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<blockquote data-quote="Telas" data-source="post: 2229642" data-attributes="member: 20934">Actually, not really.&nbsp; <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":]" title="Devious&nbsp; &nbsp; :]" data-shortname=":]" />&nbsp;&nbsp; I speak as a personal trainer, a former Infantry soldier, a judge at a knife-fighting tournament, and someone who's been to far too many knife-fighting seminars. <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/paranoid.png"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":uhoh:" title="Paranoid&nbsp; &nbsp; :uhoh:" data-shortname=":uhoh:" />&nbsp;&nbsp; I'm not bragging, just qualifying.&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink&nbsp; &nbsp; ;)"&nbsp; data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />&nbsp; There are two basic targets for a blade: blood vessels and nerves.&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f631.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":eek:" title="Eek!&nbsp; &nbsp; :eek:"&nbsp; data-smilie="9"data-shortname=":eek:" />&nbsp; The central nervous system (brain and spine) is shielded in bone.&nbsp; The heart and aorta are behind the ribcage.&nbsp; Both nerves and blood vessels do run near the surface at times (your groin and armpit are good examples), but the big targets that immediately kill or immobilize are pretty well protected.&nbsp; The neck is the one most people think of, but the carotids hide behind the sternocleidomastoideus muscles (there's a 10CP word).&nbsp; Throw in some body fat and a couple of layers of clothes, and even a clean hit with a half-inch knife might not get the carotid artery.&nbsp; On top of that, the neck's a surprisingly tough target to actually hit.&nbsp; :\ Even if you sever a major vessel (femoral or brachial arteries, even the jugular vein), you're trying to drain about 1.5 gallons of blood through a very small hole (although it is being pumped , not drained).&nbsp; It can take a while, and in a fight to the death, a few seconds is a long, long time.So what's left?&nbsp; The windpipe, but a body can operate for a while without air, so we're back at the start.&nbsp; Internal organs are difficult with a short blade, since a few layers of fat and muscle might enough.&nbsp; Anyway, internal bleeding isn't immediately fatal.&nbsp;&nbsp; Nipping the median nerve at the elbow can cause a hand to lose the ability to grip.&nbsp; If that hand is holding say, a sword, this could be considered a proximal (if not direct) cause of death.&nbsp; A similar case can be said for cutting the brachial nerve at the groin, but groin shots are notoriously hard to score (especially on guys, who tend to protect the area). :\ And on top of all that, you knew what I meant.&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue&nbsp; &nbsp; :p"&nbsp; data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" />&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue&nbsp; &nbsp; :p"&nbsp; data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" />&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue&nbsp; &nbsp; :p"&nbsp; data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /> Telas</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Telas, post: 2229642, member: 20934"] Actually, not really. :] I speak as a personal trainer, a former Infantry soldier, a judge at a knife-fighting tournament, and someone who's been to far too many knife-fighting seminars. :uhoh: I'm not bragging, just qualifying. ;) There are two basic targets for a blade: blood vessels and nerves. :eek: The central nervous system (brain and spine) is shielded in bone. The heart and aorta are behind the ribcage. Both nerves and blood vessels do run near the surface at times (your groin and armpit are good examples), but the big targets that immediately kill or immobilize are pretty well protected. The neck is the one most people think of, but the carotids hide behind the sternocleidomastoideus muscles (there's a 10CP word). Throw in some body fat and a couple of layers of clothes, and even a clean hit with a half-inch knife might not get the carotid artery. On top of that, the neck's a surprisingly tough target to actually hit. :\ Even if you sever a major vessel (femoral or brachial arteries, even the jugular vein), you're trying to drain about 1.5 gallons of blood through a very small hole (although it is being pumped , not drained). It can take a while, and in a fight to the death, a few seconds is a long, long time. So what's left? The windpipe, but a body can operate for a while without air, so we're back at the start. Internal organs are difficult with a short blade, since a few layers of fat and muscle might enough. Anyway, internal bleeding isn't immediately fatal. Nipping the median nerve at the elbow can cause a hand to lose the ability to grip. If that hand is holding say, a sword, this could be considered a proximal (if not direct) cause of death. A similar case can be said for cutting the brachial nerve at the groin, but groin shots are notoriously hard to score (especially on guys, who tend to protect the area). :\ And on top of all that, you knew what I meant. :p :p :p Telas [/QUOTE]

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