The ice pick stab is one of the 3 most common knife attacks, and most common when the blade is held in a reverse grip (blade down).

This technique operates in two steps:

1. A Roof block is applied by framing at the wrist/forearm underneath the blade. This creates a physical barrier between the trajectory of the weapon and your head/collarbones, and is a common historical way to initially defend against dagger attacks while unarmed. It is also a common startle reflex.

2. A Shoulder Throw is executed, turning the roof block into a wrist grip and using the attacker’s forward momentum against him. There are several steps to making the rest of the throw work:

   1. Your feet plant shoulder-width apart with your hips underneath your attacker’s hips.

   2. Your arm punches up past his armpit, driving upwards, locking his arm between his shoulder and your wrist grips.

   3. You lift up your hips and move your hands in the motion of swinging a sword, while torquing your body, to throw him over your shoulder.

Executed correctly, the throw should feel effortless, as if your opponent weighs nothing.

Keeping the grip on his arm at the end is particularly important as it is holding his weapon, the primary threat. This weapon can then be stripped, with additional follow-ups discussed in the Swinging Hip Throw article:

Since he is trying to kill you, an additional option is to give a fast strike as a “parting gift”, such as a kick/stomp to the head or a blow against his elbow joint to break his arm, then sprint away as fast as possible and/or draw your own weapon. Especially if he has friends - who must now help him, and are thinking twice after seeing how fast you crippled him.

From start to finish, the fight is over in 5 seconds.

Violence of Action

Violence of Action is a military phrase meaning using Sudden, decisive, and overwhelming force to overpower an enemy before they can mount an effective response.

This is critical in hand-to-hand combat. Every action you commit to shall be executed with full commitment to VoA. No second-guessing or half-measures.

• Surprised by an attack? Attack back before you freeze up and lose.

• Accidentally got the wrong grips on a technique? Make the most of it instead of freezing up.

Even non-combative action, such as running away, must be conducted with the spirit of “VoA”. You won’t get very far jogging at a leisurely pace. And a quick blow to immobilize an enemy, or cripple them in front of their friends, gives you an advantage to escape.

Training Plan

Your training plan should include “Violence of Action”.

• Training now is better than training tomorrow.

• Try new moves in training, don’t be defensive. You don’t learn to fight without fighting back.

• Set up reasonable limits with your partners, like use of protective gear, keeping force levels beneath 50%, or setting up “training games”, so you may fight freely without fear or risk of injury.

Combat Plans

The same lessons apply in combat.

HABITS: Always find emergency exits. Always have at least two ways out.

In 2003, the Station Nightclub in Rhode Island caught fire. Two-thirds of the crowd immediately rushed the front door, with the traffic jam resulting in 100 dead and 230 more injured. The building had 3 more exits, barely utilized, because everyone instinctively rushes the way they came in.

A similar incident occured on New Years 2026 in Switzerland, leading to 41 deaths and 115 injuries. The Le Constellation bar, which failed to follow proper Fire code, accidentally ignited the roof in a fire which quickly spread. Victims burned to death crowding the stairway out. Some saved their own lives by making their own escape routes, smashing through windows.

No patrons imagined those nights they would burn to death. Nor do victims of terrorist attacks, shootings, and other sudden events. Many could have potentially survived by knowing the exits and keeping them in sight.

Be the ones who escape, not the ones stuck in the crowd.

Many problems can be avoided by following The Stupid Rule:

Don’t be at

1. Stupid places, at

2. Stupid times, doing

3. Stupid things, with

4. Stupid people, for

5. Stupid reasons.

Following these simple rules will keep you out of trouble in most situations, long before you have to grapple and throw people.

And if your girl keeps getting you into stupid fights and situations, you should probably dump her.

After slamming your opponent, keeping their arm pulled up keeps them off balance, giving you a few options to finish them:

1. You can stomp their head while pulling up.

2. You can execute an arm-breaking technique.

3. You can conduct a pin, such as with your knee on their belly.

4. If armed, you can draw your weapon.

Of course, the impact of the throw may have already put them out of action!

FORCE COMES FROM YOUR HIPS.

Force = Mass times Acceleration is the rule of Physics. This sounds simple, but biomechanically, it becomes complex.

Touching something with your body does not automatically transfer your whole mass into it. Think of a weightlifter isolating their muscles: when they do an exercise, they are only using the muscles in their chest, or legs, or biceps, and so on do execute an action. This is a small fraction of their total force.

As fighters, we want to do the opposite, and use our whole body as much as possible in every action. This effectively increases the “mass” aspect of the equation. Doing so correctly, while weighing in other factors such as balance, is the origin of technique.

The second factor is relaxing. This makes our energy flow together, increasing the mass recruited, and transfers it through the body faster, increasing the acceleration.

The hinge through which all this happens is your Hips, and secondarily, your shoulders. So, while training, focus significantly on relaxing, and visualize all techniques originating in your hip movement.

As if your limbs are all on strings attached to your hips.

This works best against opponents who are rushing in towards you, or otherwise have their weight too far forward.

It is important you get deep between their legs so your center of gravity is fully underneath theirs, otherwise you will just kick them in the balls (but this still hurts!)

After the throw, follow up by rolling up to your feet, or rolling through to secure a dominant position on their chest before applying a restraint or finisher.

Hávamál 38:

"Away from his arms in the open field, A man should fare not a foot, For he never knows when the need for a spear Shall arise on the distant road." -Óðinn (Odin)

The one Weapon you always have is your Body.

All Combative styles depend on biomechanics. This is the science of the structure, movement, and functions of the body. There is no secrets or magic to martial arts. Only mastering these traits and applying them through techniques that make the most of it.

Because of this, the first step to Glíma mastery is building a healthy body. This is your weapon in combat and in life. As you develop, focus on understanding how and why things work the way they do, so you can develop an understanding of body mechanics, and develop your own style and creativity.

Glíma is the style of grappling and hand-to-hand combat practiced by Northmen/Vikings for thousands of years. Intended for real-life combat, with the intent of ending fights as fast and decisively as possible. Glíma originated in Norway before being brought to Iceland in 870, and is an official combat system under Jónsbók and Gragas (Medieval Norse laws), taught to children as young as 6. It is associated with our God Þórr (Thor).

There are several styles of Glíma:

• Lausatök, unrestricted grappling with blows, locks, and throws.

• Hráspenna, grappling to pin.

• Lagarspenna, grappling in water.

• Hryggspenna, backhold wrestling.

• Brokartök, grappling with trousers (Icelandic Sport Glima).

NORD COMBAT focuses on Lausatök, the most aggressive style, to develop combative skills for real life use. As levels of violence escalate in our countries, so too must your preparedness for it.

We have also Modernized Glíma for this purpose, introducing firearms into our curriculum.