Manual del Baratero

Afiação de Facas

Pequeno Manual da Prática de Afiação de Laminas.

por Marcos Soares Ramos Cabete

http://www.ebooksbrasil.org/adobeebook/afiacao.pdf



"A afiação de lâminas é algo parecido com o sexo:

• É gostoso de se ver mas dá muito mais prazer se você mesmo fizer!

• A prática melhora o desempenho!

• Não hesite em experimentar novas posições!

• Mas faça com segurança!"

(só esse pedaço já vale a leitura...)

Defesa com Facas

Manual de Defesa com Facas

João Roberto Romeiro Abrahão
Pedro Carlos Gilioli Cavalcanti
Ricardo Nakayama

Clique no link abaixo:

http://www.ebooksbrasil.org/adobeebook/comfacas.pdf

Apesar de ser grande, aconselho imprimir.

COLD STEEL - Knife Fighting - by John Styers

KNIFE FIGHTING

The sight of sharp, cold steel in your enemy's hand is not a pleasant sight. Knife fighting is an ugly business; it means steel against steel; then steel against flesh - and death.
Let's take a look at your enemy's blood.
That's one thing you can't draw from the quartermaster by signing a chit.
But it's a lot easier to draw than size 13 boondockers - you know that your enemy has it ...
You're far behind the lines, maybe you're a communications man operating your switchboard. Your carbine is propped against a tree nearby. Your outfit is in the area but out of sight. You're alone, and you're intent on your job.
You've been warned that there is the possibility of guerrilla activity and infiltration. Your knife is constantly at your side. It gives you a great deal of confidence, but your real assurance comes from your confidence in your own ability to save your own life with that knife by carving out a heavenly military career for your enemy in whatever particular Valhalla he happens to believe exists.
A twig snaps!
You look up from the switchboard.
An enemy is rushing at you, both hands raised-in each a knife!
He's got one objective:
To drive them downward into your chest!
"MOVE, BOY!"
You move. You whip up your knife; you leap into the guard position. Your enemy slows his advance; immediately he realizes that before him is no frightened schoolboy. Instead, he sees a calm, fighting man - poised, ready for instantaneous action, armed with deadly steel, its point directed menacingly at his throat.
You advance cautiously into your proper range, your knife never wavering from his throat. Both of his fists are out in front of him. They are your first targets.
Too late, he realizes that your range is greater than his, and that he has allowed you to come in too close. Like the fangs of a cobra your blade strikes out in a full cut and you are back in your guard position, your blade again pointed at his throat.
There is a dull thud on the ground and a mild ping as the knife falls from your opponent's left hand, along with parts of his fingers if your cut has been accurate and hard.
You have stunned your opponent; you can afford a split second before pressing the attack. From your guard position you lower yourself quickly, and with your blade still pointed at his throat, you scoop up a handful of dirt and return to the guard position.
You are ready for the kill. Your enemy is now in a do or die rage; his only thought is to kill YOU any way he can. He raises his blade beside his head and charges.
You heave the dirt, execute an in-quartata, and yell. Your target is his heart.
As he hurtles by the spot you vacated a moment before, your blade is almost wrenched from your hand as it cuts its way out of his body.
Your opponent is now lying about five yards beyond the spot in which he had intended to leave YOUR lifeless form.
Cautiously you inspect the corpse of your enemy. Your job was clean. There was no need for in-fighting.
"Just like that?" you ask cynically.
We nod.
"But that wasn't me in that knife fight," you insist. "It must have been some other guy, an expert, maybe..."
You don't need to be an expert to stand your ground in the guard position and engage an enemy with confidence. A sound KNOWLEDGE of knife fighting and PRACTICE of its basic PRINCIPLES will make you a dangerous opponent for any knife-wielding enemy.
Knife fighting is based on the age-old science of swordsmanship. These principles of swordplay were utilized by James Bowie in his fine technique with his Bowie knife-making Bowie and the Bowie Knife one of the deadliest blade combinations the world has ever known,

HOLDING THE KNIFE

Here, take this knife.
Now, hold it straight, NOT cocked upward. Put your thumb directly on top of the handle, on the SAME side as the FLAT EDGE of the blade - that's right, the cutting edge faces DOWNWARD.
Now, clamp the fingers securely UPWARD around the handle. Lock your wrist when the ELBOW and the POINT of the knife are in a STRAIGHT LINE. THE KNIFE IS MERELY AN EXTENSION OF THE FOREARM.
Keep the thumb about a quarter of an inch from the thumb guard. This space is allowed to take up the shock caused by the impact when your knife strikes its target.
Tips
1. Keep the wrist LOCKED at all times.
2. DON O arch the thumb on the thumb guard.
3. Keep the blade ON LINE with the FOREARM.



The hold. Fingers are wrapped securely around the handle, thumb on top, point of your blade is on a line with the elbow

THE STANCE

The proper fighting GUARD position is taken directly from the stance of the skilled swordsman. There are only two changes. These changes are made, only when learning, after the proper SABRE STANCE has been assumed. In actual combat you snap IMMEDIATELY into the KNIFE FIGHTING GUARD POSITION.

THE SABRE STANCE

1. Face your opponent at attention.
2. Execute a LEFT FACE.
3. Execute a "close interval DRESS RIGHT." (Glance at your opponent, placing the left hand on the hip at the same time.)
4. Point your RIGHT FOOT at your opponent and advance it about TWO FEET in his direction.
5. Raise your RIGHT FOREARM, aiming the point of your knife directly at your opponent's throat. Your ELBOW will be approximately six inches forward from your HIP.
6. The knees are slightly bent until the lower part of the RIGHT LEG is straight up and down-ready for instantaneous advance or withdrawal.
7. The CUTTING EDGE of the blade should be facing DOWN and to the RIGHT in an unstrained, natural position.
8. YOUR WRIST IS LOCKED.
9. Keep the upper part of the body ERECT at all times. This is the proper SABRE STANCE. Notice how easily you are able to advance and withdraw-forward and backward. Movement to
the left or right is more difficult.
In practice, a knife, bayonet or stick may represent the sabre.

To assume the knife duelist stance from the sabre stance

1. Assume that there is a STRAIGHT LINE between you and your opponent. Move your REAR foot from one to two feet LEFT of this line, forming a 90 degree angle to your opponent with your feet. IN THIS POSITION YOU HAVE COMPLETE STABILITY. You can propel yourself easily and quickly either BACKWARD or FORWARD or to the LEFT or RIGHT.


The sabre stance, foundation for the knife fighter's stance


Sabre stance to knife fighter stance. Move rear foot to left


The guard position. Left arm free. Knife arm drawn back


The thrust. Blade drives into target. Free arm snaps back

2. Draw the arm which holds the knife BACK, CLOSE TO THE BODY and, at the same time, square your shoulders to your opponent. In sabre fighting the arm can be safely extended because the weapon is long and the handle is equipped with a hand guard. In knife fighting you have a lightning-fast blade but there is little protection for the hand.
3. The LEFT ARM swings FREE of the body.
Your body should be relaxed WITH THE EXCEPTION of the LOCKED WRIST and the THIGHS which are taut because of the bent knees.
Your shoulders face your opponent squarely. In this position there will be no lead with your shoulder and knife betraying the nature of your attack.
The guard position will become a natural reaction. Place a sabre or a rapier in the hand of an experienced duelist and he will immediately snap into the guard position with a reflex action almost as strong as drawing the hand from a hot surface. This may be difficult to understand at first, but be assured, it is true and after a moderate amount of knife-fighting practice, you'll find yourself assuming the guard position without thinking about it, the moment you have a knife in your hand.

TIPS

1. Keep your feet at about a 90 degree angle.
2. The blade is drawn in, close to the body, and held in an unbroken line from your elbow to the point.
3. Shoulders face the opponent squarely.
4. Torso and head are held erect.
5. The arm on hip should swing free, but care must be taken to prevent it from extending beyond the hand which holds the knife.
6. Your blade points directly at your opponent's throat. PRACTICE all the points of the proper stance until you can draw your blade on command of "On Guard!" and instantaneously snap into the perfect position without losing a second to make major adjustments.



The side view of the guard position. Major portions of the body will not be extended into an opponent's range


The straight thrust, side view. The torso pivots on axis of spine. Your legs provide added range

PRACTICE until ALL of the points in the ON GUARD position become coordinated into ONE natural movement.

ALL OF THE ATTACKS AND DEFENSES OF THE SKILLED KNIFE FIGHTER ORIGINATE FROM THIS GUARD POSITION.

THE THRUST

From the guard position, the blade is thrust forward with explosive force DIRECTLY at the target. The free arm is whipped back to add power and velocity to this POINT-AT-TARGET attack.
The BLADE POINT travels straight to the TARGET, backed by the full power of the forearm and shoulder.
The THRUST starts with the knife, poised and ready in the guard position. NO PRELIMINARY MOVEMENT IS NECESSARY. The blade is snapped directly to the target. If the target is your opponent's throat your point should strike in a direct line to the throat.
On the thrust, the free aria has been whipped back, TURNING THE FULL BODY WITH A SNAP. Instead of the full spread of the shoulders and chest which had been exposed to your opponent, you now present the NARROWEST view of your body. The upper portion of the body has pivoted forming a straight line from your blade point back along your arm, across the shoulders and down the free arm in the rear.
In executing the thrust, the beginner will have a tendency to lean forward and push. The result of a push is usually an UNEVEN and weak action. Your attack should be instantaneous. From the front, your opponent should see only the blur of a point on the extended arm, and the sudden disappearance of the broadside view of your upper body; in its place, your enemy will find only the thin silhouette of the NARROWEST portion of the torso.
The attitude of your blade, well back and pointed at your opponent's throat, is like a pistol leveled at a target - ammo in the chamber, the hammer back, your finger on the trigger. The point is your bullet.
THE THRUST, when properly executed with your opponent withinithin range, will be so swift that he'll never see it.
He won't know what hit him.
He won't see it coming.
Nor can he PREVENT getting HIT.
This is true in professional boxing. If an opponent is open and in range of a left jab, he's going to be hit.



If an opponent tries to make an underhanded attack he will come within your range but you will still be out of his reach


Your advantage over your opponent is a range of eighteen to twenty-four inches. If the enemy attacks, he comes into range

The only way to avoid getting hit is NOT to be THERE to get hit. Simply said. Simply explained - later. But here's a hint:
DISTANCE is of utmost importance. It is INSURANCE again
NOT being THERE to get hit, AND STILL BEING IN A POSITION
TO run your opponent through.

TIPS

1. When THE THRUST is executed in practice and the blade is not driven into human flesh; the blade completes its thrust in mid air where it stops abruptly with a NATURAL WHIPPING ACTION.
It is the conviction of the writer that the Bowie-shaped blade was scientifically designed by James Bowie for the control of this natural whip.



If your opponent tries an overhand stroke he must come in close; your straight thrust pivots your chest out of his range

2. The THRUSTING HAND, when fully extended, should have the KNUCKLES UP, the THUMB LEFT and the knife arching slightly downward into the target. The FULL thrust is executed regardless of your opponent's distance-as long as he is IN RANGE.
3. Do not be too anxious to draw the weapon back prematurely. Let the extended arm SNAP OUT TO THE FULLEST.
4. Only in a well-executed thrust which does NOT strike home, will you find the whip-like movement of the blade. When the point reaches its target, penetrating flesh or bone, the whip is taken up by the substance which is hit.



An enemy's overhand stroke leaves him wide open for your thrust. He can be stopped before he reaches effective range

THE CUT

The thrust is the foundation of the CUT. With the thrust you take your knife to the target. If a FULL thrust does not strike the target the natural whipping action will take place. This whip is THE CUT.

THE VERTICAL CUT

The VERTICAL CUT is a thrust which ends abruptly with the THUMB UP, the NAILS to the LEFT.


When this thrusting cut goes straight to its target ins+ead of ending in mid-air, this same whipping action will take place


The vertical cut - fast and effective for a long range slash. Whip down


The natural whipping action of the thrusting cut makes the blade drop

An extended extremity, such as a protruding arm, is an excellent target for the VERTICAL CUT. In this cut the blade flashes DOWN and UP, biting gashes into the flesh or lobbing off fingers. The blade, when executing this action does not only whip DOWN and UP, but when it is viewed from the side, the observer will notice that it also RIPS FORWARD. Where a stiletto or narrow pointed knife would penetrate like an ice pick and leave a puncture wound, the Bowie-shaped blade will whip down into the target, ride forward, then snap UP.
THIS IS ONE CONTINUOUS ACTION. The movement has been completed in one ninety-fourth of a second when recorded by a highspeed camera.
All tissues, muscles, veins or tendons caught in the path of the scimilar-like hook of the Bowie blade will be sliced clean through.



Keep full thrust's distance from opponent's nearest extremity. If nearest target is hand or forearm, execute a thrusting cut


The vertical thrusting cut to the hand. The blade is cocked in preparation for a wrist action to supplement the natural whip


Vertical thrusting cut ends with the blade biting down, ripping forward, then snapping up again - all in a continuous action