you to put in the necessary repetitions and practice with a partner. The final product might superficially resemble a series of techniques for different scenarios, but the difference here is that you have developed the building blocks or component skills along the way, enabling you to respond in a flexible way as your body navigates the attack, rather than attempting to apply a fixed pattern.
Another advantage of the approach taken here is that it doesn’t train you to rely on scenario recognition. By contrast, the technique-based approach assumes that you are capable of recognizing an attack scenario and responding appropriately using a distinct, tailor-made technique sequence. In reality, assaults tend to come out of the blue with the attacker immediately up close and on you. Even if you can see it coming or somehow catch your breath, with adrenaline surging it is gravely unlikely that you will be able to mentally match the scenario to a learned technique pattern. Instead, this book starts by training a universal way to move your body and arms to intercept an attacking arm – whether it contains a knife or not, whether you can see it coming or you’ve been struck by surprise – so that you do not have to mentally recall a response specific to the situation. From there, depending on whether you need to escape vs. disarm and cuff, the book trains you to rely on tactile sensation to rapidly control the attacker to achieve that goal.
Due to its very gradual, principles-based approach, this book is very sequential. At first I must admit I found this off-putting, as I’m used to martial arts books that are more modular or more structured like a reference manual. However, the more I go back and rework the material, the more I appreciate the sequential, layer-by-layer approach. This is a work book and a training guide – to develop these skills you have to work your way through the book and do the drills and training as instructed in the sequence presented.
Lastly, I would say that the gradual, principles-based approach makes this book very transparent. The author explains how and why each piece of the skill set works and guides you in drilling each piece. The author also explains how to live test what you’ve learned with a non-compliant partner using a safe stand-in for a knife so that you can test the effectiveness of your response. If you find yourself getting stabbed, go back to working the drills and conditioning your responses, test again, repeat as necessary.