Gun or Knife...which are you More afraid of...and why

[KajuJKDFighter]

Let's get some incite here into a fighters mind set...had this talk at class last night...I'll chime in in a few....

[sifutimg]

Both are scary for sure however I am more scared of a knife than a gun.  At distance and in someone sights playing with airsoft and from the special forces and cops I have talked to people still have trouble shooting straight in a dynamic situation when someone is being really squirrelly .  With a knife without the option to escape, the potential for injury is just nasty.  When I first started putting my knife work to the test with a cammo painted knife wearing a white T-shirt with a very uncooperative opponent many thing were brought to light.  It was a very enlightening experience to see where I was stabbed or cut.  I have also done a bit of research on knife attacks in general and again they are just nasty.  Also I remember one of my good friends telling me of an experience during a belt test when he was testing one of his students for his black belt who ended up with a typical butter knife with the edge scotch taped that went completely through the test candidates hand.  Working principally on the things that increase percentage of survive-ability has been a good way to practice.

Respectfully,
Tim

[DKF1]

I'd say it depends on range and the skill of the attacker. At distance a gun is more dangerous, for obvious reasons. Anyone who really knows what they are doing with a gun would never let you get close enough to affect a disarm. If they know how to shoot, you are probably in trouble. At close range I agree with Professor Tim, a knife is a really nasty thing. Comes fast from multiple angles, never runs out of ammo or malfunctions. That can be much tougher to deal with than a gun. I'd have to say if the average thug was going to walk up and stick one in my face, I think I'd prefer to face the gun. Even if they don't know how to handle a knife with skill, the old prison shank repeated thrusts can be very tough to deal with. Hopefully none of us ever has to deal with either.

[KajuJKDFighter]

Some great insights ....I think most people can't handle a gun well in the first place and under stress even more....they have a bullet of X size lets say 9mm (though not my choice of weapon ammo)...that is a small thing to aim and hit something with if not trained under those conditions.  Say they have a 5 inch blade that is 14 times the size come at you, multiple angles and times possibly.  Also one factor is how many here have used a knife in the kitchen lets say, hundreds of times.  Adults typically have handled a blade over and over....a gun....well not so much, those that shoot mostly are at ranges, which is very hard to work stress scenarios.

The video Defending Edge Weapons shows a lot of knife stuff against knives.  The movie Unforgiven was about a old gunslinger and one of the points in the movie was how hard it was to shoot straight when under stress...great flick great part.....

of course a person trained with a gun ....that's a different story...I'm a member of Front Sight and you learn how much you don't know training at a place like that..... 

[guarded]

At close range I am also in favor of facing a gun. There is only one business end of a gun. As long as you can engage and keep that end away long enough to disarm or remove the threat you'll be ok. There are too many options with a knife. The thought of being stuck or stabbed doesn't freak me out near as much as being slashed and laid open. How about this scenario. 2 attackers are approaching you. One with a gun and the other with a knife.......?

[KajuJKDFighter]

Grab the guy gun two hands to one hand...the gun hand....spin as a shield and try to fire on the knife gun, then take care of business on the gun guy.....then go home and have a bottle bourbon from the stress

[guarded]

Perfect!

[KajuJKDFighter]

I guess most on here are not afraid of either

[Tony49]

You could put up a poll, to see which most are afraid of.  Me personal, I would probably be scared of both, hopefully my training would allow me to stay calm so that I could act when the time presented itself..  However, I believe a knife is scarier than a gun due to the angles and damaged it can cause. Must Martial Artist would have a hard time defendign the standard prison shank style attack.

[KajuJKDFighter]

maybe I should have also put on there a trained attack dog.....

[Rick Kingi]

  Me a gun becasue the guy never has to get close to you...that all from me folks.  LOL

[Claudio]

Knife for me , you cant stop a bullet or a person who really wants to shoot you, but you have a chance to stop the person from killing or severally injuring you with a knife,  the adrenal stress is insane and shuts you down.  seen both happen and both are horrible.