Author: Bret Gordon
Properly known as the W.A.T.E.R.S. Edged Weapon Survival System, it's about time I shed some light on a combative knife fighting art that rivals some of the best Filipino knife fighting I've ever seen.
On June 21, 2009, Dale Waters was in his home when he was brutally murdered at knife point over $10. He was found in the morning by Kaiso Steven Hatfield, a close friend of Mr. Waters, with 18 stab wounds. Feeling ultimately responsible for Mr. Waters' death because he wasn't there to stop it, and determined that no one would ever fall victim to the same fate on his watch, Kaiso Hatfield began development of the W.A.T.E.R.S. system. But what makes it so effective?
Like any other art, the efficiency of the W.A.T.E.R.S. system is entirely due to its revolutionary training methods. Drawing from USMC combatives, Japanese tanto jutsu and simple experimentation, Kaiso Hatfield has developed a system that has already saved the lives of nearly a dozen people.
On June 21, 2009, Dale Waters was in his home when he was brutally murdered at knife point over $10. He was found in the morning by Kaiso Steven Hatfield, a close friend of Mr. Waters, with 18 stab wounds. Feeling ultimately responsible for Mr. Waters' death because he wasn't there to stop it, and determined that no one would ever fall victim to the same fate on his watch, Kaiso Hatfield began development of the W.A.T.E.R.S. system. But what makes it so effective?
Like any other art, the efficiency of the W.A.T.E.R.S. system is entirely due to its revolutionary training methods. Drawing from USMC combatives, Japanese tanto jutsu and simple experimentation, Kaiso Hatfield has developed a system that has already saved the lives of nearly a dozen people.
So what makes the W.A.T.E.R.S. Edged Weapon Survival System so revolutionary? It's simple, yet advanced. It pushes realism to the limits, like everything else Kaiso Hatfield does. It takes the complexity of Filipino knife fighting and breaks it down so that in as little as one course, the practitioner can leave confident with a better understanding of knife combatives and how to survive an armed assailant.
But most of all, it makes you realize just how quickly a knife attack happens. How in the blink of an eye, everything can be over with you on the wrong end of the blade. And honestly, if it wasn't for Kaiso Hatfield's unique method of tanto randori I wouldn't be here to write this article.
A few months ago, I was working security at a local event and after informing this gentleman he couldn't take pictures of the new products multiple times, I told him that I'd either have to confiscate his camera until he left the showroom or escort him out. When I put my hand on his arm to escort him, he pulled a knife and tried to stab me. Apparently, his pictures were worth a lot more than my life and before I knew anything, he was disarmed and laying on his back as several other guards rushed over to assist.
My story is not unique, and numerous other people including Eugene Bailey, Rob Morocco, John Elle, Radell Gilmore, Marshawn McBroom and Aaron Pindell are just a few on the list of those of us who owe our lives to the W.A.T.E.R.S. Edged Weapon Survival System.
Nearly every martial artist practices some form of weapon disarment, but few ever go beyond choreographed drills that hardly resemble a live knife attack. If your school never moves past the assailant stepping forward with the right foot, landing in a crisp front stance and holding his attack while you strike him multiple times, pull off some miraculous throw and then proceed to "ground and pound," then I'm talking to you. You owe it to yourself to attend one of the W.A.T.E.R.S. Edged Weapon Survival System seminars or certification courses. It will change your entire outlook on weapon self defense and combatives.
According to crime statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), knives are consistently used to kill people far more often than rifles are used. And the numbers aren’t even close: five times as many murders were committed with knives than were committed with rifles. The FBI statistics show that knives have been used as a murder weapon far more often than rifles, even those evil “assault weapons” we hear so much about, for quite a while. In 2013, knives or other cutting instruments were used to kill 1,490 victims. In contrast, rifles were the cause of death of 285 murder victims. Shotguns were used in 308 murders. In 2009, the ratio was very similar: knives were used in five times as many murders as rifles.
Even as recent as the attack at Ohio State University last month, edged weapons pose a much greater threat generally speaking than being attacked with a firearm. And speaking from experience, they are far more deadly. With a firearm, you need only clear the line of fire (and most effectively the range of fire) to be safe. With an edged weapon, anywhere within arms reach is the danger zone with little room to move. You must accept the fact that you will get cut, you will get stabbed. It's a mathematical certainty with only where and how many times being under your control.
So before you write this off as just another fad in the combat craze going on in the martial arts community today, where most "combat" programs are little more than cardio kickboxing in cargo pants, your life may depend on it one day (or worse, your student's life). How can you not seek out continual training while always striving for the most effective training methods? Remember, complacency creates incompetence, and incompetence means death.
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P.S. Oh, and before I forget, the logo for the W.A.T.E.R.S. Edged Weapon Survival System was personally designed by myself as a gift for Kaiso Hatfield upon recognizing the system through the US Association of Martial Arts. I normally don't display logos I've designed on my blog because people tend to appropriate them, so let me say that if I see this floating around, just remember that I am W.A.T.E.R.S. trained, and I will cut you.
www.triomartialarts.com
www.clermontselfdefense.com
www.clermontselfdefense.wordpress.com
But most of all, it makes you realize just how quickly a knife attack happens. How in the blink of an eye, everything can be over with you on the wrong end of the blade. And honestly, if it wasn't for Kaiso Hatfield's unique method of tanto randori I wouldn't be here to write this article.
A few months ago, I was working security at a local event and after informing this gentleman he couldn't take pictures of the new products multiple times, I told him that I'd either have to confiscate his camera until he left the showroom or escort him out. When I put my hand on his arm to escort him, he pulled a knife and tried to stab me. Apparently, his pictures were worth a lot more than my life and before I knew anything, he was disarmed and laying on his back as several other guards rushed over to assist.
My story is not unique, and numerous other people including Eugene Bailey, Rob Morocco, John Elle, Radell Gilmore, Marshawn McBroom and Aaron Pindell are just a few on the list of those of us who owe our lives to the W.A.T.E.R.S. Edged Weapon Survival System.
Nearly every martial artist practices some form of weapon disarment, but few ever go beyond choreographed drills that hardly resemble a live knife attack. If your school never moves past the assailant stepping forward with the right foot, landing in a crisp front stance and holding his attack while you strike him multiple times, pull off some miraculous throw and then proceed to "ground and pound," then I'm talking to you. You owe it to yourself to attend one of the W.A.T.E.R.S. Edged Weapon Survival System seminars or certification courses. It will change your entire outlook on weapon self defense and combatives.
According to crime statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), knives are consistently used to kill people far more often than rifles are used. And the numbers aren’t even close: five times as many murders were committed with knives than were committed with rifles. The FBI statistics show that knives have been used as a murder weapon far more often than rifles, even those evil “assault weapons” we hear so much about, for quite a while. In 2013, knives or other cutting instruments were used to kill 1,490 victims. In contrast, rifles were the cause of death of 285 murder victims. Shotguns were used in 308 murders. In 2009, the ratio was very similar: knives were used in five times as many murders as rifles.
Even as recent as the attack at Ohio State University last month, edged weapons pose a much greater threat generally speaking than being attacked with a firearm. And speaking from experience, they are far more deadly. With a firearm, you need only clear the line of fire (and most effectively the range of fire) to be safe. With an edged weapon, anywhere within arms reach is the danger zone with little room to move. You must accept the fact that you will get cut, you will get stabbed. It's a mathematical certainty with only where and how many times being under your control.
So before you write this off as just another fad in the combat craze going on in the martial arts community today, where most "combat" programs are little more than cardio kickboxing in cargo pants, your life may depend on it one day (or worse, your student's life). How can you not seek out continual training while always striving for the most effective training methods? Remember, complacency creates incompetence, and incompetence means death.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P.S. Oh, and before I forget, the logo for the W.A.T.E.R.S. Edged Weapon Survival System was personally designed by myself as a gift for Kaiso Hatfield upon recognizing the system through the US Association of Martial Arts. I normally don't display logos I've designed on my blog because people tend to appropriate them, so let me say that if I see this floating around, just remember that I am W.A.T.E.R.S. trained, and I will cut you.
www.triomartialarts.com
www.clermontselfdefense.com
www.clermontselfdefense.wordpress.com
