Advanced Knife Combat Techniques
Szöveg: Ferenc Antal | 2016. június 25. 10:12Dean Rostohar, director and chief instructor of the Special Warrior Operation Group (SPECWOG) Warrior Combat Club recently held a two-day “Advanced Knife Combat Techniques” training seminar in Budapest. During the seminar, the trainees practiced various combat techniques and drills to acquire knife/counter-knife combat skills, and also to learn how to harmonize the movements of their body with the use of the knife, and how to respond to possible real-world attacks.
Dean Rostohar was born in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia in 1965. At the age of ten, he was introduced to the martial arts, and has since been trained in a number of different combatives. At the beginning of the Croatian homeland war, he volunteered to join Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), a special police unit. He was honorably retired in 1999 on grounds of his serious war injury. The President of Croatia has decorated him on several occasions.
His war injury notwithstanding, Mr. Rostohar continues teaching martial arts all around the world. In spite of his brutal wartime experiences, he has remained an informal and nice person who keeps developing his own knowledge and skills all the time.
“I came to like knives when I was a child, and have always carried one on me for a long time. But of course, I started learning knife combat techniques when I was introduced to the martial arts. I practice several types of martial arts and learned combatives from many instructors. I have also learned from people who do not teach knife combat themselves, but are well versed in knife techniques. This is how I have developed my own »style«, or better, my experience in knife combat", Dean told us, adding that each school has its own principles and techniques. As he noted, these are pretty similar, but there are some schools where specific techniques are taught. The SPECWOG training method – i.e. the Tactical Technical Combat System (T. T. C. S.) – is different from others because it is basically built on the use of the full body, so the knife is only a tool, and the human body is the real weapon.
Besides being a master of (counter-)knife and unarmed (hand-to-hand) combat, Dean Rostohar actively participates in providing Close Quarter Combat (CQC) training for Special Forces units deployed at different spots around the world. No matter whether it is about knife, hand or firearms, the principle is always the same.
“When I use a weapon, for example, my rifle, I use the same principles that apply to every other weapon. I use my experience, skills, knowledge and movement so I can use any weapon as a matter of routine", he told us.
It is worth mentioning that Dean is the designer of the SPECWOG Warrior Combat Knife that is used by special operations units of the police and the army. In designing the knife, he utilized the combat experience he had gained during several years of service with the Army of Croatia and the SWAT team of the Croatian police. The participants of the two-day training seminar were also introduced to this weapon.
Photos: Dávid Konkoly and Dean Rostohar’s archives
