Shocking Knife Training

A few quick statistics: two percent of all law enforcement officer assaults were with edged weapons; of that two percent assaulted, 14% suffered injuries, and seven officers were killed. These facts, culled over the past ten years, can be found in the 2004 FBI Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted publication.

Less training is devoted to edged weapon defense than is devoted to firearms and tactics. I believe that one of the reasons for this is not only the number of firearms on the street, but also the perception that a gun is much more deadly than a knife. However, let us explore that misperception. I think that the officer should fear the knife more than he or she fears the gun. The reasons: a knife will generally result in a larger wound, there are no malfunctions with knives, accuracy with a knife is far better than with a gun, since point of aim is always point of impact, there is no reload needed with knives, and knives will penetrate officers' ballistic vests. Add into the mix that some officers are reluctant to even draw their gun when faced with an edged weapon, and you have the makings of a potential line of duty death.

So how do we train our officers to be better prepared when faced with an edged weapon attack? One way is to always include edged weapon training (EWT) as part of defensive tactics training, both for the newbie and in-service types. Training needs to be both dynamic and realistic. We have always had the dynamic portion covered, demonstrating blocks, knife attacks, and disarming techniques. However, the realistic aspect of training has been sorely lacking. Our training knives have typically been wooden and rubber knives. Trainees have mostly participated in the drills and techniques in a less than aggressive manner, since there has been no real consequence for them if they performed the block or disarming tactic incorrectly. The advent of the marking blade has helped, but that has a delayed evaluation that is seen only after the drill is completed.

Approximately seven months ago, a new product, the ShocKnife, was introduced into the law enforcement market. It has the ability to add a new dimension to EWT. The ShocKnife, by virtue of its two electrodes along the blade, delivers an immediate jolt of 7,500-volts to the trainee. This sounds extreme, and indeed of the four settings: low, medium, high, and extreme, it would be, was it not for the fact that the ShocKnife delivers only .00075 amps at its highest setting. The result of this excellent training device is that the student receives immediate feedback on the technique performed. The trainee will feel as if he or she has actually been cut. Moreover, the sensation lingers for several minutes. The body is fooled into thinking that it has been cut and sends a pain stimulus to the brain. Having used the ShocKnife myself, I can vouch for the immediate feeling of having been slashed.

Sgt. Jeff Quail of the Winnipeg Police Service in Canada developed the product out of the same frustration that many of us trainers feel when conducting EWT. Trainees fail to take the threat seriously; most of them half-heartedly walk through this block of instruction. Some display careless, even reckless behavior like grabbing at the knife blade, or picking the knife up by the blade rather than the handle. Introducing the ShocKnife into EWT has added the element of realism that has been missing.

Quail reports that students now react with responses that are more appropriate: Trainees back up, rather than grab for the blade; students draw their weapon, create space, and attempt to put an obstacle between the threat and themselves. At its highest setting of "extreme," the ShocKnife sparks and growls. This feature induces "acute stress," equating the fear of being shocked with the fear of being cut. This is truly reality-based training.

I spoke with FBI Special Agent Ray Flannagan about the ShocKnife. Ray teaches DTs at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA. He told me that they are in the process of evaluating the ShocKnife, and he feels that it is an excellent tool, especially for specialized units and scenario-based training. "The ShocKnife elicits fear in the trainee just like a real knife would," Flanagan said. He added, "Having a pain response adds the element of realism that gives value to our training." Flannagan's colleague, Special Agent Butch Greathouse, echoed the same sentiments and said that he is a huge proponent of anything that adds realism to training, "That's what ultimately keeps our people alive," he said.

Heretofore, the best way to demonstrate that facing an edged weapon was a deadly force situation was the 21-Foot Rule, developed by Salt Lake City trainer Dennis Tueller over 20 years ago. Now that the ShocKnife has been invented, my sense is that there will be fewer officers injured and killed from edged weapon attacks.

Shocking knife training--the future of edged weapon training!