MBC Instructional Column #4

[Michael Janich]

Knives for Home Defense (My Home is My Castle, My Knife is My Sword)

by Michael Janich



OK, you’ve read the title of this article and I know what you’re thinking... “If someone breaks into my house, I’m not going to waste my time with a knife. I’m going to shoot the SOB!” To save time and words and put this issue in proper perspective, let me say up front that, given the choice, I would also reach for a shotgun or handgun to defend my home before even considering a knife. Any reasonable person, given that option, would obviously do the same. Actually, if I had the luxury of choosing, I would prefer that the miscreant in question run out of gas on the way to my house so I could avoid the situation altogether.



The problem lies in the fact that you don’t always have such a choice. When most people think of defending their home, they envision the typical “bump-in-the-night” scenario: They hear something strange in the house and quietly reach for the handgun in the nightstand drawer or the shotgun in the corner and prepare to do battle with the invader. If they’re thinking, they quietly get the entire family into a secure room with a sturdy door and lock, hunker down with their firearm, call 911 and wait for the cavalry to arrive.



Unfortunately, things aren’t always so simple. It’s quite possible that you won’t be in your bedroom next to your firearm when trouble strikes. You might be napping on the couch, getting out of the shower, or doing any other normal daily activity when you suddenly realize that there is an unwelcome presence in the house with less than the best of intentions. What do you do then?



Of course one answer is to carry a firearm with you at all times when in your home. Sure, you’ll never be caught unarmed, but you’ll probably also never be able to walk around the house in sweats and a T-shirt again.



Another option is to stash a number of firearms in various locations around your house. With at least one gun in every room, you’ll never be far from a weapon when you need one.



I have trouble with this tactic, however, since my house has 12 rooms if you count the bathrooms. Even if my local gun shop gave quantity discounts, it would still cost several thousand dollars to “arm” the average home or apartment. Furthermore, although I am a firm believer that education is the key to gun safety, it still may be unwise (and in some states illegal) to leave firearms within easy reach of children.



Finally, you may live in an area where firearms are simply not an option for personal or home defense. This was the case when I was living and traveling overseas and, as a foreigner, was forbidden to own a gun.



So what is the average home owner or apartment dweller to do to provide for his or her defense? I say, take a look at your latest cutlery catalog or hurry on down to the local knife shop. By shopping around a bit, you should have no trouble buying several good quality, combat-worthy knives for less than the price of a single firearm. If you’re on a budget (and who isn’t), gun shows and surplus stores are great sources of reasonably-priced military knives and bayonets. If money is really a consideration, surplus stores and garden supply centers usually offer no-frills machetes for less than ten dollars a piece.



The objective here is to amass enough edged weapons to be able to place them in numerous discreet, but readily accessible locations around your house. This way, if an unwelcome presence is detected and your firearm is on the other side of the house, you can still effectively arm yourself, no matter where you might be.



The discreet placement of edged weapons around your home makes maintaining a normal domestic appearance relatively easy. However, if you enjoy collecting cutlery, you might consider integrating your home defense plan with your decorating scheme. In my home’s decor, I have several large knives and swords displayed as “wall hangers.” Though I find them aesthetically pleasing, they are also strategically placed for easy access and are maintained in combat-ready condition at all times.



Unlike personal defense knives for everyday carry, home defense cutlery favors large blades that not only make devastating weapons, but rank high on the intimidation scale as well. Among my favorites are kukris, Bowies, machetes, and bayonets. In addition to working extremely well as both offensive and defensive weapons, in many cases the mere sight of these big blades is enough to turn a would-be attacker’s insides to jelly.



Large blades offer several other advantages in home defense. Besides cutting and thrusting, they can be used as fearsome impact weapons, striking with the back of the blade to bruise tissue or break bones, or slapping with the flat of the blade to stun an attacker. Large blades also give the defender the advantage of distance, an important consideration when trying to repel intruders.



Of course having suitable home defense weapons is not enough. You must also develop the skill to wield them effectively. For large, single-edged blades such as kukris, machetes, and even some kitchen knives, I like a technique from the style of Filipino escrima called "de cuerdas." To perform this technique, grip your knife in a standard grip and hold it point upward with your hand near your hip. Now, place the palm of your free hand against the back of the blade just above your knife hand. The free hand supports the back of the blade to form a strong shield which can be moved side to side and raised or lowered to defend against incoming attacks. To strike, the free hand pushes forward in concert with the knife hand, substantially increasing the power of the blow. After the strike is delivered, both hands immediately return to the guard position.



The de cuerdas technique is easily learned and very effective, even in cramped indoor spaces. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend that anyone who chooses knives as defensive tools seek out qualified personal instruction in a knife-based martial art to enhance their skills.



Just as important as technique are the tactics of home defense. Practice and experimentation will teach you which angles of your floor plan work to your favor. They will also help you discover which obstacles in your home provide protection against an attacker while allowing you to deliver strikes of your own. In World War II, bolo-armed Filipinos used an escrima tactic called "lastico," or rubber band, to ambush Japanese soldiers in the jungle. They would hide amidst a tangle of vines, strike out at a critical moment, then retreat to the protection of the vines again. This same tactic works equally well when delivered through a doorway or over a counter.



A similar use of this tactic, and another possible weapon choice for home defense, involves a pole arm such as a spear. In a natural choke point such as a stairwell, the defender can take advantage of the cover of the stairs and the range of the spear to keep his attacker at bay. Modern spears with effective cutting edges such as those made by Cold Steel are excellent for this purpose and inexpensive enough so you can afford several. In ancient Japan, the traditional home defense weapon, and the traditional weapon of Japanese women, was the naginata, or halberd. Consisting of a staff with a scimitar-shaped blade at the end, it could be used for both thrusting and cutting and was a very formidable home defense weapon.



Finally, throwing knives, tomahawks, and other edged projectile weapons can be an excellent addition to your home defense arsenal by again giving you the advantage of distance. When I lived in Bangkok, I bought several small hand axes and progressively shortened their handles until they threw perfectly at the across-the-room ranges of my apartment. I did not count on these to immediately stop an attacker, but intended them as a means of delaying an assault while I accessed a more formidable weapon.



Although many “experts” claim that throwing knives are useless in a defensive situation, when you have the luxury of picking the distances and angles at which to throw, such as in a home defense scenario, they can be extremely effective. As for the belief that throwing a knife merely arms your attacker, again, the objective is to use the time you buy by throwing a weapon to transition to a better weapon and/or maneuver to a better tactical position.



Home defense is a serious issue and one that everyone should plan for carefully and realistically. In today’s world, a handgun in the nightstand simply isn’t enough. Examine your personal needs and your budget and you may find that edged weapons are an effective and economical way of completing your home defense plan.



Stay safe,







mike j

[Hoosierdaddy]

Mike,

Thank you for another informitive thread!
A couple of questions...
1) I would worry that the BG could utilize any weapons "displayed" in the home against the homeowner. The hidden weapons would be more advantageous. Could this be a negative factor? I'm not trying to dissect your post, it's just so many people are injured or killed with their own weapons. The thought had crossed my mind.
2) Do you think a flashlight or surefire light would be good to temporarily blind the BG and catch him off guard? When he is blinded you could possibly move in in a safer manner to immobilize.

Are there any statistics that state if a robber is more likely to be armed or not?
I know there are a lot of different scenarios that can happen and being prepared for everyone of them is unlikely.
Thank you again for your post, I look forward to the next one!!!

[Paul Rouleau]

Another excellent article Mr. Janich.I find a spear or short bladed sword to be ideal for this role.Firearms are preferred for this situation but if you have one or more other occupants in your home there is always a danger of them being hit by a stray or over penetrating round.You cannot call a bullet back once fired,but with an edged weapon you have more control(unless you throw it).One weapon that I keep handy for such emergencies is the CS Warlord,which Mr. Janich did a great article on in TK magazine awhile back.Unfortunately,the warlord is no longer available which is a shame.It was very inexpensive for the performance it delivered.

[Michael Janich]

Thanks to everyone for your positive feedback. I'm glad you enjoyed the article.

In response to Hoosierdaddy's questions...
1) Yes, display weapons could certainly be used against you. That's why you need to look at your overall floorplan and figure out what works best where. For example, my safe room and gun safe are on one end of my house. My basement/rec room is on the other end. If I got an unexpected guest while I was in the basement, I'd have to fight through him to get to the guns, so my "display" weapons are in the basement. In a pinch, the basement could also become a safe room from which I could mount a good defense. However, it is unlikely that a burglar/home invader would head for the basement first before exploring the rest of the house, so the weapons displayed there pose less of a risk to me.

Obviously, if weapons are displayed openly in major avenues of entry in your home, they're more likely to become weapons of opportunity. That's why all the good stuff in the main portion of my house is secreted away.

2) White light should always be part of a good defensive plan, not only for its ability to temporarily blind the bad guy, but also to ensure that he is in fact a bad guy. Always verify your target before you go into action.

Paul, I am also a fan of the Warlord and lament its passing from Cold Steel's catalog. I still keep one of them handy for hallway defense and have a couple of CS Masai spears and Assegais tucked here and there. The new CS sword cane is also awesome and among the best sword canes I've seen. Tucked unobtrusively in an umbrella stand, it could be a very handy and effective home defense weapon.

I hope this answers your questions.

Stay safe,


mike j

[tommarker]

Great article Mr. Janich.

Sjamboks in the umbrella stand make for good "ready" weapons when placed by the door.

I tend to subscribe to the keeping weapons around the house as well, after visiting a martial arts master who kept a few expandable batons on bookshelves, nice knives in the kitchen, swords, etc. Woe to the man who breaks in his house. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

Apartment living tends to make the "safe room" concept a bit more difficult, since I don't have any rooms I consider to be more safe than the others. Given the amounts of weaponry strewn about, I'd be happy with most rooms in my apt.

[aero_student]

I have been doing this for quite a while. The guns are kept in the safe in my parents room so they take far too long for my dad or mom to access. I have a whole mess of martial arts weapons strewn about the house. I especially like having a pair of escrimas next to my bed and a staff at my door.

[Michael Janich]

Dear Tom and Marauder:

I like the way you guys think.

I also keep a sjambok hanging from the hinge on my front door. It's a great "chase them back out into the street" weapon.

I have sliding windows throughout my house. Although they have locks, I back up the locks with a dowel placed in the window track. As such, every window is also a source of a handy escrima stick (in addition to the other sticks tucked into umbrella stands, closet corners, etc.).

Thanks for your feedback.

Stay safe,

mike j

[GSX-MAN]

Thanks for the tips.

I'm a knife / bayonet collector, so I already have some edged weapons at my home. The lower floor is basically divided in:
-Kitchen; plain kitchen knives
-Living room; Machette and a Nieto backlock folder (for opening mail)
-Hallway; nothing

Upstairs:
-stairwell; nothing
-Bathroom; some aerosol cans
-My girlfriends hobby room; French Opinel knife (folder, twistlock)
-My hobby room; An M7 bayonet, a Spanish Mauser bayonet (40 cm), a Kalashnikov bayonet, a Fal bayonet, a Sig bayonet, A Lee Enfield spike bajonet, several folding knives (cheap ****) and my handguns
-Bedroom; A maglite (the large, rechargeable one), my new Calypso Jr., a Swiss army police baton (rubber, extremely painful)

I think I'll hold out 'till the police arrives.


[edit] By the way, I am thinking to buy Cold Steel's Bad Axe, is it any good?

Edited by - GSX-MAN on 1/16/2002 6:56:30 AM

[Michael Janich]

Dear GSX-MAN:

It sounds like you've got things well in hand. Good work.

The Cold Steel Bad Axe is a very neat piece of work. As a throwing axe, it's more forgiving than a tomahawk because it will stick with either edge and either or both points. As such, your range estimation doesn't have to be as accurate.

As a hand-held weapon, it provides excellent chopping power, thrusting with the points, and hooking with the lower edges of the blade. It's also got a great temper and a nice "ring" to it when it hits. I've got two and love them.

Stay safe,

mike j

[GSX-MAN]

Overhere in the Netherlands, people tend to get a bit nervous around weapons (edged or otherwise) and I wouldn't want my guests to get uncomfortable. It's also quite safe in my neighbourhood, so a small amount of arms would be sufficient.

I won't be using the axe primarily as a weapon, but more as a tool. I'm going on a field trip with scouting next summer and maybe it will be useful in the woods. On the other had, a double-bladed axe may seem a bit cruel around a group of 10-year old kids......

Carpe noctem