PTI Blog

“Smell the blade.” said my Indonesian Penchak Silat instructor, Suryadi “Crazy Eddie” Jafri.

“Why?” I replied, not understanding what this had to do with the question I had asked him.

“Billy, just smell the blade.”

Eddie had given me a small Indonesian knife, with a pistol grip and a 3 inch, leaf shaped blade of black damascus steel. It had a strange, elongated hole that looked to be deliberately forged into the center of the blade. The whole thing was small enough to fit into the palm of my hand.

Here are some of the knives I’ve chosen for my wife to carry for daily use as well as her protection, based on my 40+ years teaching Filipino martial arts and 30+ years in law enforcement.

I was asked recently for my recommendation for an Every Day Carry knife (a.k.a. EDC). The parameters were that this knife should be capable for sel...

I am writing to ask all my fellow edged weapon instructors who have knife videos on the internet, for them to remove any of their videos that teach knife attack techniques or strategies specifically against an unarmed opponent.

The following structure closely follows the way I learned Pekiti-Tirsia knife work from Grand Tuhon Gaje in the 70’s and 80’s.

The following is adapted from the lecture I gave as part of my job as a firearms instructor for the New York State Court system. I am not a lawyer ...

Introduction: There are three categories of Pekiti-Tirsia Hand vs Knife training. Each has its pros and cons, depending on the needs of the student...

When I was a range officer for my department, we taught a different grip to the officers armed with revolvers than we did those armed with semi-autos. While the grip taught was different for revolvers and semi-autos, our preferred stance for each group was a two hand hold with the arms fully extended. We also taught one handed shooting skills. Even here, there was a difference in use depending on the distance of the attacker. You didn’t want to use the same technique at grappling range as you would at long range. In addition you would not use the same grip on a rifle or shotgun as on a handgun. The same is true in regards to knives. Different tools usually require different techniques to be used most effectively.