Bowie knife fighting instruction from 1890

**DdlR** · Posted On: 4/26/2013 6:00pm

Name: Bowie5.jpg
Views: 477
Size: 54.5 KB

The two took their positions with wooden knives and Ohnimus’ knife point began to dance before the reporter’s eyes. A few seconds of this during which Ohnimus constantly shifted his position, then the man who understood knives dashed his hat into his opponent’s face and at the same instant brought his knife against his breast.

“That is an old trick,” he said. ”A man must do it awful quick. His adversary must not see his hand move to his hat. That hand must go even faster than the one that holds the knife.”

“How would you avoid that if someone tried it on you?”

“By jumping sideways, backward or dodging. Fighting with knives is like boxing and everything else. Every attack has its defense, but the quickest and coolest man can, of course, sometimes get in a thrust even if the other man knows how it ought to be stopped – like La Blanche’s swing that knocked Dempsey out. I remember a case. Lightning Jake was about as good a knifeman as I ever saw. He beat numbers of great fighters. Well, one day a young fellow got into a dispute with him, and both drew their knives. Jake had fought so many good men that he was always looking for fancy work and the young fellow poked out like a farmer and got him.

Now I’ll show you how to meet a thrust. Let drive!”

More of this very cool old-school guide to sticking the other man with your trusty Bowie knife at http://www.bartitsu.org/index.php/20...-ohnimus-1890/

**Diesel_tke** · Posted On: 4/26/2013 9:36pm

Pretty cool article. A lot of the stuff in there is pretty close to some of the stuff I train right now. I liked the anecdotes, those were funny.

**Permalost** · Posted On: 4/27/2013 1:08am

Neat stuff. Interesting bit about fighting from crouching and kneeling positions.

**Fuzzy** · Posted On: 4/27/2013 5:12am

Hah! I actually used that "under the guard" move a few weeks ago in sparring.

**Diesel_tke** · Posted On: 4/27/2013 7:12am

Favorite quotes:

Don’t let anybody tell you that the knife is no good. A clever man will do more with it than with a pistol, and it never misses fire

More men carry knives than you think, and I know of those who, at a distance inside of twenty feet, could best any man, except an expert, with a pistol, and even the expert would find it hard work to get away with them.

The Mexicans, and I guess they know more about handling knives than any other people on earth,

**Honey Badger** · Posted On: 4/27/2013 8:52am

"Move your hand as much or as quickly as you please, but keep the point directly toward your adversary."

Yes.

**lklawson** · Posted On: 4/29/2013 2:59pm

When I first saw this pic I was struck by how much it reminded me of the Manual del Baraterro's "caida"

AKA, "Under Stop Thrust" or "Passata Sotto" and a few others.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

**DdlR** · Posted On: 4/29/2013 4:43pm

Me too. I'd wondered if there might have been some direct influence between the MdB and the "Ohnimus style", but I don't have a copy of the MdB for comparison.

**Permalost** · Posted On: 4/29/2013 5:27pm

Originally Posted by lklawson

When I first saw this pic I was struck by how much it reminded me of the Manual del Baraterro's "caida"

AKA, "Under Stop Thrust" or "Passata Sotto" and a few others.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

Passata soto is also in Styer's Cold Steel.

**lklawson** · Posted On: 4/30/2013 9:37am

Originally Posted by Permalost

Passata soto is also in Styer's Cold Steel.

True. But Styers shows a squatting Passata Sotto with the left hand flung back reminiscent of a Lunge.

These show a right-knee-down Passata Soto which is different from the Styers and the more classical Passata Soto in Fencing with the left hand bracing on the floor and the left leg kicked back and straight like a very deep Lunge.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk