Being the author of several books on the martial arts and fighting, I am always looking for books of exceptional quality to add to my library. If I have a book in my library, it’s definitely worth owning. One such book is Michael D. Echanis’, “Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat.” This book is directly influenced by the Korean martial art of Hwarang Do and its current Grandmaster Joo Bang Lee, who Echanis had studied under before his untimely demise in Nicaragua.

This book along with its two companion volumes, “Basic Stick Fighting for Combat” and “Knife Self-Defense for Combat,” were not initially released to the general public, but instead were only available to certified and recognized self-defense instructors. These books were originally intended to be military training manuals for the various elite units in the United States military. These were units such as the Special Forces, Army Rangers, Navy Seals, etc.

This volume, like the other two in this series, starts out with a brief section on the history of Hwarang Do and its relationship to hand-to-hand combat. This is followed by another brief section that looks at the theory and internal dynamics which make up this very impressive art.

Introduction:

This section begins with a lot of practical advice on the use of a knife against an attacker during combat.

3 Phases of Knife Training:

a. Straight Line Attack
b. Counterattack
c. Visualization

2 Knife Fighting Distances:

a. Outside Attacks
b. Inside Attacks

Basic Principles of Knife Fighting:

This section goes over the basic principles that should be utilized when practicing with and/or utilizing a knife in an actual self-defense encounter. I found this section to be very practical and relevant to the topic, although I thought it was a bit brief and worthy of many additional pages.

Six Basic Rules to Observe During Training and Actual Combat:

1. Conceal the weapon…
2. Observation…
3. Focus on deep breathing…
4. Slash, don’t stab…
5. Observe the enemy…
6. Breath control and mental focus of power…

Knife Training:

One would be hard pressed to argue that this section includes some of the best information that you can use in order to train effectively with a knife, and for the effective use of said knife in an actual combat situation. This includes such things as not only how and when to train, but also the psychological factors involved in knife training and how to improve your own mental abilities.

Strategy:

Once again this is a section that is so well done that it can be applied to all forms of combat, not just those using a knife. The authors grasp of strategy and the way he explains it is very easy to understand and is very realistic, although it may be a bit advanced for the beginning student. Also included in this section are the three phases of strategy.

Combat Applications:

Through the detailed use of photographs and fairly detailed sections of text, the author and his assistants take you through numerous different examples (17 to be exact) of how to use a knife and/or knives during an armed and also unarmed self-defense encounter.

Basic Principles of Knife Throwing:

As a general rule, “Never throw your knife at your opponent.” This results in a lost weapon and the very real possibility that your attacker could pick it up and use it against you. However, just like every rule, there are exceptions.

Basic Knife Throwing Techniques:

In this section, 14 different throws are demonstrated and explained to you through the use of photographs and text.

This book ends with a basic but well done chart on the vital areas to target with a knife during a self-defense encounter.

This book, like the other two in the series, does an exceptional job of explaining the techniques described within through detailed written descriptions and the use of clear and concise photographs and illustrations. The only thing that I would like to have seen a lot more of in this particular manner would have been some close-up shots during various phases of certain techniques.