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Jonathan Davis: amazing battle!

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Jake MacReedy:
Dave, when I read about Jonathan Davis, I was amazed at what he accomplished while greatly outnumbered!  Reading, I thought about his "close-in work" with his Bowie, and I looked at my own Sheffield blade.  I'd like to think it was close to the one he was carrying that fateful day.  I had the blade made in Sheffield by J. Adams & Co. to my specs.  I made the guard and bolsters from mild steel, cutting & filing the dumbbell guard, and filing in the sunbursts on the lower bolsters.  The handle is elk stag.  I sewed the sheath up...nothing fancy, but it works!
Regards,
Ron

Niederlander:
VERY nice!

Tsalagidave:
That's a beautiful knife Jake. I can't say enough about how much I love the quality of a Sheffield blade. It looks good and will serve you well as an outdoor tool or a weapon of warfare.

As far as his fighting goes, I have this perspective from my own personal experiences. I got into fencing and practiced kali (Filipino knife fighting) around high school/college and found the average Bowie blade between 6-11" to be ideal for the muscle memory I developed. I really liked the hand-trapping methods that came out of the Filipino culture. When I later studied the Andalusian Mojosa and Spanish Baratero,  I noticed that all the basic movements and muscle memory were on the same principle which makes sense due to the strong influence of Spanish culture. Despite some similarities between fencing and knife-fighting, there are a ton of differences. Over the years, when I had a chance to meet with some European knife fighters, I found the movements of Anglo, German, and French styles to be comparable in their effectiveness and lethality.

Regardless of style, it really comes down to  economy of movement, muscle memory, conditioned reflexes and physical condition. Keep all these well-honed and you will be formidable in most situations. I definitely learned that I could never be the toughest guy in the world and that there was always someone who'd be a lot better but it built confidence and I learned a lot. In the case of Davis, I think he was incredibly well conditioned and skilled from extensive practice. I also think that some people are more gifted in reflex speed & hand-eye-coordination than others. In the case of Davis, he was a tiger and the coyotes who chose him for a mark paid dearly for it.

-Dave

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Jake MacReedy:
Had some personal experience with that as well, Dave.  Was taught some knife fighting techniques along the way in my past professional life.  I also fenced foil, epee and saber for a while.  I agree totally with your assessment and experience!  Knife fighting and fencing, while having some similarities, are different.  I do like a print I once saw...it's an old viking, in armor, with this sword.  He is saying, "Fight me if you wish, but remember, there's a reason I'm old!"
Regards,
Ron

Niederlander:
I'm absolutely NOT any sort of knife fighting expert, nor do I play one on TV.  I didn't even stay in a Holiday Inn Express.  The one thing I remember from knife training in the Marine Corps and the State Patrol was if you are in a knife fight, expect to get cut and or stabbed.  With my "skill" level, I'd say that would be accurate.

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