‘Featured Articles’ Archives
Ka-Bar “Zombie Killer” (ZK) Zomstro Tactical Cleaver
For more than a decade I wished for a tactical cleaver to hit the market. This year, Ka-bar has given me my wish. I first saw the Zomstro when it was revealed it on the YouTube channel "ZombieGoBoomTV." I was immediately impressed. I've been a fan of the Ka-Bar Zombie Killer line since it debuted a couple of years ago. Ka-Bar was one of [...]
MDTS Small Knife Skills, 8 December 2012
At "Defensive Folding Knife." I had hair. On 8 December, 2012, I had the privilege of attending a six-hour "Small Knife Skills" class with Chris Fry of MDTS. What was particularly interesting about this opportunity is that I took, years ago, a previous version of the same class with Chris. It was then called "Defensive Folding [...]
There Are No Martial Arts
The terms martial arts and self-defense are often used interchangeably. In point of fact, these are not the same thing. Martial arts (with some exceptions) refers to a body of theory in which people who have never engaged in fighting another human being (except perhaps in a sporting context) explain to other people how not to do the same [...]
Avi Nardia / KAPAP Knife/Gun Defense Seminar
"I can fight four guns and a knife," said Avi Nardia, addressing a small class of ten students gathered for a three-hour knife- and gun-defense seminar. Held at Sensei John Ingallina's UMAC facility in Brighton, New York (one of two locations), the seminar was one I heard about at the last minute on Facebook. With the help of another student I [...]
Don’t Be That Guy: Etiquette in Martial Arts Classes
You've met him at a seminar. You've encountered him in a class. He's that guy, and while he's probably somebody you don't know well, he might be a classmate of long association. He's someone who doesn't understand the etiquette of martial arts training, and this lack of understanding causes problems. Some of these problems are minor, but [...]
Active Shooter: James Holmes, the Aurora Theater Shooting, and How to Survive
"Active shooter." It's a cold term, divorced from emotional context. For more than fifty wounded and a dozen or more dead and dying in Aurora, Colorado, it became a horrific reality minutes after midnight on 20 July, 2012. A young man identified in news reports as James Holmes, dressed in tactical gear and carrying multiple weapons, threw a [...]
Matt “Charlie Mike” Freeman Balisong
Recently I had the pleasure of purchasing a custom-made, one-of-a-kind balisong knife from Matt "Charlie Mike" Freeman, who has been a fixture at sites like Bladeforums for years. It is on his behalf, and to encourage him to keep making knives, that I write this review. This thing is a BEAST. The hand-shaped, convex-ground blade is made [...]
Key Flailing
One of those hoary old self-defense "tips" that has lingered well beyond all reasonable credibility for its application is the notion of key-flailing. In a neutered world whose citizens are allowed no implements of self-defense beyond innocuous pocket accessories, the idea that you could use your car- and house-keys to fend off rampaging hordes [...]
Bud K/CutleryUSA: A Cautionary Tale
Early last month, I placed an order for a couple of inexpensive items through Amazon.com. I like Amazon, overall, and while I've had customer service issues now and again over the years, these have all been resolved. It's a lot easier to get a human being on the phone at Amazon than it used to be, for which I'm grateful. You can buy almost [...]
Testing Folding Knives
If you carry a knife for utility or self-defense, you may choose a fixed blade or you may choose a folder. Debating which of these is "best," preferable, or more suited to which applications could comprise a separate article. The assumption made in this article is that you are going to carry a folding knife, for whatever reason and within whatever [...]
