I typed up a big, long post but it comes down to this: Is there any point in having a knife for defense if you haven't been trained to use it?

In my case, my only hope in a knife fight is that I brought a handgun.

What little hand to hand training (to include knives/bayonets) I had ages ago is rusty, PHP. It needs refreshing; but knife use would be purely defensive to allow me time to reach a handgun or shotgun...and the telephone. Excellent point, let's see what the forum may have for remedies. I imagine many of us have the same concern.

No, for the most part I don't think there is a "point". This is why I trained in Filipino Kali for a year. I only stopped due to health issues.

I get my training from Steven Seagal movies.

Yes, there's a point.

But kind of like having a gun and only "owning" it, never shooting, practicing with it.

It's a useful tool, even more useful when you kind of know what you're doing!

I suppose training is always beneficial. But really hard to find. good luck finding knife training. Although some self defense classes go over grip etc.

maybe a cold steel video? At the end of the day it is usually a last resort and gross motor skill.

Knife fight? Please. Real life isn't a John Woo movie: two martial artists squaring off, spinning and flipping in the air, making slash cuts which happen to be just deep enough to slice open their opponent's shirt and leave a thin line of blood across their muscular torso. It isn't gonna be knife against knife. It's gonna be some guy pulling a knife to get one or more people attacking him, off of him. The real world, gentlemen. Hello?

Do you need training to ball up your fist and crack someone in the mouth with it? Do you need training to swing a baseball bat and lay a couple of solid blows across someone's back? What if you happened to have a hammer? Do you need to be trained as a carpenter to use it to protect yourself? When the time comes, your survival instincts will kick in and you will use every tool at your disposal to win and survive, and a knife, just like a gun, is a force multiplier.

Here's what you need to know about wielding a knife- if I stab you, you're gonna know it and if you have any sense at all, you're going to seek medical attention immediately. If I lacerate the hand you're putting on me, you're gonna remove that hand from me. Only a fool rushes a knife and people who have been cut or stabbed have a remarkable tendency to cease their aggression and seek medical attention. You can train all you want, but everyone past the age of five knows what knives can do and knows how to cut or pierce things with one.

How many people- overwhelming male- do you think carry a knife on their person most days? Of those people, how many do you think have had formal training in "knife fighting"? How does, say, one in five thousand sound? Just a WAG, but does this sound wrong to you? The actual number is probably even smaller. If someone is carrying a knife- for whatever purpose- and no other tool or weapon, and they are attacked and in fear of their life, should they use their knife to defend themselves only if they have had formal training? Again, the real world, not a movie.

And, if on the off chance that both you and your attacker are armed with knives (which I find laughably unlikely) are you going to say to yourself "I've had no formal training so I'm just gonna let this guy kill me"? No, you are going to do what you need to do to survive. If your attacker has a gun, it doesn't matter how well trained you are with a knife. Unless the attacker is a complete idiot, you are going to lose under those circumstances. The knife is advantageous in situations where you meet unarmed- and possibly multiple- attackers. When you start slashing and stabbing, they'll know what time it is.

Carry a knife if you wish and if your local laws allow it- the biggest, sharpest one you can conceal, and if you need to use it, unleash the fury.

Well said. There was a case here a few years ago that sticks in my mind. A couple was walking in downtown after hours, when the bars close and everyone is drunk and stupid. A car full of guys started saying disrespectful things to the female, so the boyfriend defended her with his own choice words. The three or four guys got off the car and a it was on. The guy who was defending his girlfriend had a knife on him. He was not seriously injured. ALL of the other guys were. I don't believe the guy had any kind of formal training, just good old fashioned balls (and thankfully a knife).