Michael Janich has been studying and teaching self defense and the martial arts for more than 25 years. He has instructor’s credentials in American Self-Protection (ASP – an eclectic art that includes elements of judo, aikido, boxing, fencing, and French Savate), the Filipino art of Serrada Eskrima, and Datu Kelly S. Worden’s Natural Spirit.  He is also a member of the elite International Close-Combat Instructors’ Association. He has trained extensively in Wing Chun Gung Fu, Tae Kwon Do, Wu Ying Tao, Thai boxing, Arnis de Mano and U.S. Special Forces combatives. Janich is also one of the foremost modern authorities on handgun point shooting and is one of the few contemporary instructors to have been personally trained by the late close-combat legend Col. Rex Applegate.

Janich served nine years in the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, including a three-year tour at the National Security Agency. He is a two-time graduate with honors of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA (Vietnamese and Chinese-Mandarin) and a recipient of the Commandant’s Award for outstanding linguistic achievement. After completing his military service, Janich was recruited by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and served as an Intelligence Officer for that agency’s Stony Beach Program in Hong Kong and the Philippines. He also served as an Investigation Team Leader for the Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC) and Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA). He has led numerous investigations into remote areas of Vietnam and Laos in search of information regarding American prisoners of war and missing in action (POW/MIA).

Janich is the author of five books and, with the late Col. Rex Applegate, co-authored Bullseyes Don’t Shoot Back: The Complete Textbook of Point Shooting for Close Quarters Combat. He has also been featured in 12 instructional videotapes on defensive edged-weapon use, the use of the Filipino balisong knife, the use of throwing weapons, and the use of blowguns. In addition to books and videos, Janich has been published in more than a dozen magazines and newsletters, is a contributing editor to Tactical Knives magazine, and has been featured on national radio and television, including a feature segment on blowguns on the Ripley’s Believe It or Not television series.

Michael Janich was also one of five edged-weapon experts selected for the prestigious Masters of Defense knife design project. His design, the Tempest...has developed a tremendous following among dedicated knife users. He has also designed the Ronin and Yojimbo personal defense knives for the Spyderco knife company of Golden, CO and has collaborated with custom knifemakers Michael Snody, Wally Hayes, and David Dempsey on several custom knife design projects. 

Janich is a popular seminar instructor and has presented instructional programs for the world-famous Gunsite Training Center, Datu Kelly S. Worden’s Water and Steel training camp, James Keating’s Riddle of Steel, and Joseph Simonet’s Wind and Rock training camp. He was also one of 12 close combat experts selected by the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) to help develop a self defense and counter-edged-weapons program for the airline industry.

Janich’s edged-weapons curriculum is the basis for the Spyderco knife company’s Martial Blade Craft program. This comprehensive four-level program, taught personally by Janich, covers all aspects of employing knives as personal defense tools. It also forms a foundation of skill that is easily transferred to improvised weapons and empty-hand fighting skills...

Janich offers custom-tailored programs in defensive edged weapons tactics, advanced knife fighting, stick fighting, empty-hand self defense (including counter-knife tactics), knife throwing, point shooting and tactical awareness. All programs are designed to be easily adapted to meet the specific needs of the student group. Private instruction in these disciplines, as well as other specialized skills, is also available.

Your name will be familiar to many readers, thanks primarily to your writing for Paladin Press.  How many books, total, have you written, and what are they?

I have had six books published to date. They are:

Blowguns: The Breath of Death

Knife Fighting: A Practical Course

Street Steel

The Mook Jong Construction Manual

Homemade Martial Arts Training Equipment

Bullseyes Don’t Shoot Back (Co-authored with the late Col. Rex Applegate)

You work for Paladin in some capacity, do you not?  What's that like?

I have been the Video Production Manager for Paladin Press since October 1994 and am personally responsible for all aspects of our pre-production, production, and post-production for all of our videos. In this capacity, I have the rare opportunity to work with some of the world’s most knowledgeable experts in the areas of martial arts, self defense, combat shooting, and other specialized topics. Life doesn’t get much better than that.

Your work, Knife Fighting: A Practical Course is one of those texts I often recommend to beginners interested in learning self defense with a blade.  What led you to write it?  Would you change anything about it if you had the chance to do so today?

I wrote Knife Fighting: A Practical Course with the intent of providing others with the book that I desperately searched for (but couldn’t find) when I first got interested in the defensive use of edged weapons. The goal was to provide a simple, practical course that would allow the reader to understand and learn the basics of defensive knife use in the shortest possible time.

Like any good student, I have continued to learn since I wrote that book more than 10 years ago. My skills are better today than they were then, primarily because my training methodology has progressed. I now focus heavily on Filipino-style flow drills, which I have modified and integrated to create a linear progression of skill development. I am presently working on a text to incorporate these drills into the basic system described in my first book and hope to offer an updated version of the book in the near future.

I'm particularly fond of your Street Steel.  While it didn't tell me many things I didn't already know, having been "into knives" for some time, reading Street Steel was the first time I saw many of those things in print (such as the wrist-snap opening for a folder, which a friend in college taught me).  Where did you pick up much of the lore that appears in that book?  Do you plan any future books on knife fighting or related topics?

As you correctly point out, Street Steel was intended to document many “known” aspects of knife carry and deployment. It also presents a good bit of information that I developed over years of experimentation and trial and error that I have not seen or heard of elsewhere. Again, the goal was to provide a single, relatively comprehensive source of information on knife selection and carry – exactly the type of book that I wanted when I first started carrying a knife for personal defense.

The information in Street Steel was compiled from more that 15 years of research and reading everything I could find on knife design, carry, deployment, and defensive use. It also represents many years of personal experience carrying defensive knives (and other weapons) on a daily basis, as well as knowledge I gained from like-minded martial artists, law enforcement officers, government personnel, and military personnel.

As mentioned above, I hope to update my knife fighting book to make it more closely parallel my current approach to edged-weapon training.

It seems obvious that you have a love for knives, as do many of our readers.  How did you come to discover this interest?  Do you remember your first knife?

My interest in knives started concurrently with my interest in the martial arts. As a kid growing up in the late 1960s and 70s, I got caught up in the Bruce Lee craze and quickly took an interest in all types of weapons. However, my interest in knives really got started when I first started learning empty-hand defenses against knives. When I realized that none of the defenses I learned in martial arts class worked very well, I complained to my instructor. I will always remember his response: “If you want to learn how to defend against a weapon, first learn how to use it.” That began my lifelong interest in knife fighting and made me realize how practical and effective knives can be as defensive weapons.

My first knife was a Case slipjoint pocketknife that I started carrying in 6^th grade. Once I got a basic understanding of knife fighting, I replaced it with a Gerber Folding Sportsman II with a "Flicket" for one-handed opening.

You've done instructional videos, too.  How many of these would you say you've produced?  Which ones are popular?  Which one(s) do you like best?

My 11 instructional videos include:

Knife Fighting Combat Techniques 1-4 (Panther Productions – No longer available)

Fighting Folders

Advanced Fighting Folders

Making It Stick

Masters of Defense (with the other original MOD designers)

Martial Marksmanship (with Andy Stanford)

Breath of Death

Mastering the Balisong

Of these, the Fighting Folders videos are the most popular. These and Making It Stick are also among the videos that I like best.

What is your martial arts background?

My interest in the martial arts began when I was about 9 or 10. We couldn’t afford lessons back then, so I began reading everything I could find and got a good head start on my personal library. I started boxing when I was about 11 and boxed for a year under the guidance of a former Golden Gloves champ from Chicago.

The summer before my freshman year of high school, I began studying American Self-Protection (ASP) – an eclectic art that included elements of Savate, Aikido, Judo and boxing. I trained 6-7 days a week and earned my black belt in a little over a year. Through the other black belts at out school, I also picked up elements of Judo, Jujitsu, Tae Kwon Do, Kyokushinkai Karate (taught to us as Goju-Kempo), military-style combatives, and knife fighting.

I joined the U.S. Army when I was 17 and trained informally with martial artists of many different styles during my nine-year career. Through sparring and informal study, I added elements of Wu Ying Tao, Wing Chun, Kenpo, and Sikaran. I also trained formally with the late Raymond Tobosa in his style of Escrima while stationed in Hawaii.

When I left the Army and went to work as a Department of Defense civilian, I had the opportunity to train in Muay Thai and military combatives (through Special Forces team members) and, during my second tour in Hawaii, earned instructor’s ranking in Serrada Eskrima.

Since joining Paladin, I have had the opportunity to work and train with many noted martial artists, including James Keating, Kelly Worden (who awarded me instructor’s ranking in his style of Natural Spirit), Joseph Simonet, and Kelly McCann. Perhaps the most unique opportunity I’ve had, however, was receiving training in combat point shooting directly from the late Col. Rex Applegate.

I keep hearing your name in conjunction with Spyderco's Martial Blade Craft program.  What is MBC?

Martial Blade Craft (MBC) is a comprehensive personal-protection system that provides responsible, ethical self defense solutions. Although MBC training is focused largely on the defensive use of the knife, the ultimate goal of the program is to develop “all-purpose” defensive skills. Rather than teaching numerous techniques to defend against specific attacks, MBC focuses on perfecting a few proven techniques and learning how to apply them to literally hundreds of different defensive situations. Through this easy-to-learn method, students develop defensive proficiency very quickly and have both the ability and the confidence to employ their skills after only a brief period of training.

The four-level MBC curriculum includes instruction in both standard and reverse-grip tactics and the use of improvised weapons.  It focuses on the idea of “structural stopping” – an advanced version of the Filipino concept of “defanging the snake” that maximizes the stopping power of a knife without forcing the user to resort to lethal force.

How did you and Spyderco come to work together to bring MBC to the public?

A student of James Keating named Bert Locke had been teaching a basic knife program for Spyderco after he and Spyderco’s founder, Sal Glesser, met at the Riddle of Steel [a knife-fighting seminar by James Keating -- ed.].  When Bert moved out of state, Sal asked him to suggest someone to take over the program. Bert suggested me, and after Sal reviewed my curriculum and viewed my Fighting Folders videos, he decided to adopt my curriculum as Spyderco’s official edged-weapon program.

On what is MBC based?  What are its principles?

MBC is basically a streamlined version of the Filipino martial arts based on the cinco teros – the five cardinal blows. It focuses on targeting the opponent’s attacking limbs to limit or destroy both his ability to grasp a weapon and his ability to wield it effectively. The reflexes to do this from any position are developed through a series of flow drills. Each drill helps develop specific skills that offer the potential for specific applications. At its higher levels, these drills are combined so that practitioners can challenge their training partners in a “game of chess” where each partner transitions from drill to drill to challenge the other. This demanding form of training develops incredibly fast reflexes and programs appropriate responses and follow-ups.

Are you at all concerned with issues of liability where teaching knife fighting is concerned?  How does MBC address use-of-force and other legal issues?

I am very concerned with liability issues. That is why the basic MBC curriculum does not teach the use of lethal force. Since the ultimate goal of any defensive situation is to get the attacker to stop and to escape safely, everything in MBC is geared toward that end. In this way, we are openly emphasizing our desire and intent to use restraint and appropriate levels of force in everything we do.

Have you ever had to apply what you know in a real-life self defense situation?  Can you tell us about it?

While living in working in Asia, there were several incidents in which I was forced to defend myself empty-handed. In all cases, a single strike or kick ended the problem.

Although I have not yet had to draw blood in self defense, I have had several incidents in which my ability to draw a knife quickly and display it with confidence caused potential attackers to back down.

You've designed at least one knife for the Masters of Defense Line.  Can you tell us about that, including why you incorporated the features that you did?  Will you be designing any other knives in the future?

The MOD Tempest was designed to incorporate all the positive features of a defensive folder, based on what I knew at that time – a strong lock, a Bowie-style blade with a well centered point for thrusting and adequate “belly” for cutting, a tapered handle and finger groove for a positive grip, and tip-up carry for quick deployment. Some of the original features of the design were not included in the final version (including left/right ambidextrous carry). 

Since designing the Tempest, I have discovered many new concepts in knife design and the ballistic cutting capabilities of small knives. These concepts were applied to my second commercial knife design, the Ronin. This neck knife design was first produced as a custom piece by knifemaker Mike Snody, then later adapted for production by Spyderco. A folding version of the design called the Yojimbo is also in the works, as are several more custom collaborations.

What can we expect from you in the future in terms of books and videos?

In the near term, I am working on a video that covers my approach to reverse-grip knife fighting. Tentatively called Mastering Fighting Folders, it will be released by Paladin Press in January 2004. I also have several other book and video ideas in the works and plan to continue to share good information as long as possible. When I’ve exhausted my knowledge, it will be time for me to stop.

A well known "knife art" instructor has referred to the Filipino grip as the "cancer grip," complaining that it is not secure and spreads like a "cancer" because it "looks pretty." Could you address this?

I’ve heard this comment before. I have also had the opportunity to train with this individual and, in general, have a friendly professional relationship with him. Although I respect his right to his opinion, I am very confident that this grip is not only useful in an actual fight, but is an integral part of the knife techniques of many different cultures, including those of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan.

In my opinion, the strength of one’s grip on a knife lies in the last three fingers of the hand – just like the strength of one’s grip on a pistol. Done properly, this grip works. It also affords you some options not available with other grips.

This type of grip (again, executed properly and not exaggerated as some photos have shown) is also used by the most respected practitioners of the Filipino martial arts in the U.S., including Dan Inosanto and Leo Gaje.

It seems self defense and "going armed" are becoming increasingly difficult and less than socially acceptable in modern times.  What are your thoughts on this?

In today’s society, we are all vulnerable to attack. In many cases, these attacks are committed by armed criminals, often by multiple attackers, and sometimes by multiple armed attackers. In any one of these situations, the average citizen would be justified in using a weapon for self defense, so to be truly prepared, he or she must make the commitment to carry a weapon and know how to use it. After all, the key element of self defense (or better yet, self protection) is “self.”