Tag: personal protection

ANALYZING WWII GUTTER-FIGHTING KNIFE WORK

ANALYZING WWII GUTTER-FIGHTING KNIFE WORK

Posted on by Evan Perperis

GUEST COLUMN BY EVAN PERPERIS, A U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES COMBAT VETERAN & A WORLD CHAMPION OBSTACLE COURSE RACER

Tiga Tactics has developed a self-defense method distilled from more than a dozen different styles learned by co-founders Dr. Conrad Bui and Patrick Vuong. Long before either of them was born, the now-famous Lt. Colonel W.E. Fairbairn developed a combatives system for training soldiers in World War II based off his experiences with the Shanghai police.

Thanks to YouTube and someone uploading an old copy in Greek, you can now watch some of Fairbairn’s training methodology. I was curious to see how his World War II combatives compared to the Tiga Tactics’ suite of courses, which were developed by Conrad and Patrick after watching hundreds of real attacks captured on closed-circuit TV (CCTV) and cellphone footage.

Here are some overlapping points and some ways that were wildly different:

  • Sophistication Through Simplicity: Fairbairn knew that he didn’t have a lot of time to get young soldiers ready for war. In fact in the video, he cites that he can teach you knife work in “only a half hour.” Tiga Tactics also understands that not everyone wants to be a martial artist taking multiple years to prepare for a possible attack.

    Both systems focus on simplicity in techniques. Rather than teach a dozen steps you won’t remember, both emphasize simplicity to ensure you’ll be able to remember the moves during high stress. For Tiga Tactics, this comes in the form of their Toolbox — which is crucial to getting your strikes into play under pressure or whether you’re stopping a lethal weapon or creating space to draw your own EDC Knife.

  • Shadow-fighting: Most of the video has Fairbairn working solo without a training partner. This is simply shadowboxing or solo training. Tiga Tactics’ methods work best with a partner, but you can still learn many of the moves by yourself in the comfort of your own home through their full lineup of online courses. Tiga Tactics also uses shadowfighting as part of their training progression — an important part of any system that allows you to build muscle memory for all of your techniques.

  • Mindset: In the beginning of the video Fairbairn mentions the importance of mindset by telling the audience the only outcomes are “kill or be killed” (a phrase made famous by one of his successors, Colonel Rex Applegate, who used it as a title of his book). This importance of mindset mirrors many of the mindset training Tiga Tactics teaches — including the motto, “run if you can, destroy if you must.

  • Maintaining Good Base: Fairbairn spends a fair amount of time in the 12-minute video talking about foot placement, balance, and footwork. This is an often-overlooked part of martial arts or combatives training by beginners. Tiga Tactics knows the value of this not only for their EDC Knife course but they have a whole series focused on the importance of maintaining and reestablishing your base through the Antigrappling series.

  • Body Movement Behind the Blade: Whether you have taken EDC Knife, EDC Karambit or Machete Fighting courses, you’ve heard Dr. Conrad talk about the importance of using body mechanics behind the blade. Fairbairn also emphasizes this in his instructional video.

  • Carrying, Drawing, and Repeating: For a 12-minute video, Fairbairn crams a lot in, and if you don’t pay attention you’ll miss some of the important lessons. He briefly mentions where to carry and the importance of drawing directly into a strike. Although glossed over in his video, if you take EDC Knife or EDC Karambit you’ll get plenty of repetitions through the Tiga Tactics methodology of slow, smooth, and fast. Then if you come to an in-person seminar, you’ll get a ton of repetitions often disguised as games or competitions to further refine the one part you will 100% use if you need your blade for self-defense: drawing the tool.

Not every Fairbairn technique transferred over well, including grip on blade and practice rolling the knife in your hands. This runs counter to what Tiga Tactics teaches and the importance of the “death grip” on your blade — because if you lose your grip, you’re (probably) going to die. Although the Lieutenant Colonel later says to grip the knife “viciously,” I think Tiga Tactics’ grip recommendations provide a more stable grasp when pressure tested.

I’m not saying that you should watch Fairbairn’s knife video and use that as your primary method of self-defense. I’m simply saying I think it is interesting to see how far we have come, what principles remain the same, and what has changed over time now that we have more data from things like CCTV showing real attacks.

Watch the 12-minute historic video for free here and then sign up to update the knowledge with Tiga Tactics with their online courses updated for modern times.

Train With A Special Forces Combat Vet

If you want to train with Evan Perperis in person, secure your seat for the upcoming Toolset Training Tour.

He will be a featured guest instructor at the San Francisco stop of this popular seminar series on July 18-19, when he’ll show you how to select, draw, and use an everyday-carry tool for self-protection.

Having been deployed to some of the most dangerous places on the planet and earned instructorships in multiple combat systems, Evan will also share how his experiences shaped his approach to personal protection.

SAVE YOUR SEAT BEFORE IT FILLS
IS CARRYING A BLADE RIGHT FOR YOU?

IS CARRYING A BLADE RIGHT FOR YOU?

Posted on by Evan Perperis

GUEST COLUMNIST:
EVAN PERPERIS — A U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES MAJOR (RETIRED) & A CHAMPION OBSTACLE COURSE RACER

Picture this: It’s my first Tiga Tactics in-person seminar after taking most of their online courses. I’m sitting in a room full of martial artists from a variety of disciplines.

Dr. Conrad asks the group, “Who carries a knife for self-defense?” Much to my surprise only about half the hands go up. I’m honestly shocked — I assum it would be 100%. After all, the event is called the EDC Knife Seminar — as in Everyday-Carry Knife Seminar.

Of course, there is no wrong answer. But we went around the room discussing why each person chose to carry or not carry. Looking back now, I found the answers to be very interesting. Here were some of the things people said. They raised some key questions you should ask yourself if you are planning on carrying a blade as tool that can be used for self-protection:

  • Willingness to Use It: The most common reason not to carry an edged tool had to do with mindset. Several people cited that if they were in a self-protection situation (even life or death) they don’t think they would be able to use it.

    If this shocks you, perhaps you haven’t dug into what real life knife attacks look like. When someone uses a knife against another person, it is messy, violent and chaotic. If you aren’t mentally prepared for that, it may be very traumatic.

    It is not like the movies with one stab and the bad guy collapses. Rather, it is often repeated plunges into the flesh resembling a sewing machine or a psycho stab (check out the Knife Defense course if you want to learn the defense against the two most common types of knife attacks).  

    There are knife self-defense situations in which there are 10 or 20 stabs to get the attacker off the victim. Why so many?

    Often the person being stabbed doesn’t realize they are getting stabbed; they assumed they were being punched. However, when they look down do they realize they are being stabbed as they see or feel blood on their body. If the bad guy is truly committed to hurting you, they are going to keep attacking until they are physically unable to continue. This requires more than a single puncture wound. The victim continues to defend with the knife simply because the attacker continues to attack.


  • Fear of Using It: Bouncing off the first reason, some of the attendees cited that they don’t carry one because they have a short temper. I thought this was a very mature decision by martial artists who were OK exposing their own flaws.

    Essentially, they were worried that if they always carried one, they might use it in a situation where it was not 100% necessary.


  • Consequences of Using It: Piggybacking on the first two reasons is the consequences of using it. If you use a blade in self-defense, there is a good chance that you may take the life of your attacker. Can you deal with the psychological trauma of having to go through that?

    (Side note: As an Army Special Forces veteran who deployed to combat zones frequently over my career, I had not even considered this. My coworkers and I crossed that hurdle so far in the past I had forgotten that for most people that is still a big step. Not wrong one way or the other, just something I hadn’t considered in a long time.)

    On the flip side, could you deal with psychological trauma of what might happen if you don’t defend yourself?


  • Lack of Knowledge on Implementation: For those martial artists who didn’t study a bladed art or rookies who never trained in anything, they didn’t have the skillset to effectively employ the tool. Luckily for them they were at a knife seminar and luckily for you, that same information is now available online via the EDC Knife program.


  • Worried About Getting Disarmed: The fifth reason has to do with the requirement to use the tool in close range. Most muggings or street attacks are street ambushes, as evidenced by Dr. Conrad Bui and Patrick Vuong’s research studying security footage.

    This means that the fight starts in the punching, trapping, or standing grappling ranges. When you are that close, there is a saying that “your weapons become our weapons”. This means that you are so close that if you lack the knowledge on implementation along with retention, your own tool can be taken away from you and used against you. Both of these also receive solutions by taking the EDC Knife course.

 

Carrying a blade for self-defense is not for everyone. There are plenty of reasons to carry one and plenty of reasons not to.

However, if you are going to carry something you better know how to use it. This is true for carrying a pistol, a knife, pepper spray, or one of those self-defense keychains (if you choose to go that route).

If you don’t take the time to improve your mindset and skillset via Tiga Tactics online courses, you won’t be able to perform them under pressure. Take the time now and start training today.

HOW TO SELECT A SELF-DEFENSE FLASHLIGHT

HOW TO SELECT A SELF-DEFENSE FLASHLIGHT

Posted on by Evan Perperis

GUEST COLUMNIST:
EVAN PERPERIS — A U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES MAJOR (RETIRED) & A CHAMPION OBSTACLE COURSE RACER

In the past, I’ve talked about why a knife makes an excellent everyday-carry (EDC) tool. However, not all environments allow you to carry a blade — e.g. airport, federal buildings, and cities with restrictive laws.

Furthermore, there are some people who don’t feel comfortable carrying a blade for self-protection for a variety of reasons. There are other choices that include less-lethal options, like a Kubotan or pocketstick. However, if I’m going to carry an object I can use for self-defense, I prefer if it has some other functions, such as a very sturdy pen, a KeySmart-style keychain or, in this case, a flashlight.

Here are a couple of key things I look for when choosing an EDC Flashlight:

  • Sturdiness: While it doesn’t have to be made out of Adamantium (Wolverine’s claws), it should be durable. If I drop my flashlight or hit something with it and it breaks, it is too weak. There’s no hard rule — like, it has to be made out of material X, but it should feel strong and sturdy in your hands.

    I tend to like brands like SureFire, which I know are comfortable with the ruggedness of military usage and are designed to withstand the recoil of being attached to a rifle.

  • Lumens: You want a flashlight that has a bright output. Just like sturdiness, there is not magic number of lumens you are looking for. Furthermore, every flashlight company measures lumens differently so I would only compare the lumens number if you are comparing within the same brand. Additionally, be aware that the brighter the flashlight is, the quicker the batteries will need to be replaced.

    In my opinion, the brighter the better — but there is a tradeoff associated with brightness, and it usually comes at the cost of weight, size, and price.

  • Size: You don’t need the giant Maglite flashlight with three D-cell batteries from the 1980s. (Do they still make those? Google tells me they do.) I need something I can carry in my pocket and not have it be uncomfortable or weigh me down.

    Personally, I like ones with a carry clip just like a folding knife. This means all my repetitions where I practice drawing a folder under pressure will transfer over better than if I have to pull my flashlight out of a pouch. For flashlights, I want it to extend just slightly beyond my hand with a closed grip. This means the striking edge sticks out the bottom, but not so far out the bottom that someone else could grab it and pry it away from me.

  • Single-Hand Activation: Your flashlight should be able to be activated one handed. This means if it is a twist flashlight, I would put it back on the shelf. Button- or switch-activated flashlights will depend on the placement of the button. Since I like to hold my flashlight in a reverse or icepick-style grip, I want the activation button near the back of the flashlight.

  • Not Too Aggressive: You can buy some flashlights with crazy beveled edges in the front that look more like a weapon than my knife. Chances are, if you are buying something like that, authorities won’t let you carry it anywhere that doesn’t allow self-defense tools. Instead, I like something with a slight edge but little or no bevels on the front.

  • Fits Well in My Hand: Finally, my EDC flashlight needs to fit in my hand well. The grip can’t be too slippery, the thickness can’t be too thick or too thin, and I need to be able to put my thumb on the tail of it. If it has a sharp tail cap (more of a problem with tactical pens than flashlights) it is of little use. The last thing I want to do is strike something and my thumb takes more damage than the target.

As with anytime I talk toolset for Tiga Tactics, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of getting the right mindset and skillset for implementation.

For Tiga Tactics, they have a specialized course that focuses on EDC Flashlight that I highly recommend taking. It not only talks flashlight selection as well as uses for striking, but also for using it as its primary purpose: to illuminate the unknown in the dark.

A KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION IN CHAOS

A KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION IN CHAOS

Posted on by Patrick Vuong

A kindergarten graduation in Ohio was cancelled last week after a massive brawl broke out between parents.

One woman was hospitalized.

Another was arrested for felonious assault.

The scrap was over seats, according to reports. Words were exchanged. Tempers flared. 

Then hair was pulled, punches were thrown, and people were shoved down.

“I never in a million years would have thought that would happen at a kindergarten graduation ceremony,” said Craig Mays, a parent who said he was suckerpunched then stomped on by multiple people.

This is why situational awareness and emotional discipline matter.

Our top 3 takeaways:

1) Social aggression often starts small.
Not with elaborate plans or a weapon being brandished, but with a look, a cuss word, or even just a perceived slight. Essentially, it’s ego, entitlement, and escalation. 

2) Crowds change behavior.
After one person loses emotional control, others often follow. Mob mentality is real, and it happens fast.

3) Discretion is a self-defense skill.
The ability to recognize nonverbal cues, manage distance, and regulate emotions can keep situations from spiraling.

This is exactly why we train.

Not to become paranoid.

Not to become aggressive.

But to become calmer under pressure, harder to intimidate, and more capable when chaos erupts.

If you want practical training for handling uncertainty and violence, join us for the San Francisco stop of Toolset Training Tour on July 18-19.

This is not theory-based martial arts choreography.

This is training built around:

  • Awareness and prevention
  • Analysis of real-world attacks
  • Ethical decision-making under stress
  • Practical tactics and techniques rooted in reality

Whether you’re new to training or experienced, this seminar will sharpen the way you think about personal protection.

Get Real-World Training here
DEEP DIVE INTO THE SLOGAN, “RUN IF YOU CAN. DESTROY IF YOU MUST™

DEEP DIVE INTO THE SLOGAN, “RUN IF YOU CAN. DESTROY IF YOU MUST™

Posted on by Evan Perperis

GUEST COLUMNIST: Evan Perperis, an Army Special Forces Soldier (retired) Shares His Thoughts on Our Motto​

 

Talking with some of my military coworkers — who are the most lethal people I know — we were talking about the spectrum of violence and what happens if we get into a fight.

Where I stand, and where many of the smartest members of the military I know agreed, is I’m going to do everything I can do avoid a fight. Why?

This includes reasons like:

  • I don’t want to seriously hurt someone.
  • I don’t want any additional legal/financial/psychological trouble
  • I don’t know the skill level of the guy I’m fighting (too high and I get hurt, too low and it’s not even fair)
  • I don’t know what model he is operating under (e.g. Is he going to start the fight by stabbing me?)
  • And maybe because it is simply not the nice thing to do.

This means that I’ll do everything to avoid the fight. I’ll be kind, try to deter the aggression, deescalate the brewing conflict and, even if it hurts my ego, I’ll run away.

When all of these have failed and my life or the lives of my family are in danger, we switch to the “destroy if you must.”

Destroying may mean everything up to and including lethal options, if required. It is not something I’m looking to do, want to do or am seeking, but is a part of being a protector (like a member of the military or just ethical civilian). Destroying doesn’t always mean lethal; it may just mean preventing the threat from continuing the attack and allowing space for those in danger to get to safety.

The spectrum of violence in real life (excluding training or sport fighting) goes from nothing to serious bodily harm with almost nothing in between. There simply is not a good reason to fight outside of a sportive or training center otherwise.

If you haven’t adopted many of the slogans and life lessons of Tiga Tactics, it is time to start looking at yourself in the mirror. Then think through the long-term consequences and 2nd/3rd order effects that may come from being too aggressive.

You’ll find if you stick to Tiga Tactics mindset, you’ll hopefully never have to use the skillset and toolset portion of the Pyramid of Personal Protection.

Run If You Can, Destroy If You Must™ (merchandishe now available here)

THE WORST SELF-DEFENSE ADVICE?

Posted on by Patrick Vuong

OUR CO-FOUNDER PATRICK VUONG DISCUSSES ONE OF THE MOST HOLLOW ADVICE HE'S HEARD FROM SO-CALLED EXPERTS.

“Just run.”
 
This is among the worst self-defense advice I’ve heard from so-called experts.
 
And sadly, I’m hearing it a lot more lately because social media has given them a much larger megaphone to spread their nonsense.
 
“Just run” ranks right up there with “Just stand up” in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and “Just shoot ‘em” in the firearms world.
 
If ONLY it were that easy!
 
People who spout such hollow advice have obviously never practiced against a resistant partner, let alone realistically pressure-tested at full speed and power.
 
This is why my co-founder Dr. Conrad Bui and I have the motto, “Run if you can. Destroy if you must.”
 
The second phrase doesn’t necessarily mean taking a life; it could be destroying a bad guy’s intent to harm us or, say, destroying his hand so he can no longer hold a weapon.
 
Evan Perperis knows all too well what “destroy if you must” means.
 
During his two decades in the U.S. Army, this retired Special Forces soldier spent a whopping 44 months deployed to the Middle East.
 
Yet, he still found himself running — literally.
 
Even though he was in the world’s most dangerous war zones, Evan continued to train for Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) events when he wasn’t battling terrorists.
 
Needless to say, this OCR world champion understands how to stay safe while training outdoors.
 
And he’s going to share both his combat expertise and real-world experiences at our Runners Guide to Self-Defense Webinar on February 23.
 
In this exclusive 1-hour online seminar, we’re teaming up with the retired Green Beret to unveil how to:

  • Avoid the most common (and deadly) mistakes while working out.

  • Develop a training plan that will deter criminals.

  • Make small adjustments to gear and apparel for maximum safety.

 
There will also be a Q&A segment so you can ask him anything and get candid answers from a combat veteran.
 
This live-streaming event will enhance your personal protection skills — regardless if you’re an athlete, a hiker, or even just a walking enthusiast.
 
If you register by Valentine’s Day, you’ll not only lock in the best price but also receive lifetime access to a recording of the webinar.
 
But don’t wait, because attendance will be capped.

Click here to reserve your slot now

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER USE TIGA TACTICS COMBATIVES AGAINST OTHER SOLDIERS

Posted on by Evan Perperis

GUEST COLUMNIST:
EVAN PERPERIS — A U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES MAJOR (RETIRED) & A CHAMPION OBSTACLE COURSE RACER

“LIVE” KNIFE DEFENSE APPLICATION

It should surprise no one that, as a certified Tiga Tactics instructor, I like and believe in the techniques and content that Tiga Tactics has created.  However, I don’t put them all on equal levels. 

The one I had the least confidence with, Knife Defense, I actually had the opportunity to pressure test.  Here’s that story and why I have greater confidence in this program than ever before.

Methodology in Training: 

As part of the military, we like to increase the stress on soldiers through training.  This is done in an incremental fashion, much in the way Tiga Tactics teaches by starting off “slow,” then going to “smooth,” than gradually speeding things up to “fast.”

This is a common practice you will see in all of Tiga Tactic’s online courses; the military calls this approach “crawl, walk, run”.

Situation:

As part of training, we did a “live” (AKA competitive) drill where one person was armed with a Shocknife and the other person had no weapons at all. 

The Shocknife delivers a jolt of electricity — up to 7,500 volts — like a stun gun if you touch the “blade edge.” Clearly, this is the “run” or “fast” phase of training. 

The goal of the unarmed person was to disarm the person with the Shocknife.  The soldiers were taught several self-defense techniques.  One of the options partially overlapped with what Tiga Tactics teaches in their Knife Defense course but with some (what I would call significant) differences.

Each soldier was then required to disarm his opponent in a round robin fashion by grappling over the Shocknife.  For the drill you ended up doing three disarms against three different attackers.

Plan of Execution:

Rather than use the military-taught technique, I decided to use this as an opportunity to pressure test Tiga’s techniques, since I would get to watch other people use the different military techniques around a couple of dozen times.  I was excited to test it out because unlike a martial arts class where everyone is learning the same technique, the other soldiers wouldn’t know my plans and thus would respond more instinctively and naturally.

Furthermore, the group was legitimately trying to shock each other, as is the case when you take competitive soldiers and put them in an environment where people are watching and judging. 

Results: 

So how did the techniques taught by Tiga Tactics in Knife Defense play out? 

Well out of the three disarm drills, I only got shocked once during disarm attempt number two to my forearm/hand area. 

That was three successful disarms using Tiga Tactics techniques against stakes that are about as high as you can get while still operating in a safe training environment. 

Possible Critique: 

I know what you are thinking, were the soldiers actually going hard in this training environment or just going through the motions? 

If you have worked with Type A personalities like soldiers you probably already know the answer.   The more one person gets shocked often the harder they’ll go the next round, creating an increasing level of resistance that just occurs naturally.  If you still have doubts as to how hard we were training, as further evidence I’ll cite that one of the 12 soldiers broke his hand in the scuffle that was part of the disarm. 

Yes…we were going hard. 

Conclusion:

Not surprisingly, Tiga Tactic’s techniques work when pressure tested.  This is what you get when you take real world video, come up with solutions, pressure test it and refine it to the best product.  If you aren’t training at home, now is the time and with how easy it is to conceal a knife, you may want to start with  Knife Defense.