Always Expect The Blade

In teaching instructors, Mark often says that “one of the first responsibilities is to disillusion the student... to erase his illusions."

This page is intended to do just that.

To our absolute astonishment, the terrifying effectiveness of knives is frequently underestimated if not totally dismissed by otherwise intelligent people.  Moreover, the ignorant assumption is that firearms are infinitely superior, hence the dictum: only a fool brings a knife to a gunfight.  Makes perfect sense, right?  You be the judge.

	According to FBI statistics, most shooting situations happen within 7 to 12 feet, well withing the effective range of a knife.
	Law enforcement officers should (but very often don't) know that any knife with a point can readily penetrate a bullet-resistant vest that doesn't have armor plate inserts.
	Knives don't run out of ammunition.
	Knives are not prone to malfunction.
	Firearms, and ammunition for that matter, are expensive.
	Firearms require a significant amount of training to be used effectively under stress, wheras any idiot with bad intentions can pick up a $2 steak knife and do serious damage with no training at all.