Then for a while, I switched to cutting the rope with a fancy switchblade which I had purchased in Northern Italy. Nobody had seen a knife quite like it.

Years, later, like many other magicians, I switched to flourishing a butterfly knife (Balisong). The two parts of the handle spun to open and close the knife almost with the speed of a switchblade. Very impressive -- it shows off the dexterity of someone skilled with his (or her) hands.

The black belts from the previous these three classical styles taught outdated moves that didn't help me against my new "peers." My 'old' techniques would get you killed going against a sophsitcated knife fighter. My fellow students were slicing me up like I was celery ona cutting board

My techniques were stiff. The strikes left openings on the body. The moves lacked fluidity....

Knife-Fighting Tip #1

Look for knife-fighting techniques that are fluid:

Eliminate the short, staccato blocks followed by an attack (cut with the knife). You can't afford to pause between two motions.

Instead, learn techniques where one technique "naturally" blends in to the next.

If your motion has an end to it, and the next technique has a distinct beginning, an advanced knife fighter will easily pick up on the gap. He'll take advantage of the milliseconds of extra time.

Find techniques that close the gap. Don't give any extra time to react.

Knife Fighting Is Like Driving a Car: Everyone Thinks They Are A Good Driver

How difficult can fighting with a knife be?You pick up the knife and you stab, right? A child could do it.

Everybody thinks they are a great knife fighter. Especially, if as a kid, they watched action movies, and later played at pretend knife fighting.

We all learned to wave the knife back and forth, and maybe even switch it from hand to hand.

The knife fighters in the movies always seemed to keep the blade moving. Always in motion.

And we copied that behavior ....

Knife-Fighting Tip #2

Moving with a purpose does not mean constant motion:

If your opponent can perceive a repetitive motion -- a repeated action of any kind -- then he can intercept that path with a slash of his own.

He'll cut you.

Can you really keep a knife in constant motion without creating a pattern?

Bruce Lee advised moving with a purpose.

Don't move your knife in energy-wasting patterns.

Also, the blade-brandishing shows you're an amateur ... who has watched a lot of action movies ...

* Some bold, off-hand remark could offend the wrong person.* Participation by a female helping out in a trick could be perceived as flirtatious advances by the magician.

* A sucker effect might not be accepted with a fun-loving attitude. Make someone look the fool and they could get very offended.

* Any time you fool someone, there is the potential for the spectator(s) to feel slighted. Even if you don't mean to, your minor miracle might be thought of as showing off your superiority.

Make sure that each and every response you make in a knife fight gives you the opportunity to cut.

All of your responses must include a cutting (offensive) component.

In other words, if you aren't cutting, then you are being cut

Magicians Fake It or Fail to Learn How

We pretend to accomplish real magic. We act the part of a magic worker. We lie left and right, while on stage.Bluffing may work some of the time, but in this case, it's better to have skill to back you. Your life could depend on it.

Some magicians take up martial arts, because the recognize the potential dangers of presenting oneself as a confident performer.

But they don't learn enough to really benefit them in a fight ... especially one involving knives.

In their martial arts classes, knives aren't discussed at a beginning level. It could take years before the secrets of knife fighting are revealed. And those secrets might not be good enough to save you.

And most of the books on the subject just give a trick or two -- not enough to save you in a real encounter.

You need something that works now. You can't afford to wait years. And you don't want to gather a bunch of useless advice from library books.

Take my word for it. Having real confidence in your ability to protect yourself and others is one secret you will easily keep ... until it becomes necessary to quickly and efficiently deal with the problem.

The Magician's Advantage

You are a magician. So am I.Did you know we have a distinct advantage over the majority of the population?

More than just knowing secrets they don't know.

We, as magicians, have the abilty to practice. In fact, we like to practice. We perform a technique over and over, until mastery.

In a sense, it's very similar to martial arts. Martial arts practitioners are also familiar with practice ... at least the good ones are.

Now, I want to be frank with you. There is a difference between practicing magic and practicing knife fighting.

As magicians, we practice alone a lot. Once we have perfected a trick, then we begin practicing it on a confidant -- a spouse, best friend, or fellow magician.

To practice knife fighting, you'll need a partner, right from the start.

The only way to get good at knife fighting is by learning to react. And you need something to react to, right?

Thus the need for a practice partner.

Find someone else who would like to learn self defense with a knife, and you'll both learn at a fast rate.

Knife-Fighting Tip #4

If you have limited time to practice, work on developing automatic reactions:

Stage fright gets a little adrenalin coursing through the body. An attacker waving a knife back and forth (Amateur!) gets the adrenalin flowing with the force of Niagra Falls.

Your ears will be ringing. Time will feel out of sync. Your brain can't think clearly ...

And that fact is of paramount importance. You won't think.

Realistically, you may not have time to think or plan a strategy.

You need to be able to react quickly.

Review Tip #3: Make sure that each and every response you make in a knife fight gives you the opportunity to cut. Make sure you practice drills and exercises that build your automatic responses. And make sure those responses contain offensive cuts and thrusts

* Drills and exercises the teach you to react without thinking.* The advantages of outside fighting and how to pass a knife to the side.

* The dangers of inside fighting and how to shut down bad angles.

* The only time you should throw a knife in a fight.

* ebook 10 Days to Better Knife Fighting (211 pages, photos by Lee Asher)* Bonus #1: eboooklet Slicing Checks and Blocks (20 pages)

* Bonus #2: ebooklet Circle Stabbing for Fast Improvement (14 pages)

* Bonus #3: ebooklet The Tale of One-Armed Albert (All about punching) (42 pages)

* PLUS EVEN MORE BONUSES!!!!!!

* 100% Money-Back Guarantee

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