Knife Attacks — Read This Before You Ever Face One By Sensei Liam Musiak

Knife attacks are brutal. They’re fast, messy, violent, and usually completely unpredictable. The attacker is likely aggressive, desperate, maybe on drugs, and not thinking straight. They’re not showing off — they’re trying to hurt or kill you.

Avoid the situation if you can.

Always do that first. Cross the road. Leave the area. Stay switched on. Prevention is always the smartest move. If you can’t avoid it, try to deescalate. Calm voice. Hands visible. Don’t square up. Your goal is survival, not ego.

But here’s the truth no one wants to say:

Sometimes, none of that works.

Sometimes they just come at you.

Most knife attacks are sudden. There’s no warning. One second you’re standing, the next second there’s a knife in your side. It’s fast, and if you’re not prepared, it’s game over. Even if you survive — you’re probably ending up in hospital. Life-threatening injuries are common. You don’t “win” these things. You survive them.

And yes — luck plays a part. You could train every day and still lose. But doing absolutely nothing? That’s basically a guarantee you’re not getting home.

Some people say, “There’s no point training against a knife — it’s too dangerous.”

Well, let me ask you this: is a punch not dangerous?

One single punch — even from an untrained attacker — can kill you.

So should we stop training to defend against punches too?

See my point?

Just because something is dangerous doesn’t mean it’s not worth preparing for. It means the exact opposite. You prepare because it’s dangerous.

Some people say “nothing works” against a knife. That mindset’s just weird. It’s lazy. It’s an excuse to avoid training.

No technique works every time — but some work sometimes.

And that “sometimes” might save your life.

Training something is better than training nothing. Knowing something is better than knowing nothing.

You can’t avoid it every single time — so you’ve got to be in the best place possible if it ever does happen. That means preparing your mind, your body, and your reactions. Not out of fear — but out of realism.

People say “there’s no point training for it because it doesn’t work.”

But here’s the truth:

Every technique works in every situation.

Every technique doesn’t work in every situation.

That’s just how real violence is. Nothing is guaranteed. But if you train nothing? If you know nothing? You’ve got a 100% chance of serious injury or death.

Knowing something might just lower that enough for you to get home to your family.

Here’s what you need to know if it ever happens:

• Control the knife arm if you can.

• Use your environment.

• Strike hard and fast.

• Don’t try to look cool — try to survive.

• If you can run, run. Don’t stand and fight unless you truly have to.

Train for it. Pressure test it. Accept that it’s never clean. You might get hurt — but being ready gives you a chance. Doing nothing gives you none.

Stay sharp. Stay aware. Stay alive.

— Sensei Liam Musiak

Founder of Voracious Karate

Real-world self-defence. No illusions. No fantasy.