That and close quarters where they were not in as much danger of being slashed or in a long grapple. Basically used to quickly attack then swung back around for other moves. Think of it like a special attack in a game not the normal stance.
Reverse grip on some really long knives is also good in a defensive standing, especially against swords. Use the forearm to stabilize the blade, I use it when sword fighting cousins.
He was taking an opportunity to make a funny. David Bowie wasn't a knife fighter. James "Jim" Bowie is the supposed near mythological figure, supposed creator of the Bowie Knife, and died at the Alamo
The frontier style Bowie grip with the edge facing you and the trailing tip facing your opponent is because true fighting Bowie's had the false edge sharpened, so the trailing tip had two edges. Then they would use the point like a claw, cutting with the tip which was more effective for getting through the tough leather, wool, canvas and denim frontier clothing was made out of. Kind of similar to how a karambit cuts.
Using a knife in the reverse grip has been a well established method since at least the 1500s. You also see reverse grip sword during those periods not frequently, but more frequently than some "meme" moves like throwing your sword (which has a time and place).
There are real benefits to reverse grip with a knife, especially with the cutting edge towards the user. I don't like serrations but serrations on a knife with reverse grip edge towards the user would be particularly nasty.
The main benefit is its biomechanically superior for downward thrusts and gravity is also on your side. It's incredibly beneficial when you're fighting an armored target.
It's really nice in grappling. You can cut some stuff you otherwise wouldn't be able to. And it allows you to use your arms as "hooks", while also cutting your opponent. Basically turn it into a game of do as I want you to or get cut up.
"Don’t teach 'em knife fighting....teach 'rm to kill. "That way they'll come up against somebody who knows knife fighting....they'll send his soul to hell. "It's all in the mind, Sargeant...." Spartan.
@@bananarobotoverlord Depends on what you mean by "allowed to have a knife in London". You're allowed to buy and own almost any kind of knife, but carrying in public is a different story. You can carry a non-locking folding knife that has a bladed edge of up to 3 inches without a reason, but any longer, and you generally need to have a good reason for carrying one.
One thing I particularly like about reverse grip with a knife aside from powerful overhand stabs is being able to use the blade to hook and catch an opponent's arms to control them non-lethally. It's something I rarely see outside of some of Doug Marcaida's karambit videos, partially because he's really skilled at it and also karambits are particularly good for that sort of thing, but generally speaking even a straight blade can be used for manipulation by making a hook with it and your forearm. It's reminiscent of years ago when I was still in Tang Soo Do and we were taught to use the forearm instead of the hand for techniques like arm bars and such, because that wider area allows for an easier block and catch, even if they try to wriggle out, and you don't have to worry about your comparatively weak wrist and hand being counter-manipulated to make you lose your grip.
For Bowie I use a thumb grip where the blade is sideways with the edge pointing out, allows good flick cuts at shallow targets while keeping you out of range.
Ive seen that for sword fighting. You could also hold it by the blade to hit someone with the handle. At least 3 more orientations right there. We need a part two now
Reverse grip, reverse edge methodology has seen much adoption in the field of practical combatives. Google clinchpick and the undercover NARC who designed it. Using big muscles like the lats and biceps to pull a sharp edge proves to be devastating. You did a great job on this one explaining all the different combinations!
Bowie also popularized hacking with the opposite end of the knife as well. One of the main features the maker of his knife said he insisted on was an outward facing point.
The reverse grip is used best for grappling and a style of knife fighting that I’m actually quite fond of. The blade being an extension of your hand downward makes hooking punches and uppercuts a lot more effective, and because a knife is so short that it’s basically making your hand sharp, I prefer the punching and stabbing with a knife to slashing
David Bowie was truly ahead of his time. He used to address crowds at his shows as "Ladies, gentlemen and others" realizing that there were more than 2 genders even back then in the early 1800s. He even forsaw how climate change was gonna cause the apocalypse and we would regress to fighting with blades, hence his knife fighting prowess was so well established, the most famous knife is named after him. When David Bowie died, I was even more struck than the time when they took away Neil Armstrong's cycling gold medals because of steroid use. At least He still has the Moon landing, and nobody can take Love on the Rocks away from him.
The last grip is deadly. Its like you put your hand/wrist into a sickle. If your hand trapped in there, the opponent can hurt you, and in the same time you also will get cut if you struggled/pull back. Its like offense in defense. You guys can look in FMA how this grip works.
The true edge turned back grip is most useful when you are wielding a bowie knife with a sharpened false edge, which is why it was a popular grip amongst Texas knife fighters who would forward slash with the false edge and back slash with the true edge.
I always thought of the reverse grip as more of a brawling style than a knife fighting one. It leaves both fists more free to punching and allows a more standard 'hands up' stance, but adds a more lethal option in certain circumstances. It gives up longer ranged slashes and stabs in exchange for a more defensive posture, balancing the use of your knife and your fists, imo.
Only time I've ever seen Reverse grip used effectively was on an op with an Army Ranger ascending a flight of stairs on a guy who didn't even see it coming was both amazing and horrifying to see
Okay the Bowie knife is designed to have the clip point on it. But the backside of the clip point is sharpened. So is a double-edged knife for just a few inches that gave you the slashing ability that you were talking about especially used against the arms of your opponent. So yeah, Jim Bowie was an expert knife-fighter, especially designed his weapon for that.
I dont think its actually known what James Bowie’s knife actually looked like. There are lots of variations that became the iconic Bowie knife but historically, there isnt evidence that Bowie had a clip point at all. The only written description is that it was a large knife. Everything else is legend.
@@IluvinortheIneffable no there are many examples. He gave away knives he was carrying too many people over the years, and every single one was almost identical in blade. Furthermore the actual knife he died with is on display in a museum in Mexico.
I hope media catches onto this, its extremely cool i never thought of holding the blade upwards with it facing towards you, could make for some really unique fighting styles in anime or whatever else picks it up
I actually train with foam knives and I approve of that style, because in knife fighting, I do far more dragging cuts towards myself rather than outwards. it's great defensively and coming up with your blade from a lower position results in some devastating slashes, that be either hitting the underside of the forearm where there's a lot of tendons, slashing across the neck from under or hitting the artery in the armpit
Tip up blade inward was actually the preferred hold in the knife fighting guide for soviet soldiers in ww2. In fact the NR40 knife that was in use in Red Army at that time specifically had the S-shaped guard in the inverse position to make this hold more comfortable.
Medieval manuscripts like that of fiore shows dagger fighting holding the blade downwards. Slashing doesn't do shit in a fight, stabs are what ends a fight efficiently. Sole medieval daggers didn't even have an edge
So learned that holding the blade upright but blade towards you with a Bowie or knife with a cutting false edge has usage. You can cut with the false edge like a claw. And the blunt spine helps parry away a knife without damaging your blade
Reverse grip blade inwards gives the most potential for lethal stabbing btw. Just hold that knife far above your head in this position and do a wide downward swinging stab. Guaranteed to do lots of damage if it connects at any point. Actually widely used technique historically in assassinations with a knife.
So my preference is either to hold the blade in pos.4 or to hold it tip up with my thumb on the flat of the knife and edge towards my center. This grip allows you to better judge the depth of penetration under stress and control your point and orientation which allows you to control how your knife cuts into the target. It also shares the benefit of making folding knives more stable.
0:14 The trust and point it up move was used by Roman soldiers using the Gladius. This caused a relatively shallow stabbing wound with a long cut that caused a lot of blood loss.
I’ll give my 2 cents about the reverse grip here as everyone else has already. Is it useful in our modern society? Maybe in certain situations, but mostly you’d do better with the blade facing upwards. Was it useful in medival times? Hell yeah. Trying to get through thick clothing or better yet actual armour you need all the force you can get. Thanks to biomechanics, the downward thrust is the best option here. Also, in some japanese techniques with the tanto (knife) against a sword, the reverse grip is sometimes used when drawing the knife out of it’s sheath and deflecting a blow.
i usually reverse grip it with the blade edge away from me. it feels the most effective when combining with a kickboxing style fight, or in Kali. but fluidity is always important when using a knife.
So what I'm understanding is once you have become decent or better at two "blade faces", it would be a useful skill to learn how to easily change from one to the other and vice versa, particularly mid fight. This would make the knife even more versatile and you more deadly.
Reverse grip with a knife is better for grappling because you can use the pomel to enhance the force of you're punching strikes. Though, in my limited experience in HEMA, people who prefer knives tend to switch their grip depending on the situation. Obviously, being able to grapple with a knife is a lot more important than being able to grapple with a saber. So a lot more emphasis is put on it.
Eh...depends on the knife for the last one. One of the reason David Bowie used the flipped blade is because unlike a lot of modern commercially made Bowie knives, his didn't have a false edge on that side..if you have an actual edge instead of a false edge on the reverse side near the tip then you still got slashing power, and the slight curve makes for some better slashes.
The Bowie knife back in the wild west originally had a sharpened false edge utilizing the back cut one of the fastest moves the human body can make and can open up a target like nothing else
If you are holding a knife like that to cut some veggies. You are a chef or a kitchen cook. If you hold the blade down for stabbing or slitting. You are going to kill someone. -Just two ways I still remember from the first season of the show "Leverage". Such a great series.
Facing yourself wih traditional grip you'd get better movement and control if you brace with your index finger along the spine. That way you could technically hold it facing out to slash with a clawing type motion as well.
Holding plain is best in my book. Many smart knife fighters know to slash at the enemies hands themselves is far more effective than closing the gap and into the reach of the enemy. After ya open up them hands and wrists they typically know it's time to stop and get patched up, or bleed out, or at the very least not be able to hold thier knives well anymore due to the slippery blood. Hands and fingers alone bleed for more than think. Plus he who bleeds first, tends to think oh hell time to dip lol, even if it's a small cut. No time to judge it's severity no ways. They just see red and tap out lol. I wouldn't bother closing the gap unless cornered and have no options
Blade down edge out has one serious advantage. You can "punch" with the edge with a lot more power than you can with the other grips because you can put your hips into it like a hook or straight right.
It works even better with shorter knives. (under 6") If you slash near the base of the blade with a hooking motion you can put some serious force into that slash.
Down and rear is good for grappling if your in a holding situation. It's a very situational thing though. Think of it more as a hook at that point. Stab down and pull against you
Tip down, blade in just changes dimensions of grappling. For instance, a triangle grip becomes possible, where you block forearm-to-forearm, and cross your wrists to grab the flat of your blade with their wrist trapped between yours. Pull down, and you have a relatively safe disarm.
