39 takeaways from this video:

1. HaganaH concepts & principles for knife threats

00:02:07 A knife attack is when an attacker physically attacks you with the weapon. A knife threat is when an attacker reveals the weapon in a threatening manner. These are two different scenarios which require two different actions.

In a street fight, knives should be considered more dangerous weapons to face than guns because:

• With a gun you have a chance of predicting and avoiding the line of fire – the trajectory of the bullet. As long as you stay out of the line of fire, you have a reasonable chance of surviving.
• Knives are considered ‘alive’ and dangerous during the entire altercation. You can avoid, jam, unload or neutralize a gun, but you cannot neutralize the blade of a knife, you must neutralize the person holding the knife.
• Knife fights are very quick and deadly. So quick, in fact, that you will probably not realize the attacker has a knife until it’s too late.

00:04:25 Rather than labeling an altercation as a ‘knife attack’ or a ‘gun attack,’ consider it a situation as either your aggressor is:

• Less armed than you. You hold a weapon and your attacker doesn’t.
• Equally armed. Both of you are holding a similar weapon.
• More armed than you. You’re holding a knife and your attacker is holding a gun.

Never view the altercation as “defending yourself” against a knife. Instead, defending yourself should always be viewed as either creating an equal fight whereby you are equally armed, or by creating a fight whereby you have the advantage and are more armed than your attacker. If an attacker pulls a weapon, your response should be to:

1. Obtain a weapon of greater strength than your attacker
2. Obtain a weapon of equal strengh as your attacker
3. Escape
4. Empty-handed ‘defenses’ should only be used as a last resort.

00:06:15 Always avoid entering into a knife fight unarmed because an enraged and inexperienced attacker may clumsily put his full force into the attack, leaving room for you to escape, defend or counter-attack, but an experienced knife fighter will be quick, equally offensive and defensive and with minimum vulnerabilities. You will not be ready for the attack; you will be under an extreme amount of stress; you will be at a severe disadvantage.

You should always assume that a person who has chosen to attack you with a knife is 100% intent on killing you.

1. Morally, theattacker’s intent is to kill you, so protecting and defending yourself up to the attacker’s death is warranted.
2. Legally, you are defending yourself against an armed attacker. If you disarm him and take control of the weapon, if he then becomes injured you may be found guilty of using a deadly weapon and held liable for any injury to the attacker and to bystanders. It is your responsibility to know the laws you are under.

00:56:09 As easy as it is for the general population to obtain weapons such as knives, bats, and guns, on a tactical level you must learn how to defend yourself against an attacker who attacks you with a knife, but you must also know how to attack using a knife. If you do not both have a knife and know how to use it, your ability to defend yourself against a knife attack will be limited and you will always be fighting at a disadvantage. It’s imperative you understand the level of violence involved in a hand-to-hand combat situation.

Being the good guy doesn’t mean always being the underdog in a fight. If you are going to disarm an attacker with a weapon, you also need to know how to use that weapon.

The knife is one of your greatest equalizers, because once you have one in your hand, it no longer matters how big or strong your attacker is; skin cuts easily.

2. Concepts & principles for fire arm threats

00:59:22 If somebody wants to kill you, they will shoot you safely from a distance, not up close, which means that knowing how to disarm a gun will be irrelevant. But this also means that the only reason you are still alive is because you are dealing with a gun threat, not a gun attack. As soon a person points a gun at you, you should consider it as a gun threat.

Similar to when an attacker threatens you with a knife, he is usually after one of three objectives:

1. They want your posessions (robbery or kidnapping)
2. They want your body (rape, murder, or torture)
3. They want information (robbery)

At this point it is the attacker’s demand that is keeping you alive. This means that once you have given in to your attacker’s demands, it is in your attacker’s descretion whether or not he lets you live or kills you. This means that denying your attacker his demands will be what keeps you alive longer, at least temporarily.

Whether you like it or not, guns and weapons are a part of modern society.

A lot of people fear what they do not know. Until they actually hold a gun or a knife in their hands, and learn how to use it, they fear it.

(Photo from here)

01:08:42 When a gun is fired:

1. An explosion is created inside the barrel
2. The bullet leaves the barrel and continues on it’s line of fire.
3. The barrel moves back allowing a spring to automatically push another bullet into the gun’s chamber, and the gun has been reloaded, armed and ready to fire again.

Interfering with this reloading process will jam the gun, rendering it temporarily useless. This makes the gun useless to the attacker and no longer a threat to you, but if you successfully disarm the gun from your attacker and gain control of it, it is also useless to you until you repair and arm it. If your attacker has a second gun, then he will certainly shoot you while you are holding a useless weapon. Again, this requires you know how to properly handle a weapon you may have to defend yourself against.

01:02:46 A gun is machine which cannot operate without an external force. A gun will never ‘accidentally go off.’ A gun ‘goes off’ because the person handled it incorrectly.

When a gun is fired, it makes a very loud, startling sound and your ears are going to ring. If it is you firing the gun, you will be metally prepared to cope with the sound, while those around you will not be prepared, and thus startled and temporarily vulnerable to attack.

Therefore, controlling the actual sound of the gun firing is an effective technique for defending yourself.

It is imperative that you undersand your distance from the gun. As long as you are too far away to reach the gun, your defense techniques are irrelevant.

01:06:36 In a gun threat, your primary danger is the gun’s line of fire. As long as you stay out of the gun’s line of fire, you can survive a gun attack. Knowing and understanding this will lower your stress level, which is imperative to obtaining and keeping control of a dangerous situation. Any sudden or suspicious movement on your part will spook your attacker and he may shoot you. Stay calm.

Professionals will keep their finger off of the trigger, and they will ONLY place their finger on the trigger once they are ready to shoot.

If your attacker doesn’t have his finger on the trigger, this likely means that your attacker:

• Is a professional, therefore will be thoroughly trained and prepared for whatever defense you use against him.
• Isn’t ready to shoot you yet.
• Will probably not make the mistake of allowing you to get close enough to be able to touch him or his gun, meaning your defense techniques will be irrelevant.

If your attacker has his finger on the trigger, this likely means that your attacker:

• May be a professional that is ready and prepared to shoot you.
• May not be a trained professional, and thus extremely dangerous as he will be less stable mentally and emotionally, and easily spooked and able to shoot you before obtaining his demands.

3. How to survive a knife attack

90° blocking

00:07:21 When your attacker attacks you they probably aren’t expecting you to know how to correctly defend yourself; they are expecting to injure or kill you. By blocking their attack and obtaining a weapon you have destabilized your attacker, lowered his confidence level and made him question his objective.

Recall that blocking a knife attack and engaging should only be used as a last resort survival tool during the first initial attack to allow you to distance yourself from your attacker and obtain an equal or greater weapon against your attacker.

00:08:40 Your block should be:

• At a 90° angle from the attacker’s arm. The 90° angle is imperative because it is designed to abruptly stop the attacker’s arm, not deflect it. If you block at an angle you risk the knife being deflected into your abdomen and organs.
• Very solid and forceful which completely stops your attacker’s arm movement, followed by a quick counter-attack to the attacker’s face, neck or elsewhere. Doing this destabilizes your attacker and allows you to create distance from your attacker so you can escape or obtain a weapon.

4. Seizing, absorbing & demolishing using empty handed defense

00:10:03 When you must defend yourself empty-handedly and you know you do not have immediate access to a weapon, your objective is not to block your attacker as outlined above. Instead, your objective is to:

1. Wait for your attacker to attack
2. Control the attack
3. Control the attacker

In this situation, your primary objective is not want to take the weapon away from the attacker because:

1. All of the attacker’s attention will be focalized on the knife, and by fighting for possession of the knife you are fighting by your attacker’s rules and forgetting your most important objective – incapacitating or terminating your attacker if necessary.
2. Recally that morally the attacker’s intent is to kill you, so protecting and defending yourself up to the attacker’s death is warranted.
3. Also recally that legally you are defending yourself against an armed attacker. Once you disarm him, if he then becomes injured you may be found guilty of using a deadly weapon and held liable for any injury to the attacker and to bystanders. It is your responsibility to know the laws you are under.

00:12:34 With knives, a ‘stab’ is an attack aimed at penetrating your body. A ‘slash’ is an attack aimed at opening up your body. During an attack you will understandably be under a lot of stress, and so therefore will not be in a mental position to determine whether the attack is a stab or a slash. Instead, read and react to the knife’s angle of attack. ‘Angles of attack,’ regardless of whether it is a stab or a slash, and regardless of whether the person is left- or right-handed, refer to the lines at which the weapon will come at you:

(Photo from here)

Defense from every attack should bring you to a position – a point of reference you want to put yourself in which acts as your ‘confidence landmark’ letting you know that you have obtained a safe, dominant position over your attacker where you can now incapacitate your attacker.

Again, when you are empty-handed, do not simply block your opponent because doing so allows your attacker the freedom to adjust and attack you again. Instead neutralize and disable your attacker up to termination if you must.

Defending against an (angle 1) left-to-right downward angled attack

00:17:06 Immediately stepping to your right and towards the attacker’s body:

• Throws your attacker off focus
• Reduces your chance of being cut
• Puts you in a better position to seize the attacker’s wrist, immobilise the knife and allow you to counter-attack

When seizing the attacker, it is imperative that you:

• Seize your attacker’s wrist with your arms fully extend and locked. Having your arms fully extended and locked abruptly stops the attack (mentioned above) and prevents the momentum from your attacker’s attack from accidentally cutting you.
• Grasp his wrist from both sides, otherwise he will be able to escape your grasp and attack you again.

If you make a mistake at this point, you’re dead.

Next you want to ‘victimize the attacker.’

As soon as you have secured the attacker’s wrist:

1. Immediately and abruptly pull on his arm to throw him off-balance
2. Simultaneously kick him in the groin to further confuse and destabilize him. Simply kicking your attacker in the groin without first pulling him off balance allows your attacker to defend himself, or worse, jerk his arm back and throw you off balance.
3. Once you have kicked your attacker in the groin, pull his arm into your chest.

This position becomes your ‘confidence landmark position’ which is your point of reference for all of your takedowns and disarms. This position also lets you know that you have obtained a safe, dominant position over your attacker where the knife has now been neutralized and you can now safely incapacitate your attacker. The knife is no longer the danger. Now, the danger is your attacker.

It’s important to remember that in a street fight there are no second chances. You will have to adapt to whatever your attacker throws at you. From the start of the altercation your ONLY goal is to reach your ‘confidence landmark’ position. If you seize your attacker’s wrist and it isn’t a picture perfect text-book grab (outlined above), it doesn’t matter. That grab is only a stepping stone into your ‘confidence landmark’ position, which you want to get into as quickly and as safely as possible.

This position ONLY becomes your ‘confidence landmark’ when:

1. You are firmly grasping his wrist and shoulder from both sides (demonstrated above), otherwise he will be able to escape your grasp and attack you again.
2. His arm is tightly against your chest, preventing him from fighting and freeing his arm.
3. Your arm closest to your attacker’s body is across his face. Doing this prevents your attacker from reaching around you and grabbing his weapon with his free hand

Once you have completely secured and controlled your ‘confidence landmark’ position:

1. Knee your attacker three times in the groin or inner or outer leg.
2. Stomp on his foot, step on it firmly and then violently push him backwards and away from you to the ground. Doing this will break his ankle. He will still have posession of the knife, but being on the ground and with a broken ankle means he is no longer a threat to you. When pushing him to the ground, it’s imperative to push him directly away from you, otherwise you risk being cut by the knife as your attacker is falling back.
3. Or, if necessary, tightly slide your arm closest to his body around his neck and cup his chin. This will put you in the position to snap his neck.

Once you decide upon your objective, it is imperative that you obtain that objective because remember, he still has posession of the knife. If you don’t reach your objective, he can attack you again.

Recall that your objective is to incapacitate your attacker; NOT obtain posession of the knife. If, from your ‘confidence landmark’ position you attempt to obtain posession of the knife, you have opened a space for your attacker to counter and regain control over you.

Defending against an (angle 2) right-to-left downward angled attack

00:24:45 Again, your objective is to determine the angle of attack. With this angle of attack, rather than side stepping in and towards your attacker’s body to seize his wrist (as in angle 1), with this angle of attack you want to sidestep outside and grasp his wrist.

Remember when seizing his wrist it’s imperative to:

• Seize your attacker’s wrist with your arms fully extend and locked. Having your arms fully extended and locked abruptly stops the attack (mentioned above) and prevents the momentum from your attacker’s attack from accidentally cutting you.
• Grasp his wrist from both sides, otherwise he will be able to escape your grasp and attack you again.

If you make a mistake at this point, you’re dead.

As soon as you have secured the attacker’s wrist:

1. Immediately and abruptly pull his arm to throw him off balance
2. Simultaneously kick him in the groin to further confuse and destabilize him. Simply kicking your attacker in the groin without first pulling him off balance allows your attacker to defend himself, or worse, jerk his arm back and throw you off balance. When kicking in the groin, do not step forward into the kick. Doing so will bring you closer to the knife and give your attacker more leverage to defend and and escape from you.
3. Once you have kicked your attacker in the groin, swing the attacker’s arm downward and around, scoop your outside hand closest to the weapon around the attacker’s wrist and then move into your ‘confidence landmark’ position. It’s imperative to swing the attacker’s arm downward into your ‘confidence landmark’ position otherwise you risk cutting yourself with the blade.

Defending against an (angle 3 and 4) horizontal attack

00:27:16 This angle may be either a horizontal stab across your body or a direct stab towards your body. Regardless, the angle of this attack, and your seize, is the same:

1. Sidestep to the left or the right out and away from the attacker’s movement
2. Seize his wrist as outlined above.
3. Jerk the attacker’s arm throwing him off balance while simultaneously kicking him in the groin. Do not step into the kick, instead return your foot back to it’s original position.
4. Move into your ‘confidence landmark’ position.
5. Once your ‘confidence landmark’ position is firmly established, incapacitate your attacker.

Defending against an (angle 5) top-to-bottom vertical attack

00:34:38 With this overhead attack you have two options to seize your attacker’s arm:

Your first option (if your attacker isn’t close and on top of you) is to move outside of the attacker’s body to his side. During that transition lift your hands up to protect yourself from the blade, but do not seize his arm at this point because your attacker will still be in a position of force. Instead, use your attacker’s momentum against him and push his arm across his chest to the opposite side of his body. From this position you can snap his neck or push him to the ground and stomp on his ankle, breaking it.

The problem with this overhead angle of attack is that your ‘confidence landmark’ position is different than it is from the previous angles; it is also less secure, and therefore more dangerous.

Your second option (if your attacker is close and on top of you, and so you cannot move to the outside of the attacker) is to use a 90° block against his arm (remember to use a 90° block otherwise you risk deflecting the knife into your abdomen and organs). From this 90° blocking position rather than punching him in his face, contain his arm by stepping through and putting his arm into a figure four position and direct his wrist – and the knife – towards his shoulder. This movement will push him back and towards the ground behind him, dislocate his shoulder and rip the tendons in his shoulder. Stepping through this movement also prevents your attacker from attacking you with his free arm.

Defending against an (angle 6) direct jab attack

00:41:26 When your attacker comes at you with a straight forward stab, regardless of whether your attacker is left- or right-handed, or whether the attacker first grabs your shirt or just stabs outright, the angle of attack, and your response, is the same:

1. Side-step to the outside of your attacker’s attacking arm while immediately using a 90° angle block to prevent him from following through and cutting you
2. Immediately and forcibly lower your blocking arm down to push his attacking arm down while cupping his wrist (without using your thumb)
3. Immediately follow through with a punch to the attacker’s face or neck with your free arm.
4. As you punch your attacker in the face to stun him continue that forward momentum and then guide his hand into your ‘confidence landmark’ position.
5. From your ‘confidence landmark’ position, strike him three times using your knee and then either break his ankle or snap his neck.

Defending against an (angle 7) bottom-to-top stab attack

00:43:49 This attack puts your attacker in a stong postion, therefore your best response is to:

1. Lean into the block and employ a 90° block against your attacker’s arm. Leaning in allows you to keep the knife’s blade far away from your body.
2. Immediately use your free arm to strike him in his groin. DO NOT hit your attacker in the face because doing so would cause him to stagger backwards, which would allow him to regain composure and attack you again.
3. As you move upwards and towards his body, transition his weapon yielding arm outward and into your ‘confidence landmark’ position.
4. From your ‘confidence landmark’ position, strike him three times using your knee and then either break his ankle or snap his neck.

Knife defense disarms for law enforcement

00:45:34 Non-law enforcement assumes your intention is not to disarm your attacker for reasons of moral and legal liability mentioned above, and up to now all of the defensive moves outlined above have been from this perspective. However, if your job description legally requires you to disarm your attackers, then weapon disarms will be done during a takedown stage after you have reached your ‘confidence landmark’ position.

If you are law enforcement and are carrying a gun, it is better for you to deploy your gun to contain the attacker and the scene unfolding around you. If you are attacked and do not have sufficient time to deploy your gun, then either protect yourself and move into the ‘confidence landmark’ position or use a 90° blocking technique outlined above to protect yourself from the attack and distance yourself from your attacker so you can deploy your gun or weapon.

To disarm your attacker from your ‘confidence landmark’ position:

1. From your ‘confidence landmark’ position, strike him three times using your knee as outlined before
2. Forcefully shove your hand into the base of his neck and force him to the ground.
3. Once he has reached the ground below you, “soften him up” by punching or jamming your knee into his ribs and punching him in the face, which will distract him from fighting back and loosen his grip on the knife
4. Take possession of the knife using your free hand. Do not attempt to take the knife until your attacker has been completely ‘softened up.’

5. Defending yourself against knife threats

Recall that a knife attack is when an attacker physically attacks you with the weapon, while a knife threat is when an attacker reveals the weapon in a threatening manner. These are two different scenarios which require two different actions.

00:47:27 The motives behind a knife threat usually fall into three categories:

1. They want your possessions (robbery or kidnapping)
2. They want your body (rape, murder, or torture)
3. They want information (robbery)

Recall that it is the attacker’s demand that is keeping you alive. Once you have given in to your attacker’s demand, it is in your attacker’s descretion whether or not he lets you live or kills you.

Disarming a frontal knife threat to your throat

00:48:10 The fact that you have a knife to your threat means that your attacker wants you alive for the moment because he wants something from you. If he didn’t he would have already cut your throat. But beware, all he needs to do is to move his knife one inch and you are dead. His demand(s) are what is keeping you alive:

1. Comply with the attacker’s demands. Doing so lowers the stress level of your attacker as he’s expecting to have his demands met
2. Discretely move your hands closer to your chest and neck, for example by raising your hands in submission and saying “Whatever you want.” It’s imperative that your arm closest to the knife is outside and your arm opposite the knife is on the inside between you and your attacker: One hand in, one hand out. Otherwise you will not be able to block the knife from entering your throat.
3. Rotate your body towards the knife and use a 90° block on his forearm. Hitting his forearm down and away from your neck prevents him from being able to move the knife that one fatal inch into your neck.
4. Immediately seize his wrist with your free arm and keep his arm close to your body to prevent your attacker from jerking his arm free and stabbing you elsewhere.
5. Using the hand you blocked with, strike your attacker in the face with the back of your fist, and then quickly move into your ‘confidence landmark’ position. It’s imperative that your forearm is across his face to prevent him from reaching around and grabbing the knife with his free hand.
6. From your ‘confidence landmark’ position, strike him three times using your knee as outlined before
7. Then either disarm him or break his ankle or neck, as outlined above

Disarming a reverse frontal knife threats to your throat

Similar to the previous attack:

1. Raise your hands in submission to lower your attacker’s level of stress, ensuring that the hand opposite the knife is in between your attacker’s arms.
2. With your outside arm closest to the knife grab the attacker’s forearm and push it away from your neck and close to your shoulder
3. Simultaneously move your inside arm across his face and grab the back of his shirt behind his head.
4. This movement will put you into your ‘confidence landmark’ position
5. From your ‘confidence landmark’ position, strike him three times using your knee as outlined before
6. Then either disarm him or break his ankle or neck, as outlined above

Disarming a knife threats to your throat from behind

00:53:46 From this position, the primary point of danger is the knife travelling horizontally across your neck.

Similar to the previous attack:

1. Raise your hands in submission to lower your attacker’s level of stress, ensuring that the hand opposite the knife is in between your attacker’s arms. Do not look at your attacker out of the corner of your eye, as this will raise his stress level and he may cut you.
2. Quickly use both of your hands to grab his forearm and lower the blade down and away from your neck. Simultaneously spread your legs and lower your body.
3. Using your hand on the same side as the knife, grab and secure his hand.
4. Using your other hand, reach back and strike your attacker in the groin.
5. Securely maintaining hold of your attacker’s hand holding the knife, reverse positions by raising your shoulder on the side of the knife and pivot your body to exit from your attacker’s grip and step behind him.
6. As you rotate from his front to his back, the knife will graze the side of his rib cage, if you want you can apply force and he will cut himself himself. It’s imperative that you stay very close to his body as you pivot, otherwise he can jerk his hand free and be in a position to attack you again.
7. Rotate his hand holding the knife behind his back while simultaneously grabbing his hair (if it is long enough), his shoulder or the back of his shirt just behind his neck to keep his back arched and his body erect and not slouching.
8. You are now in the position to break his arm, break his neck, stab him in his back using his own knife or stomp the inside of his knee and take him down and break his ankle. Again, keep your body close to his so he cannot jerk free and be in a position to attack you again.

6. Defending yourself against gun threats

Disarming a close up gun threat to your chest

01:09:27 The primary danger of a gun is being caught in the line of fire.

1. Recall that the first thing you must always do it to act like you are complying to his demands, because doing so lower’s his stress level as he now believes he will get what he is demanding. Any sudden movements or appearance of non-compliance on your part increases the risk that your attacker will get spooked and accidentally, or purposefully, pull the trigger.
2. Do not patronize your attacker by pleading with him‘Please don’t do it.’ The fact that he’s decided to pull the gun on you, or if your attacker is deranged, means that you probably can’t reason or plead with him, and patronizing him will only make him angry. Instead, show compliance by raising your hands and saying “Whatever you want.”
3. Once you’ve demonstrated compliance and have your arms in the air in submission, quickly rotate your body and grab the gun with your hand as you twist so that the gun’s line of fire is no longer directed at you. Do not move your body, rotate your torso and twist at the hips. Moving is also a much slower reaction than rotating, moving is more obvious to your attacker, and the attacker can simply move his gun along with you.
4. When grabbing the gun, DO NOT grab the barrel at the front of the gun because either you risk having your hand shot if he pulls the trigger or he can easily jerk the gun free, cutting your hand with the front sight and he will then shoot you. (see parts of a gun photo above) Instead, grab the gun so that your thumb is directly against the trigger guard and you’re gripping the back of the gun and part of his hand. (See figure below)
5. If the gun was discharged while you grabbed it and pushed it away from you, the gun is likely jammed and therefore temporarily not dangerous. Additionally, you will have been prepared for the violent sound of the gun, not your attacker, putting you in the advantage.
6. Immediately step in towards him (while avoiding the line of fire) and punch him directly in the face.
7. Immediately follow up by bringing your free hand underneath the gun and grabbing the corner of the gun on the opposite side of where you are holding it an then stepping backward with your opposite leg. (See figure below) Stepping back and grabbing the corner of the gun gives you the leverage you need to pry the gun from his hands.
8. As you peel the gun from his hand his firing finger will likely break as it is trapped inside of the trigger guard. At this point your attacker’s thoughts will be on the pain of his broken finger. (See figure below)
9. Rip the gun from his hands, if he hasn’t already let go of the gun.
10. As soon has you have gained possession of the gun, step back to a safe distance, unjam the gun, load it and be ready to shoot your attacker if need be. To unjam the gun you ‘rack it.’ Racking the gun involves simply pulling the barrel back towards you and then releasing it, which automatically loads a bullet into the chamber.
11. Point the gun at your attacker and command him to get on the floor.

01:01:14 As you will be under a lot of stress in this moment, whether your attacker is in front of you holding the gun with his right hand or his left hand, you respond to the threat using the same movement (as outlined above), regardless of which hand you use to grab the gun. Your disarm procedure does not change regardless of with which hand he is holding the gun.

01:15:03 Once gaining possession of the gun, the first thing you must do is to rack the gun. Barring an empty chamber, this is the quickest way to ensure that the gun is not jammed and ready to fire, or to understand the gun doesn’t have any more bullets in it.

As soon as you have taken possession of the gun and racked it, morally you are required to give your attacker the chance to surrender. Legally, you are now liable for any damages caused by your use of the gun under the laws regarding use of deadly force. It is imperative you understand the local laws governing use of deadly force.

If you command him to surrender and get on the floor, and he instead pulls out another gun, legally and morally you are in a position to shoot him because he is endangering you. (again, know the laws of the land as it applies to the use of deadly force).

If you command him to surrender and get on the floor, and he pulls out a knife or desperately attacks you empty-handed, you will have to shoot him, probably without killing him. Recall that as you now have control of the gun, you are responsible for consequence and damage of firing the gun.

Disarming a close up gun threat to your head

01:18:57 Disarming a gun to the head isn’t the same technique as disarming a gun to your chest because of the line of fire. If the gun fires while you seize the gun pointed at your chest, any bystandards behind you will be shot in the legs and will survive. However if the gun fires while you seize the gun pointed at your head, any bystandards behind you risk being shot in the chest or head.

1. Get yourself out of the gun’s line of fire by quickly bending at the knees and lowering your position.
2. Simulatenously ‘pigeon up’ with your hands to seize the gun, which your thumbs firmly against the trigger guard as outlined above. This will redirect the gun’s line of fire upward.
3. As it was you who provoked the attacker to fire his gun, you will be prepared for the violent sound while your attacker will not.
4. Very quickly and violently twist the gun around backwards so that the gun is pointing at your attacker’s chest. As you twist the gun back towards him take one step forward with your dominant leg to increase your leverage over him. This action will break his trigger finger.
5. Once the gun is pointed at him, butt him in his chest with the firearm and then remove it from his hands.
6. Pull out, step back, rack the gun to ensure it isn’t jammed and is loaded, and then point the gun at your attacker from a safe distance and command him to get on the floor.

Disarming a close up gun threat under your chin

01:22:02 This is a very stressful position because the gun will probably be pressed directly against your neck.

1. Demonstrate compliance by raising your hands submissively and saying “Whatever you want.” Doing so will lower his stress level. Similar to the knife to your throat scenario outlined above, it’s important that your arm opposite to the side of the gun is in between your attacker’s arms. One arm inside, one arm outside.
2. Get out of the gun’s line of fire by simply twisting, pivoting on your feet and moving your head.
3. Simultaneously use your hand in between your attacker’s arms to grab his forearm and use your other arm his lower wrist where it becomes his hand. If you grab his wrist too high he can twist his wrist and shoot you directly in the face. Seize his wrist so that you control how his wrist moves.
4. With your blocking arm immediately punch him in the neck and reach back behind him grabbing the back of his neck. You will now be in your ‘confidence landmark’ position.
5. Knee him once, twist your body and then use your free hand to grab the gun and violently twist it opposite how his hand opens. Doing so will break his trigger finger.
6. You will now be holding the barrel of the gun in your hand. Once you’ve ripped the gun out of his hand strike him using your elbow as you exit and step away from him. Do not strike him using the handle of the gun because if the gun goes off, it will shoot you in the leg.
7. Rack the gun to ensure it isn’t jammed and is loaded, and then point the gun at your attacker from a safe distance and command him to get on the floor.

Disarming a close up gun threat to your head from the side

01:25:23 There are two different scenarios to this threat: in front of your ear and behind your ear. Where your attacker places the gun requires a different disarming technique. If you use the wrong disarm for the wrong scenario, you will die.

When the gun is placed in front of your ear near your temple:

1. Demonstrate compliance by raising your hands submissively and saying “Whatever you want.” Doing so will lower his stress level. But do not put your hands higher than your attacker’s hands because this may spook him and he may kill you, and secondly because to disarm him you need your hands below his.
2. Remove yourself from the gun’s line of fire by side stepping backwards and towards him so that your head is now behind the gun. Simply stepping backwards allows your attacker to follow your head with the gun.
3. Simultaneously reach up and grab the gun with the hand closest to the gun. Be sure to grab at the trigger guard, not at the front of the barrel.
4. Lower the gun while simultaneously punching him in the face.
5. Quickly swing your free hand underneath the gun and grab the corner of the gun. Swing your leg back and peel the gun backwards. This will break his trigger finger.
6. Step away to a safe distance, rack the gun to ensure it isn’t jammed and is loaded, and then point the gun at your attacker from a safe distance and command him to get on the floor.

When the gun is placed behind of your ear:

In this scenario, if you try to move sideways and backwards (as above) the gun may get caught behind your ear and your attacker may pull the trigger. As the gun is to the side of your head, you will not know whether the attacker is holding the gun in his left or right hand. Do not look out of the corner of your eye to determine this, as the attacker may interpret this as a sign of aggression and kill you. Regardless of which hand the attacker is using:

1. Demonstrate compliance by raising your hands submissively and saying “Whatever you want.” Doing so will lower his stress level. But do not put your hands higher than your attacker’s hands because this may spook him and he may kill you, and secondly because to disarm him you need your hands below his.
2. Remove yourself from the gun’s line of fire by turning inwards and towards your attacker so that your head is now behind the gun near the attacker’s forearm and you are eye to eye with your attacker. Simply stepping backwards allows your attacker to follow your head with the gun.
3. As you pivot into this position wrap your arm closest to the gun around the attacker’s and seize his arm at the top of the inside forearm.
4. With your other arm strike him in his neck with your elbow to temporarily shock and confuse him.
5. With your leg opposite the gun, knee your attacker in the groin and push him backwards so he is off balance.
6. Once he is off balance, use the arm you elbowed your attacker with to reach around and grab the rear of the gun – ensuring that your thumb is positioned at the very rear of the gun so you have leverage, and then pull it out and away from you until the gun is at a 90° angle – hhis movement will break his trigger finger. Then pull the gun out of his hand.
7. Strike him again in his neck with your elbow and step away to a safe distance, rack the gun to ensure it isn’t jammed and is loaded, and then point the gun at your attacker from a safe distance and command him to get on the floor.

Disarming a close up gun threat to your ribs inside elbow

1. Demonstrate compliance by saying “Whatever you want.”

Doing so will lower his stress level. Do not raise your hands submissively as doing so will not put you in a position to defend and attack and will bump the gun, upon which the attacker may shoot you.

• Similar to the scenario where the gun is pointed at your head in front of your ear, remove yourself from the gun’s line of fire by side stepping backwards and towards him so that your head is now behind the gun. Simply stepping backwards allows your attacker to follow your head with the gun.
• Immediately secure the gun by seizing the attacker’s wrist and secure the gun by the muzzle guard.
• Step and rotate in towards your attacker and turn the gun in towards the attacker.
• Jab the attacker with the gun’s muzzle and then pull the gun straight away from him. This action will lessen the attacker’s grip on the gun and you can rip it from his hand.
• Step away to a safe distance, rack the gun to ensure it isn’t jammed and is loaded, and then point the gun at your attacker from a safe distance and command him to get on the floor.

Disarming a close up gun threat to your ribs outside elbow

1. Demonstrate compliance by saying “Whatever you want.” Doing so will lower his stress level. Do not raise your hands submissively as doing so will not put you in a position to defend and attack.
2. With your hand below the gun, turn and step in towards your attacker. This movement will put you outside of the line of fire.
3. As you pivot in use your arm closest to the gun to wrap up the attacker’s arm from underneath. It’s important you wrap your arm and contain your attacker’s arm at the elbow to prevent your attacker from jerking his arm free.
4. With your free arm, simultaneously strike the attacker in his neck with your elbow.
5. Knee him in the groin and push him backwards to both shock and destabilize him.
6. Once he is off balance, use the arm you elbowed your attacker with to reach around and grab the rear of the gun – ensuring that your thumb is positioned at the very rear of the gun so you have leverage, and then pull it out and away from you until the gun is at a 90° angle – his movement will break his trigger finger. Then pull the gun out of his hand.
7. Strike him again in his neck with your elbow and step away to a safe distance, rack the gun to ensure it isn’t jammed and is loaded, and then point the gun at your attacker from a safe distance and command him to get on the floor.

Disarming a close up gun threat from the rear

01:36:42 From this perspective you will not know whether the attacker has the gun in his right or left hand. Also, whether your attacker has the gun pressed against your lower or upper back, the disarm is the same. The only limitation you may have to deal with is if the attacker grabs your shirt on one side in an additional attempt to control you:

1. Demonstrate compliance by saying “Whatever you want.” Doing so will lower his stress level. Do not raise your hands submissively as doing so will not put you in a position to defend and attack.
2. With your hand below the gun, quickly step and turn in towards your attacker. This movement will put you outside of the line of fire.
3. As you pivot in use your arm closest to the gun to wrap up the attacker’s arm from underneath. It’s important you wrap your arm and contain your attacker’s arm at the elbow to prevent your attacker from jerking his arm free.
4. With your free arm, simultaneously strike the attacker in his neck with your elbow.
5. Knee him in the groin and push him backwards to both shock and destabilize him.
6. Once he is off balance, use the arm you elbowed your attacker with to reach around and grab the rear of the gun – ensuring that your thumb is positioned at the very rear of the gun so you have leverage, and then pull it out and away from you until the gun is at a 90° angle – his movement will break his trigger finger. Then pull the gun out of his hand.
7. Strike him again in his neck with your elbow and step away to a safe distance, rack the gun to ensure it isn’t jammed and is loaded, and then point the gun at your attacker from a safe distance and command him to get on the floor.

Disarming a close up gun threat from hostage position

01:41:01 Recall the most dangerous thing about this scenario is the gun’s line of fire, and you will not be able to move or turn your head because he has seized control of your upper body.

1. Demonstrate compliance by raising your hands submissively and saying “Whatever you want.” Doing so will lower his stress level. Raising your hands in submission discretely allows you to get your hand closer to the gun. But don’t get so close that you spook your attacker.
2. Very quickly seize the gun with your thumb on the trigger guard and turn the gun outwards to escape the line of fire. At this point the gun will probably have been discharged, and only you will have been prepared for the shot, meaning that your attacker will be temporarily confused.
3. Create enough space between you and your attacker that you can use your free arm to strike your attacker’s groin.
4. Maintaining control of the hand with the gun, rotate under his arm holding the gun. Make sure you remain out of the gun’s line of fire during this process to avoid being shot.
5. Simultaneously and violently strike the attacker’s hand with the open wedge of your free hand (not your fist), yank on the gun and take a step back. This action will both disarm the gun and put you at a distance from your attacker. If you are unable to remove the gun from the attacker’s hand, kick him in the leg and then strike his arm to disarm him.
6. Be sure you pull the gun down and away from you to avoid placing your legs in the line of fire.
7. Step away to a safe distance, rack the gun to ensure it isn’t jammed and is loaded, and then point the gun at your attacker from a safe distance and command him to get on the floor.

Dealing with a 3rd party gun disarm

01:46:03 A scenario may occur when you are not being attacked, but someone around you has been placed in a hostage position. The added stress to this scenario will be that you are negotiating with the attacker during this process, you are at an angle to the attacker they are expecting.

Recall that if the attacker wanted that person dead, he would have killed her, so in this scenario the attacker will have a demand.

If you can, approach the situation from the rear angle on the side of the attacker’s gun, that way neither the attacker nor the hostage are aware you are intervening.

1. Redirect the gun’s line of fire away from the hostage and toward the attacker by quickly grabbing the gun and turning it towards the attacker.
2. Use your free hand to push against the attacker’s back while simultaneously digging the gun’s muzzle deeply into the sensitive point of your attacker’s collar bone or chest.This will confuse the attacker and turn him into a victim.
3. With the gun firmly dug into the attacker’s chest, disconnect the attacker from the victim by deeply pressing your knuckles into the attacker’s kidney. At some point during this scenario there is a strong likelihood the attacker will shoot himself, so be prepared for it so it does not distract you.
4. Using the forward momentum of the gun and the pressure of your knuckle in his kidney, arch the attacker’s back and push down to the floor from behind.&
5. The pain combined with the violent movement will probably cause the attacker to let go of the gun. If not, violently knee the attacker in his ribs and jerk the gun away from him.
6. Step away to a safe distance, rack the gun to ensure it isn’t jammed and is loaded, and then point the gun at your attacker from a safe distance and command him to stay on the floor.