Knife Defence Workshop with Guru Brian Kennedy
Wing Tsun - Ireland was pleased to announce the return of Guru Brian Kennedy who on Thursday the 30th of March taught a two hour workshop in the Blanchardstown school. Guru Brian has trained in many arts over the years and holds the rank of blackbelt in Inosanto Blend Kali, Maphillindo Silat and NinJutsu. He also hold the rank of Associate Instructor in Jeet Kune Do, is the Irish representative for Fractal Fighting Arts and teaches out of his own school in Palmerstown, Dublin.
Guru Brian was the guest instructor at our 2016 summer seminar where he taught an intensive hour of empty hand defence against knives from his Kali background. The one hour class was excellent, well presented, very informative and left the participants thirsting for more.
Guru Brian was the guest instructor at our 2016 summer seminar where he taught an intensive hour of empty hand defence against knives from his Kali background. The one hour class was excellent, well presented, very informative and left the participants thirsting for more.
There is no defence against knives in classical Wing Tsun. Traditionally if faced against an opponent with a knife, the response would be to use Wing Tsun knives against the opponent. In more recent times various Wing Tsun organisations have created knife defences and while they are good, they are a modern add on and not part of a system. By contrast, empty hand defence against knives is an inherent part of Filipino martial arts and is more comprehensive.
Brian's attitude to knife defence is a realistic one which does not guarantee success as there are too many variables at play. Instead his approach is about minimising the risk associated with a blade. During the seminar he focused on three main areas,
Making contact with the arm holding the knife.
Sticking to and controlling the arm holding the knife.
Stripping/removing the knife from the opponent's hand.
Rather than demonstrating the full spectrum of empty hand techniques against a knife, the emphasis was on giving the participants a solid foundation to work from and we plan to have Brian back in the near future to delve further into the anti-knife material.
Making contact with the arm holding the knife.
Sticking to and controlling the arm holding the knife.
Stripping/removing the knife from the opponent's hand.
Rather than demonstrating the full spectrum of empty hand techniques against a knife, the emphasis was on giving the participants a solid foundation to work from and we plan to have Brian back in the near future to delve further into the anti-knife material.