Spyderco byte October 2022 - EDGE-U-CATION®

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Spyderco byte October 2022 - EDGE-U-CATION®​


Martial Knife Grips

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Any time you pick up a hand-held tool, the way you grip it has a profound effect on how effectively you’ll be able to use it. This is particularly true of knives since they can be utilized in so many different ways. Whether you’re picking a splinter, dicing vegetables, or cutting a heavy rope, you will naturally adjust your grip to adapt to the task at hand.

When it comes to martial or defensive knife use, this same rule applies, but the stakes are even higher. An improper grip can literally mean the difference between life and death. Throughout history, there has been considerable debate among military close-combat instructors regarding knife fighting grips and their significance to both the offensive and defensive use of the knife. Similarly, martial arts that incorporate edged-weapon skills tend to have strong opinions about what constitutes a “proper” grip. Often these opinions are heavily influenced by the characteristics of specific cultural or ethnic knife designs associated with those systems.

The Basics

If we look beyond culture, tradition, and martial politics, a good knife grip must accomplish three things: 1) it must allow you to maintain positive control of your knife throughout the duration of the fight 2) it must enable you to use the knife effectively as both a cutting and thrusting weapon, and 3) it must allow you to manage “impact shock.”

Criteria 1 and 2 are pretty much self-explanatory. The last criterion means that a good knife grip must enable you to withstand the force of a full-power cut or thrust without suffering damage to your own hand. Defensive encounters are extremely dynamic events, so the possibility of making hard contact with bones, heavy clothing, belt buckles, and other resilient objects is very high. If your grip isn’t up to the task, your hand can easily slide forward to impact the knife’s guard or, even worse, onto the blade itself. Even if your technique is perfect, your grip must be solid enough to cut or penetrate the target effectively.

When evaluating martial knife grips, it is important to understand how the muscles of the forearm provide strength and dexterity to the hand. Although the opposable thumb is a defining characteristic of the human hand, the strongest muscles of the forearm are actually the ones that power the middle, ring, and little fingers. The index finger and thumb rely on different muscles that are designed primarily for dexterity. This combination is what allows you to grip a handgun firmly, yet still have independent control of the trigger and thumb safety.

With all these factors in mind, let’s examine some of the most commonly taught martial knife grips and the advantages and disadvantages of each. For ease of reference, all descriptions are based on a right-handed grip.

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The Hammer Grip

This term was coined by the late Col. Rex Applegate in his classic close-combat manual Kill or Get Killed. To assume this grip, simply make a fist around the handle of the knife with the blade extending from the thumb side of the hand. Curl the thumb down and squeeze the hand tight.

The hammer grip is a very strong grip that offers excellent weapon retention and management of impact shock. For those reasons, many practitioners use it almost exclusively—especially advocates of “reverse-edge” tactics in which the knife’s cutting edge faces up or back toward the user. Despite its strength, however, the hammer grip can sometimes compromise speed, maneuverability, and accuracy, especially at longer ranges. As such, it is best suited for use with heavy-bladed knives or as a momentary convulsive grip at the moment of impact.

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The Saber Grip:

The saber grip is so named because it is based on the traditional grip taken on a fencing saber. With the plane of the blade held vertically, the fingers are curled around the handle and the thumb is pressed against the upper quillon of the crossguard, the forward area of the knife handle, or, on Spyderco knives with “humps,” the rear portion of the blade spine. The wrist is also bent slightly downward to aim the point of the knife at the opponent.

This grip provides much better maneuverability than the hammer grip but is not nearly as secure. During powerful thrusts, the focused pressure of the thumb can cause it to impact painfully against the guard. If no guard or finger grooves are present, the hand may slide forward onto the blade itself. The canted wrist position also makes wrist sprains possible during forceful thrusts.

The saber grip is best suited for large knives with crossguards that have enough mass to handle like a saber—like large Bowie knives. To protect the thumb from impact, it can be positioned slightly behind the guard or to the left side of it. This latter position is sometimes called the quarter-saber grip.

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The Foil Grip

As its name implies, this grip is based on the grip position used in foil fencing. It is very similar to the saber grip, except that the plane of the blade is held horizontally with the blade’s cutting edge facing to the left. In this position, the thumb rides on the left side of the handle or even the ricasso (the unbeveled area of the blade closest to the handle).
This grip provides excellent speed and mobility for inward and downward cutting strokes but is less functional for backhand cutting and thrusting. It is best suited for short-handled double-edged knives and other small knives like neck knives that do not offer enough handle area for other grip styles.

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The Filipino Grip:

This is a term coined by self-defense instructor and Spyderco collaborator Michael Janich after years of observing skilled practitioners of the Filipino martial arts (FMA) in action. This grip is also very similar to the traditional grip of Japanese tantojutsu knife fighting and many Indonesian systems of pencak silat.

To assume this grip, lay the handle of the knife across your palm at the base of your fingers. Curl the little, ring, and middle fingers tightly around the lower portion of the handle and make this tension the focus of your grip. Extend your thumb straight along the back of the blade (or top of the guard if the knife is so equipped) and curl your index finger in to complete the grip. Your wrist should remain in a comfortable straight alignment.

The Filipino grip offers several unique advantages over other knife grips. By focusing the force of your grip on the last three fingers of your hand, you anchor the knife’s handle securely to the base of your palm—the portion of the hand best suited to absorbing impact shock. This also maximizes surface contact between your hand and the knife’s handle.

Our thumbs are naturally highly coordinated because we constantly use them to grasp things, push buttons, and perform other tasks that require accuracy and precision. Placing your thumb on or near the spine of the blade positions it directly opposite the “heel” of the edge (the beginning of the edge closest to the handle), making the blade a natural extension of your hand. To deliver an accurate cut, simply concentrate on touching the target with your thumb. You will not only place the blade accurately, but you will also start the cut at the heel of the edge. This ensures the cut will utilize the full length of the edge for maximum cutting efficiency.

In traditional martial arts systems, there are two common variations of the Filipino grip. One extends the thumb above and parallel to the back of the blade. This grip is used to trap and control by catching an opponent’s wrist or his weapon between the thumb and the back of the blade. The other has both the thumb and the index finger fully extended, so the entire focus of the grip on the last three fingers of the hand. This provides a good index for thrusting since the blade bisects the angle of the thumb and forefinger; however, both these variations do compromise the strength of your grip and are not recommended as primary fighting grips.

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The Index Finger/Pistol Grip

This grip is often seen in the Indonesian martial arts because of their preference for the kris, rencong, and similar pistol grip-style knives. To assume this grip, place the butt of the handle against the base of the palm and curl the thumb and last three fingers of the hand around the handle to anchor it in place. Extend the index finger along the handle and the flat of the blade so it points right down the blade’s centerline.

Like the thumb in the Filipino grip, the extended forefinger provides an excellent instinctive index to guide the path of the blade. In some martial arts, like Indonesian kuntao, both the index finger and middle finger are extended along the side of the blade. For thrusting tactics, this works extremely well. Just think of touching the target with your fingertip(s) and your thrust will be right on the mark. For cutting actions, however, this grip is much less effective, especially when used with conventional knife designs that do not have pistol-grip-style handles.

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The Claw Grip:

Sometimes also called a “scalpel” grip, this grip is particularly suited to hawkbill knives and very short blades. The handle of the knife is braced against the palm with the last three fingers of the hand and the thumb, while the index finger is placed on the spine of the blade. This transforms the index finger into a talon that can be very instinctively used for cutting and clawing strokes. Unfortunately, this grip is poorly suited to thrusting and offers marginal grip security.

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The Reverse or "Ice Pick" Grip:

This grip can be assumed exactly like the hammer or Filipino grips, but with the blade extending from the little-finger side of the hand. The hammer grip is typically stronger, but the Filipino grip offers better dexterity. “Capping” the butt of the handle with the extended thumb further reinforces the grip and reduces the possibility of the hand sliding onto the blade during hard impact.

The reverse grip does not work well at long range because it requires excessive wrist movement to cut effectively. At close range, however, it allows powerful upward cuts and devastating backhand, forehand, and downward thrusts. It also enables you to employ a variety of unique hooking, trapping, and redirecting tactics, as well as “reverse-edge” tactics with the edge facing the ulnar (little-finger) side of your forearm.

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Specialty Grips:

This category includes any grip style that is specific to a unique or unusual handle design. The most common example of this would be the index finger grip used with the ringed karambit knife, like the Spyderco KaraHawk™. By gripping the knife with your index finger inserted through the handle ring, you can use your finger as an axis to spin the knife from reverse grip to an extended index-finger grip. Although this spinning tactic is much more effective with traditional double-edged karambit knives, it still has some application with a modern folding karambit.

Just as there is no consensus on the ultimate martial art, there is no perfect combative knife grip. The best grip for your needs will depend upon your hand size, your knife’s design, and your individual approach to training and tactics. If the grip you choose works well for you, it works!

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Spyderco, Inc.
820 Spyderco Way
Golden, CO 80403

800-525-7770 (T - Toll-Free)
303-279-8383 (T)
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