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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 355.548 EAN: 9780897500586 ISBN: 089750058X Label: Black Belt Communications Manufacturer: Black Belt Communications Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 191 Publication Date: 1979-01-01 Publisher: Black Belt Communications Studio: Black Belt Communications
Formerly RESTRICTED to military and law-enforcement personnel, this book is now available to the general public for THE FIRST TIME since its initial printing! Through detailed, captioned photographic sequences, learn dozens of knife-attack and counterattack techniques, hwarang-do's relation to hand-to-hand combat, psychological/physical visualization techniques, and secrets of unconventional paramilitary warfare.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: The trilogy of DEATH.... If you ATTEMPT his methods! Comment: RATING: I give this trilogy of books 1.5 stars overall.
1 star for validity, 4 stars for marketing and 5 stars for Echanis service in the U.S. Army as Green Beret, may you RIP.
Now back to the review. I am reviewing all three titles in Echanis's series of books.
Fist Echanis system of fighting was established and based on Korean Hwarang-Do, which he developed into a somewhat hybrid military hand-to-hand combative. All his methods and techniques are based on this system in all three books.
I will start with "Knife Self-Defense for Combat". This book offers compendium of 35 plus knife defense techniques that entail multiple variations that supposedly provide unlimited possibilities for the combatant. The only possibilities I see are ways to get you killed. I have been studying bladecraft for sometime now and can say that I seriously question the validity of most all these techniques in this book. The majority of the methods are way too complicated to perform under duress and stress. The moves are too long with too many steps to remember and choreographed like it is Kata. Defensive knife moves need to be simple, short and sweet, but deadly effective. Unfortunately these moves are not. Maybe if you have 5-6 hours a day to practice and learn a handful of his moves they may work for you. But for me I would rather use my time more wisely.
The second book is "Knife Fighting/Knife Throwing for Combat". Like the first volume that same echoes here. There are some points of interest to be found in this title, but can be found in better and more up to date works that are available. I have to make it know that a vast majority of the methods in this book are ridiculous. One major and contradiction to knife fighting is the topic of knife throwing, I just do not see the validity in this. If you are using a knife most likely you lost your firearm (malfunction/disarmed), so are you literally going to throw your last line of defense away? This method has no place in combat, maybe Hollywood.
The final title is "Basic Stick Fighting for Combat" which was published after Echanis passed away. It is said he never completed all the text to support this book and if so I do not think it would have made a difference. Like the other titles the moves are just to complex and very limited in there employment. I do think if you are an avid stick fighter you may get some use from this title but for the true combatant they are just too choreographed for any fluid and effective use in combat.
Overall this entire series is very poor and would not recommend using most of the moves for defense or combat. With that I do recommend the books for what not to do. They are also useful in the study of the historical evolution of modern combatives. A lot has changed in the art and science of combatives since the late seventies. Ultimately there is always something to be learned whether it is good or bad and knowing the difference may help to keep you alive to fight another day.
Customer Rating: Summary: Terrible, terrible, terrible Comment: Please save your money, I was one of the persons who did not take into consideration what the reviews said about this book. You will be mad at yourself for wasting money. Customer Rating: Summary: Although everything in it isn't perfect, this book is well worth owning! Comment: Being the author of several books on the martial arts and fighting, I am always looking for books of exceptional quality to add to my library. If I have a book in my library, it's definitely worth owning. One such book is Michael D. Echanis', "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat." This book is directly influenced by the Korean martial art of Hwarang Do and its current Grandmaster Joo Bang Lee, who Echanis had studied under before his untimely demise in Nicaragua.
This book along with its two companion volumes, "Basic Stick Fighting for Combat" and "Knife Self-Defense for Combat," were not initially released to the general public, but instead were only available to certified and recognized self-defense instructors. These books were originally intended to be military training manuals for the various elite units in the United States military. These were units such as the Special Forces, Army Rangers, Navy Seals, etc.
This volume, like the other two in this series, starts out with a brief section on the history of Hwarang Do and its relationship to hand-to-hand combat. This is followed by another brief section that looks at the theory and internal dynamics which make up this very impressive art.
Introduction:
This section begins with a lot of practical advice on the use of a knife against an attacker during combat.
3 Phases of Knife Training:
a. Straight Line Attack
b. Counterattack
c. Visualization
2 Knife Fighting Distances:
a. Outside Attacks
b. Inside Attacks
Basic Principles of Knife Fighting:
This section goes over the basic principles that should be utilized when practicing with and/or utilizing a knife in an actual self-defense encounter. I found this section to be very practical and relevant to the topic, although I thought it was a bit brief and worthy of many additional pages.
Six Basic Rules to Observe During Training and Actual Combat:
1. Conceal the weapon...
2. Observation...
3. Focus on deep breathing...
4. Slash, don't stab...
5. Observe the enemy...
6. Breath control and mental focus of power...
Knife Training:
One would be hard pressed to argue that this section includes some of the best information that you can use in order to train effectively with a knife, and for the effective use of said knife in an actual combat situation. This includes such things as not only how and when to train, but also the psychological factors involved in knife training and how to improve your own mental abilities.
Strategy:
Once again this is a section that is so well done that it can be applied to all forms of combat, not just those using a knife. The authors grasp of strategy and the way he explains it is very easy to understand and is very realistic, although it may be a bit advanced for the beginning student. Also included in this section are the three phases of strategy.
Combat Applications:
Through the detailed use of photographs and fairly detailed sections of text, the author and his assistants take you through numerous different examples (17 to be exact) of how to use a knife and/or knives during an armed and also unarmed self-defense encounter.
Basic Principles of Knife Throwing:
As a general rule, "Never throw your knife at your opponent." This results in a lost weapon and the very real possibility that your attacker could pick it up and use it against you. However, just like every rule, there are exceptions.
Basic Knife Throwing Techniques:
In this section, 14 different throws are demonstrated and explained to you through the use of photographs and text.
This book ends with a basic but well done chart on the vital areas to target with a knife during a self-defense encounter.
This book, like the other two in the series, does an exceptional job of explaining the techniques described within through detailed written descriptions and the use of clear and concise photographs and illustrations. The only thing that I would like to have seen a lot more of in this particular manner would have been some close-up shots during various phases of certain techniques. Customer Rating: Summary: Knife Fighting Classic - Good Intermediate Training Manual Comment: "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" by Michael D. Echanis was originally published in the late 1970s and developed a `cult following' among martial artists and knife aficionados.
Echanis was a special operations soldier and a practitioner of the martial art of Hwa Rang Do. "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" begins with a short history of Hwa Rang Do and a tribute to the founders of the art.
The book next delves into combat mindset for the knife fighter. This includes `Six Basic Rules to Observe During Training and Actual Combat', mental focus, and breath control, and the `Three Phases of Strategy'.
The heart of "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" is various photo series demonstrating knife techniques. The techniques demonstrated are very much Hwa Rang Do style techniques as on might expect from Mr. Echanis' background, combined with a military combative focus intended for this book.
While not a beginner's book, "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" teaches `advanced beginner / intermediate' knife techniques that are easily learned by anyone with a good beginner's knowledge of knife fighting. This book also provides a good introduction to reverse grip and double-knife fighting. (Anyone who has seen Master James Keating's ~ Comtech / "Reverse-Grip Knife Fighting" will find the techniques in "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" familiar.)
The final section of "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" is an excellent discussion of knife throwing, or more appropriately throwing of many different items for combat. While many modern "knife fighters" argue against throwing a knife in combat, Echanis offers an insightful discussion of the applicability of knife throwing combat applications.
Overall, "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" is an excellent training manual for anyone who has mastered the basics of knife fighting and is now looking for a little bit more advanced-beginner / intermediate techniques to add to one's knife fighting arsenal.
Highly Recommended!
Customer Rating: Summary: FORBIDDEN MALLJITSU TEXT!!! Comment: The late Michael Echanis was a comic genius! I laughed so hard I nearly wet myself, reading this brilliant Malljitsu text regarding the blade arts -- which I have studied for 30 years.
The preface from Ohara (Black Belt) Publications warns that this is only a "basic introduction" to the blade secrets of Korean ninjutsu ("Sul-Sa"). Wow. My 30 years of training seems to have been in vain, as I cannot perform these "basic" techniques. I think that even James Keating and Kelly Worden would have difficulty with them. From this I conclude that either Echanis was a true demi-god (as many seem to believe), or he was living in a deluded fantasy world.
Blade techniques are intended to be simple and direct -- seldom more than "3 steps", due to the speed and unpredictability of combat. Most of Echanis's secret moves are well over 10 steps . . . some are over 20! This is not practical knife-fighting -- this is kata.
Echanis breaks all the rules here -- jumping, spinning, leaping, skipping, flailing, and performing forward rolls throughout. Two techniques actually involve phsically lifting the opponent over your head! The expressions on his face are priceless (anger, outrage, orgasmic, and constipated). He also grips the knives (yes, plural) in an unusual grip that I've never before seen -- actually, SEVERAL grips I've never before seen. For some reason, these grips are never discussed, nor are close-up shots provided (must be "too secret"). Footwork, carry, and drawing are not discussed either, nor is the use of training targets. Unusual for one who claims to constantly train and instruct others. This space is instead devoted to pictures of him prancing about as he flings knives at "multiple opponents." To his credit, in an opening paragraph he says that you should generally avoid throwing your knife, and that it is intended primarilly as a distraction to create an opening to charge in for a fatal blow.
On the positive side, aside from the unintended humor (of which there is plenty), Echanis made an excellent argument for the merits of the icepick/reverse grip at a time when others were denouncing it as "amateurish." He also advocates fighting with two knives at once. Nearly every finishing move is delivered via a powerful overhead blow from a unique angle -- after an opponent is sufficiently worn down, it might actually be a viable technique.
Mall ninjas be warned! You will NOT learn how to be a better fighter from this book!
