Spyderco Forums

Dear Sal: In case I never told you, I've been a balisong freak for a long time. As such, the idea of a Spyderco bali sounds phenomenal. When I was in the military and working for DoD overseas, I carried a Benchmade Model 68 for about 10 years. It was my primary utility and defensive knife, as well a...

Dear Panzer Lied: Thank you very much for your input. With the help of folks like you, we are developing a much better understanding of the needs of the MBC market and can structure our program to meet those needs as effectively as possible. With regard to "road trips," since the program i...

Dear Colinz: Thank you very much for your reply. It's especially interesting to get input from someone overseas. We often focus so heavily on the U.S. domestic scene that we forget to consider the circumstances of our friends abroad. A few comments on your input... The current MBC curriculum does co...

Dear Riverrodent: Thank you for your comments and congratulations for training with Hank. He is a great guy and a wealth of knowledge. There are actually several answers to your question concerning non-lethal application of the knife. First, I believe in the Filipino concept of "defanging the s...

Dear Sochin: Thanks for your detailed input. It sounds like you've got quite a bit of experience to draw from. I appreciate your sharing it with us. As far as the FMA style research goes, I'm definitely with you and share the same interest. However, the MBC curriculum is designed more as a practical...

Dear Adam: Thanks for your post. You bring up a very good point - wanting to train before attending a course so you "won't look bad." In my experience, this approach often backfires because you start practicing without the benefit of hands-on instruction and develop bad habits. When you fi...

Dear Seth and Jut: Thank you both very much for your well-reasoned replies. Rest assured that I will do my best to incorporate your comments and ideas into the MBC decision-making process. Jut, I am in complete agreement with your comments regarding deployment skills and specifically designed Level ...

To all MBC forum readers: In an effort to make the MBC program and instructional curriculum meet your needs to the best of our ability, I would like to solicit your input. Specifically, I would welcome your comments regarding the following: 1) What types of training would you like to see offered? 2)...

Dear Sochin: Thank you for your comments. Compared to the presentation in my videos with Mr. Webb, my knife system has evolved quite a bit, but has not become more complex or artistic. The major advance that I've made has been the addition, then modification (some might say mutation), of Filipino fl...

One additional note... Initially, we offered separate MBC classes for civilians and law enforcement officers/security professionals. Although much of the core curriculum was the same, the law enforcement classes focused on putting the knife into perspective within the officers' use-of-force continuu...

Dear Scorpius: In its original form, Krav Maga is a very practical self-defense system. Although I don't agree with everything they do, it's still pretty solid. The current version of Krav Maga being popularized in the U.S. is a bit flashier than the original and seems to want to combine the self-de...

Since the announcement of the Spyderco MBC training program, we have received numerous questions concerning its curriculum. Although my hope is to soon have an MBC page on the Spyderco web site that would provide a comprehensive description of the program, for now I’d like to provide some insight vi...

Dear Whosyour: Thank you for your kind words about me, my Tempest design, and the forum. It's certainly nice to be here and to be so well received. I have spoken to Sal about the possibility of designing a Spyderco MBC knife, but since that's still in the developmental stages I don't want to speak o...

Here's my take on blood grooves, as well as a second-hand version of JAK's opinion which he shared with me during the process of designing our Masters of defense knives (forgive me, Jim, if I'm speaking out of turn.) The original use of "blood grooves" (more properly called fullers) was on...

Dear Mr. Blonde: My personal preference is a 50/50 mix. The serrations at the heel of the blade (the portion nearest the handle) begin the cut very aggressively, then give way to the plain edge to finish the cut. I've found this works very well when cutting through clothing and is a good compromise ...

For the record, the Tactical Knives article on the Gunting included a dedicated "sidebar" article on accessories - to include videos, trainers, kydex holsters, etc. It was killed in its entirety by the advertising folks at Harris because one of the companies listed in the article had alleg...

Dear Carlos: I am also a die-hard fan of tip-up carry for defensive folders and prefer digging my thumb in deep as I draw. In this way draw, opening, and application can flow together with very little grip adjustment. If your preferred knife doesn't ride tip up, you might want to try drawing by pinc...

Dear Frank:

Thanks for your post and the kind words. This weekend's class went exceptionally well and I sincerely hope that everyone came away with some good knowledge, new skills, and fond memories.

mike j

I've taken a bit of flak over the years for advocating what I call the Filipino Grip - grip strength focused on the last three fingers of the hand (middle, ring, and pinky) and thumb on the back of the blade. This is what many experienced Filipino martial artists use and is also often found in Japan...

Dear Guntaholic:

Thanks for the kind words. It's nice to be here.

mike j