BLOODY BRAZILIAN KNIFE FIGHTING TECHNIQUES book (2004)

Hello Everyone !!

The book Bloody Brazilian Knife Fightin' Techniques (2004) is a gritty and controversial manual.

It is a polarizing and provocative manual that blends gritty street-fighting lore with flashy martial arts bravado. The book’s dramatic tone and exaggerated claims make it more of a cult curiosity than a reliable self-defense guide—but for fans of underground martial arts literature, it’s a wild ride !!

I) Brazil Knife History -- (Pg #7-8)

# A former Portuguese colony, Brazil was run by a political elite since it was discovered in the 1500s. Although Brazilians have a love affair with firearms, they were always much too expensive for the common citizens.

Hence blades became survival tools of choice.

# Ruled by tyrants most of the time, one of the most brutal rulers was Getulio Vargas who created very strict gun laws, due to which Brazilians resorted to blades to defend themselves.

# During the Vargas dictatorship, Brazil was involved in WW-II, joining the Allies and were feared for their knife and razor blade skills.

# After the death of Getulio Vargas in the mid-1950s, gun laws became even tighter.

# After just a few yrs, there was a Military Coup D'Etat, which lasted from 1964-84. During this time period also strict gun laws were maintained. It benefited for govt to deny weaponry to rising communist guerrilla rebels of 1970s, but made the common people defenseless.

# After military rule was removed and democracy became the ruling systemin mid-80s, there was rise of common and organized crime in the country. With around 170-mn citizens, Brazil has less than 5-mn firearms with them.

Most of these guns are old rusty revolvers or Derringer pistols and nearly useless.

II) The Philosophy of Defense with Knives-- (Pg #11)

#  Oriental martial arts work on discipline, the constant repetition of movements developing muscle memory, which aims to decrease the time in between thinking and acting.

The focus in the fighter's mind is not rationalisation but abstraction.

# Occidental fighting methods emphasise questioning, really testing the techniques taught.

# There are 2 best knife fighting systems to follow-- Filipino style, military combatives.

III) Concepts Developing Proper Mental Attitude-- (Pg #12-17)

# The main obstacles to overcome are fear, hesitation amd surprise.

# Keeping the focus on cutting while avoiding wounds to yourself.

# Weapons are all the same. They are just tools and a fighter who is skilled in the use of a knife can just adapt these skills to object at hand.

# Know your targets. The fighter must have a thorough knowledge of human anatomy to be able to achieve expected effects.

# Keeping good balance in fight.

# The "Triangle" concept. Male/ defensive used when evading attacks; female/ offensive used for attacks and counter-attacks.

They will allow you to surprise the attacker by being able to break a sequence of attacks and efficiently counter-attacks.

Always break with the opponent's line of attack.

# Dead/ Live side. When Triangulating, move unto 'dead' side/ outside the guard of opponent. The 'Live side' is represented by his frontal side where 'live hand' allows continuous and effective actions for attack and defense.

# 'Live' hand is the empty hand, used to block, pass, push, pin and hit.

# The effect of inertia. The bigger the body mass or its speed, the bigger is inertia.

The fighter can use this for his advantage by unbalancing his opponent, deflecting opponent's attack, adding forces to his opponent's momentum.

# Distances :--

There are basically 3 combat distances used :--

a) Risk area (does not allows attacks, varies according to no. of attackers)

b) Primary combat area (possible to attack, defend, kick and punch, but no grappling)

c) H2H area (grapple and ground-fighting possible; should be avoided)

# Positioning

# Explosion (capability of attacking with surprising speed without giving away intention)

# Timing of attacking and defending moments

# Know the weapon, study your opponent

# Never underestimate your opponent

# Always have a backup weapon

# Attacking areas-

Divided in 5 main areas of upper rt side, upper left side, lower right side, lower left side, central body line.

# Knife makes weak and strong person equal, and a self defense tool

# The knife completes other traditional martial arts 

# Symmetry of skill with both hands necessary

# Precision for correct measure of distance of attacks. 

IV) Psychological Preparation for Self defense with Knives-- (Pg #17-18)

# Prepare mentally for rea combat, in a real fight try to distract the opponent to increase chances of creating opportunity for successful attack. To survive, there are no set of rules. Emotionally dominate the opponent, use tactics of intimidation and deception.

# Before attacking, observe and study your opponent, note his attitude, stance, confidence and ability. 

# Emotional control is essential.

# Act with discretion, use elements of surprise.

V) The 6 Types of Combat-- (Pg #18-19)

a) Knife against knife

b) Knife against hand

c) Knife against unarmed attackers

d) Knife vs firearms. The firearm user should be atleast 18-ft distant to be safe.

e) Knife vs stick

f) Unarmed vs knife

VI) Knife Targets-- (Pg #19-21)

a) Cutting wounds-- 

It causes pain, bleeding, movement restrictions and sometimes death.

There are 2 types of cuts-- by pressure, by pressure & sliding

b) Perforation wounds

c) Contusion wounds--

Can be lethal when on sensitive areas such as head or neck.

Can be inflicted with the handle or back of the blade.

d) Skinning wounds

# Attacks techniques :--

-- Slash

-- Thrust

# Attack with handle :--

-- Thrust the blade and use its handle to move victim

-- Throwing knife

-- Contusive and cutting attacks

VII) Knife Characteristics-- (Pg #21-25)

# Double-edged, blade length (7"), blade hardness (55-59 Rockwell), folding knife (blade 4").

# Blade types :--

One-edge, dagger, Balisong, push dagger, Stiletto, Tanto, straight razor, MT knife, switchblade/ folding, Kris (15"), Kukhri (10"); improvised weapons (broken bottle, key, SD, kitchen knife, scissors, pen, pencil)

# Attack types :-- (Pg # 25-27)

a) Immobilising-- eyes, shoulders, arms (biceps, triceps), forearms, hands tendons, kniees, feet

b) Vessels for quick loss of consciousness and death-- subclavian, brachial, radial, cartoid, spleen, stomach, femoral

c) Kill shots-- ear, under the chin, temple, eyes, throat, heart, back of neck, kidneys

# Knife grips :-- (Pg #27-31)

Saber, reverse grips, hammer, fencing grip, foil, peek-a-boo, palm jab, ice-pick, corkscrew grip.

VIII) Tactical Options for Defense against Knife-- (Pg #74-75)

a) Prevention and avoidance of unnecessary violence

b) Negotiate with attacker

c) Do not react. Study the attacker's intentions while avoiding unnecessary moves

d) Keep an eye on improvised weapons nearby

e) If running not an option, attack first to surprise

f) Use a shield in front hand to stop attack and counter-attack

# Defensive principles :--

a) Repetition of moves to practice

b) Use pain to control, distract or destroy the attacker

c) Adapt to the techniques and learn their intricacies

d) Be unpredictable and ready to overcome defenses

e) Versatility of techniques

IX) Blades used in Brazil--

-- FAL type-C (6.75")

-- Mosquetao M968 (6.50")

-- SAR-48 (6.37") 

Thank you for Reading !!