For as long as I can remember, there have been books on “knife fighting,” all geared toward one thing: To teach you how to wield a knife for self-defense, and by that we mean, to use a knife to inflict damage on someone who is trying to kill you or otherwise do you grievous bodily harm. That is, after all, the only legal reason to use a deadly weapon on another person.
There is always the presumption that if you did not deploy your weapon, you would be at much greater risk of death or serious injury. That’s the foundation for our laws and, while using a knife to defend yourself almost guarantees you’ll end up in court over it, there have been plenty of cases were people put on trial were successfully acquitted after they put the pointy end of a blade into the other guy.
Given all that, I’m not sure where the Piper Knife System puts you. Piper has existed for years now, and comes to us by way of South Africa, where it enjoys popularity among both law-abiding citizens desperate to defend themselves… and, presumably, the criminals from whom some of the techniques have been taken. The first indicator that this is a “criminal” knife fighting system comes by way of the knife Piper exponents choose to advocate: the South African Okapi ring-pull knife, a very simple, cheap blade that could be described as the “Saturday Night Special” of knives.
You’ll have to do a little work to find a genuine Okapi in the United States. The sample seen here was purchased through a seller in Israel, of all places, who probably imported the knives from somewhere in South Africa. The ring pull is a very primitive mechanism that works well when it is fitted up properly. Spring tension holds the plate closed on the back of the knife, where a whole in the plate mates with a peg on the back of the blade tang. Pulling on the ring pulls up the plate and allows the blade to close. Okapi knives have a “ratchet” style system, so they open and close under resistance (slowing the blade down a little and making it safer for your fingers).
Interestingly, a lot of people who handle the Okapi find the ring pull system a little awkward. Trying to hold the blade, keep your fingers clear of the blade, and pull the ring up to release the blade and close it can prove challenging for some users. Fortunately, there’s no need to do that, and you can close the knife both easily and safely.
Simply put your index finger in the ring, brace the handle against your fingers, and push with your thumb against the blade as you pull against the ring. This will release the blade and allow you to close it… all with just one hand, if you choose.
As far as the techniques of Piper go, that’s a little more complicated. The knife can be wielded as any folding, locking knife is wielded. You could hold it in a traditional grip with the blade forward, for example…
…Or you could hold it in a reverse grip, as is favored by those in Piper. This makes a certain amount of sense when you consider that the system is geared towards neutralizing an opponent as quickly as possible. Knife exponents have for many years argued here and there about whether a point-driven or edge-driven method is superior. The reality of your body’s biology, however, is that it will shut down faster when an object is thrust into it (and into your organs) than it will if it is cut and bleeds (and even if its tendons are severed).
Graphic as that sounds, it’s true: Stabbing the point of a sharp object into a living being is the fastest way to make that living being… not one. That’s the fastest way to do the kind of damage to organs that creates traumatic shock and overwhelms the nervous system. As a result, people who are practicing Piper tend to favor a reverse grip and a point-driven method. There is a lot of rapid reciprocating of the hands, the idea being to overwhelm the opponent in “sewing machine” fashion. Hans-Erik Petermann writes,
There are only two stabbing techniques in the “basics” syllabus of Piper. A stab is a linear thrust into the enemies body, usually aimed at an artery or a vital organ such as the heart or lung will. Piper’s reverse grip gives rise to certain stabbing techniques that are specifically suitable to this grip.
As always, the eighty/ twenty rule applies. Those 20% which are the so-called “basics” account for 80% of the combat applications. These two most basic stabs are the “vertical downward stab” and the “sideways stab”.
Downward Stab
In its most basic form, you are holding your knife in reverse grip, your thumb as close to your shoulder as is comfortable, the blade pointing forward and slightly downward. From there, you straighten your arm, stabbing downwards.
Initially, the elbow stays “glued in space”, close to your body, so as to teach you to protect your ribs (in application, the arm goes where it has to). It is easy to get bored with practicing this, as it is so simple and basic, but this would be a mistake. Let a friend hold a stick and move it about. Without giving up your elbow positioning more than is necessary, stab at the stick. When you can hit the stick most of the time it is time to expand the parameters of the technique.
The text goes on like that, but you get the idea.
Videos of people practicing Piper tend to look quite confusing as a result. A lot of the shadow-boxing style videos (in which practitioners knife an invisible opponent repeatedly) almost look like somebody having a seizure… until you slow the movements down and see the repeated stabs to vulnerable areas that are concealed by the rapid motions.
You could argue that anyone can overwhelm an opponent if they just start stabbing as quickly as possible, and up to a point that’s true. You’ve got to start with some basis in technique, however; you don’t simply wake up knowing how to do the techniques until you’ve at least worked them out in practice, and you must have some basis for that practice. In that regard, this “criminal knife system” from South Africa might be for you… but like so many things, that’s really your call and based on your preference.