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Independent Reviews of Modern Knives Video Magazine
Vol. I: Issues #1-4

Modern Knives Video Magazine #1: The Spanish Fighting Arts
Review by Keith Jennings
From http://www.chicagoswordplayguild.com/c/archives/post.asp?pi=25

This volume is a collaboration between Pete Kautz, James Keating, and James Loriega. Many of you who are practitioners of western (bowie, navaja) and Filipino knife arts may already be familiar with these instructors' work. Previous knowledge of these blade arts is not required however for viewing enjoyment or comprehension. While the content all loosely falls within the sphere of "Spanish influence", each chapter is distinct in content and emphasis.

James Keating's "Spanish Notch and Blade Catchers" emphasizes one of the perhaps less utilized or understood aspects of the fighting bowie. Using both flexi-daggers and larger knives of Keatings' own crossada design (a bit of product placement), this chapter illustrates some of the binds and disarms that may be accomplished using the spanish notch and quillons.

Loriega's presentation "Fundamentals of Navaja Use" is noteworthy for its emphasis on the historical and cultural background of the navaja and its use. He introduces the viewer to several configurations of the knife from the Sevillana to the salva virgo (chastity knife). The proper method of opening and closing the knife is illustrated as are many of the grips commonly employed. Guards, parries, slashes and thrusts are all demonstrated with accompanying discussion of their role within the culture of the Spanish gypsies and lower classes.

Pete Kautz wraps the dvd up with demonstrations of the espada y daga of modern arnis. This section emphasizes the cinco terro (5 basic blows) and the attacks that come from it. In many respects this may be the most visually sophisticated section, as techniques are broken down from different camera angles to a greater degree in this section than in the previous section (although head-on and side views were used during both Keatings' and Loriega's sections). In part, this may be because of the greater complexity associated with using an off-hand weapon. There is an emphasis on truly absorbing and functionally using the basic angles that is refreshing. I personally do not come from a FMA background, yet found the material understandable and reproducible.

Although each section appears to have been separately filmed in each instructor's school, lighting is good and techniques were readily visible. I had some slight pixelation, but I suspect this was due to my player as it ran fine on someone else's. A real asset of the DVD (as with all dvds) was the ability to skip around, repeat sequences multiple times and go frame by frame as needed. I suspect the dvd might have a bit more use-life than the VHS format as a result. In conclusion, it was a solid production that provides the viewer with quite a bit of training material. If you have any interest in western knife arts with a Spanish flavor it is a worthwhile addition to your library.

Future volumes will also emphasize the blade arts of different culture areas as taught by various guest instructors.

Thrust Magazine Review of Modern Knives Video Magazine
Issue #2: The South-East Asian Fighting Arts
By Noah G. Walt – Thrust Magazine Issue #4, Summer 2006
www.thrustmagazine.net

Out of the depths of American soil comes a study of South-East Asian Fighting Arts.  Recorded and brought to you by one of America’s leading resources, the Modern Knives Video Magazine crew assembles top-notch instructors and delivers serious bang for the buck.  In this issue we find an array of approaches to self-preservation training.

1.      Enter into the scene Mr. James Keating, as he teaches the Indonesian Kerambit.  Here, Keating represents the “hook knife” as a weapon to be integrated into a close quarter fighting matrix with emphasis on body motion.  Through the use of “elbow shields”, footwork, and live hand performance, Keating demonstrates many concepts unknown to most.  This section is a must have for those interested in the hook knife / kerambit.

2.      Mr. Kelly Worden hits the screen with his “Travel Wrench” impact Kerambit.  With a background in many arts, Worden is extremely knowledgeable and gives the practitioner tools to personalize for them-selves.  Throughout this segment, we see a variety of drills that allow the viewer to relate to the information whether his/her background is Karate, Wing Chun, Arnis, or what have you.  For the uninitiated, Datu Kelly gives many simple drills from which to practice this world-class material.

3.      Pete Kautz opens the next section with the Kali “Thrusting Triangle” as his working template.  He starts us off with thoroughly explaining the purpose of the “live hand” and how it is used.  From the elementary stages, Kautz brings us up to speed with advanced methods of training.  There is a whole lot going on in this segment, as Mr. Kautz demonstrates how and when to integrate at least 5 different styles of response to his adversary’s attack.  What Kautz teaches becomes much more than a drill, it becomes a vehicle for self-mastery and with this comes power.  This is an essential segment for knife-men to study.

4.      Silat Sabungin is taught by Blaise Loong and shows many examples of the brutality that lies within his art.  I really enjoyed this section of the video.  The drills are kept simple; for instance the attacker will approach the defender at medium speed while the defender has a small knife or sharp bone weapons as his tools.  The defender focuses on targeting and controlling his adversary, and due the tempo of his attacker, the defender gets to work his stuff.  This is a great way to build personal skills through aliveness as we’ve seen in Dan Innosanto’s work.  Mr. Loong and his crew are really well trained.  I am primarily a visual learner, and as such found this portion of Modern Knives to be a very strong teacher for myself.  Through this section, I recognized the energy and mindset that is required for the street confrontation.  I found the free-sparring video clips were excellent examples of fighting in all ranges.

Keep up the good work guys!

Modern Knives Video Magazine #3: Modern Knife Concepts
Review by Keith Jennings
From http://www.chicagoswordplayguild.com/c/archives/post.asp?pi=24

Keating’s segment on adapting the back-cut to a smaller blade was a real eye opener. I own a Chinook, but the method Keating shows can really be used with any folder with a bowie-style blade, such as Cold Steel’s Voyager series. As Keating rightfully points out, doing a traditional back-cut with a folder brings up two problems: the possibility of compromising the strength of the lock, and the unsharpened back edge. However, Keating uses a method that is half way between a snap-cut and a back-cut to great effect, and really shows the genious behind the design of the Chinook. Also, Keating shows his back-cut flow drill that can be done using a bowie, navaja, Chinook, or really any blade with a clip point.

I had the chance to train with the Bujinkan’s Dale Seago a few years back at Brian Price’s last Swordplay Symposium in Benicia, CA, so I was excited to see his segment. Dale segment was conceptual in nature, and proved that realistic self-defense is 90% awareness, with the rest just being details. Dale showed how observing special relations between yourself and those around you could really help to save you against a sudden attack. Keeping potential attackers at a certain distance allows for more reaction time to offer up some sort of defense if presented with a surprise knife assault. Plus, as they say, knives are more often felt than seen, so you might not even realize that your facing a knife until it's too late.

Lastly, Pete Kautz expanded on the wonderful COMTECH Drawpoint method. One of the most under-trained aspects of knife fighting is drawing your blade in a self-defense situation. The Drawpoint method utilizes the reverse grip, and Pete showed how, even with your knife covered by a jacket, it is possible to deploy your knife in under a second. Pete also showed a number of variations to the drills used in the Drawpoint method, and anyone who has been exposed to the Drawpoint method will find Pete's segment very useful.

Modern Knives Video Magazine #4: Historical Western Arts
Review by Keith Jennings
From http://www.chicagoswordplayguild.com/c/archives/post.asp?pi=23

I just received the latest issue of Modern Knives, and Pete Kautz has really given the WMA community a fine gift! For anyone interested in medieval dagger work, Modern Knives issue 4 is a must have. The video starts out with its usual front man, James Keating, who introduces a strong part of American martial heritage, Old West-style revolver handling. Keating shows a number of drills that gives the practitioner familiarity and dexterity in handling a revolver. Guns aren’t really my thing, but Keating does bring up a good point that these gun handling drills are akin to dexterity drills done with a knife, which may not be directly combat applicable, but gives the practitioner attribute that may be used in a fight. 

The second segment is taught by Bob Charron. Bob does an excellent job of introducing the basics of the system of dagger combat found in Fior di Battaglia. The basic stance, guards, and blows of the dagger are covered, before focusing on counter-dagger techniques. Focus is given to Fiore’s First Master of Dagger, which is a basic block/cover against a forehand blow. Bob does a fine job of instructing how all the basic techniques can be done from this single cover, including disarms, binding the arm, limb destruction, and throws. Bob also shows a sweet flow drill that allows you to practice all of the above defenses against the dagger. He then briefly shows how those same responses can be tailored to the other Masters of Dagger.

IMO, Bob’s most impressive work with Fior di Battaglia has been with the CQC grappling and dagger work, so having this material on tape is absolutely invaluable. In his segment, Bob does a great job teaching the material at a level that will be useful novices and scholars of Fior di Battaglia alike.

The medieval dagger instruction continues with Pete Kautz’s segment on German dagger fighting. Pete covers a wide range of dagger use, including reverse grip, forward grip, and unarmed VS the dagger. Pete begins with two men facing off with dagger in reverse grip. Both the off-hand and the dagger are used to defend, which are then followed by an over-arm wrap and takedown, or an immediate counter-stab. The unarmed equivalent is shown next, followed by tactics against a forward grip. As is customary, Pete shows a number of variations of techniques that I know will keep me busy training for months. Hopefully, in the near future Pete will decide to release a full-length video dedicated to the dagger methods of the medieval German masters as he did with his German Medieval Unarmed Combat video.

Modern Knives Video Magazine Volume I: Issues 1-4
Review by Greg Melee
From http://www.chicagoswordplayguild.com/c/archives/post.asp?pi=26

Some folks are just best described as “the real deal”, others as “lightening in a bottle”. Pete Kautz of Alliance Martial Arts is both of those things. Pete, Alliance and his new “video magazine”, Modern Knives, are amongst the knife and western martial arts communities’ best-kept secrets. Indeed, he is the man who coined the term “WMA”, in the first-place, riffing off of the popular “FMA” (Filipino Martial Arts) moniker. But if you are a series student of researcher of European close-quarter combatives, chances are you don’t just know Pete, you’ve trained with him and his ideas, methodologies and training regimens has shaped what you do.

I first met Pete on-line in late ’97, and at the time, he was waving the banner of the nascent WMA community, extolling the virtues of video training and video-swapping. He also had a reputation for being the guy who could develop a drill or system for training just about anything. Like his compadre and mentor, Master-at-Arms James Keating of COMTECH, Pete likes doing things that are a little underground, unorthodox, no-frills and no bs. So it was probably inevitable that he would combine all of these qualities in his “video magazine”, Modern Knives. Modern Knives is Kautz and Keating’s brainchild – a quarterly journal providing a mix of general knowledge on that issue’s featured weapons, myth-busting, focused drills or training modules, reviews of new products in the marketplace, with a little underground metal-head music video thrown in for good measure. (Remember what I said about unorthodox?)

Available on DVD, Modern Knives has just finished its first volume of four issues, and further issues are already in development.

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