This episode was appropriately neo-con-Jingoistic, with two cunning American meatheads and two savage Isrаeli killers going head-to-head in weapons tests. The American marksmanship with pistol and rifle was, as usual, superior to the competition.
The portion of the episode I was interested in was the knife test, with the SEALs using a cold steel utility knife, which makes sense given their operational parameters, and the Isrаelis still using the good old Kabar, marine combat knife. I always liked my Kabar. There is something about the grip that feels right in the hand. It’s big but not stupid-big.
In terms of knife fighting ability the Isrаeli demonstrator is very, very good, using a throat-guard live-hand throughout his evolutions, striking bi-laterally through and across the target, changing levels and demonstrating some movement.
The SEAL, a big beefy specimen, just stood in front of the dummy and demonstrated Prison stabbing 101 straight from Folsom. It was funny. It was extreme and it was stupid. Yes, these are straight damage tests, but there should be some conceptualization of the foe as possibly armed. Based on the proximity the SEAL chose for the demo, I think he should have gone reverse grip sentry removal rather than hug and chunk tier style butchery, in which he stayed in the enemy knife kill zone the entire time.
For sentry removal the Isrаeli method was stealthier. The SEAL actually yelled like some cartoon warrior.
As for knife to knife, if you took the Isrаeli operator against the SEAL you’d have a dead SEAL almost every time. That said, it seems the Isrаeli’s could have sunk more ammo into their training budget. The pistol and assault rifle tests were as decisive in terms of SEAL superiority as the knife was in the hands of the IDF commando.
Twerps, Goons and Meatshields: The Basics of Full Contact Stick-Fighting
One of the cool things about working with the Special Forces guys is that they always had interesting war stories. Some of them once told me a war story about A SEAL of their acquaintance who served in Vietnam as a young naval unconventional warfare operator. Said SEAL had occasion to execute a sentry removal on a VC. The SEAL wrapped his left arm around the head of Charlie and then brought his knife around in a reverse hammer grip with his right to cut Charlie's throat. The SEAL kept slicing at the throat and Charlie kept struggling, until finally he fell limp. That's when the SEAL discovered that he had actually choked out the VC and had cut a deep gash into his own forearm. True story? I don't know. Nevertheless, it does serve as an object lesson. Shit happens. Murphy's Law and all that. Just when you think you're going to pull off a move off like a movie hero, everything goes south on you.
I think there's a lot of meat heads in the SEALs. Not that all of them are, just a lot. I think our DELTA force or some of the unnamed forces that pull from the other special forces I bet they would fair a LOT better.
Ok. Here's some crazy stuff. Swedish Iceman. Supposedly it helps pain...hmm. Guy almost climbed Mt. Everest with just a pair of shorts on. Ran in the desert with no water. Uses breathing to control the autonomous nervous system.
wim-hof-method. If googled you get a lot of links.
livingflow.net/wim-hof-method
Joe Rogan podcast with the Iceman.
youtube.com/watch?v=Np0jGp6442A&feature=youtu.be
Reading the annals of the Isrаeli intelligence and Special Forces units. Until the later ex-Soviet immigration, they generally preferred up close pistol shooting, clandestine explosives, or long range heavy weapons fire. At least on the uniformed military side, I think this has much to do with the Isrаeli preference for shorter enlistments, compared to US Special Forces practice.