Lately I’ve been going over some karate basics at home, more specifically the down, inside, rising, and knife-hand block. I was curious if these karate moves translates well into knife/stick or Filipino martial arts. I’ve never taken an FMA class. They are so rare to find around my area. But I do love to try and mimic stuff on youtube. I noticed that in karate we love to chamber the hands at the hip, which is probably for drawing out a weapon or farming tool. In the first half of a down block I usually reac eah up towards my face and tip of the ear with my hand facing towards me. This makes it hard to hold a knife or stick while doing this move. But if I have my hand facing out side while reaching towards my face then it’s easier to hold a knife. And then I saw that this could be an attack, an upward diagonal slash to be specific. I initially thought the first part of downblock (reaching towards the face and ear) was just for setting up the actual block, but I think there’s more to it. I also guess that you can use the move as a bunkai for a wrist or hand grab from behind on the shoulder, but I haven’t experimented. Going further with downblock with blades I’m picturing this scenario. 1. Chamber hands draws a knife with the sharp end pointing away and the point facing down. I have no idea what the grip is called, but I’ve seen in Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater so it must be legit. 2. You draw the knife, with the sharp end facing away slashing the target in an upward diagonal while stepping forward like you’re doing the karate block 3. Then at the apex of the hand you’re attacking with a downwards block stabbing the target in the side of the knee 4. Finish with a pivot to the side with a reverse punch (with the power hand) 5. Bow and hide the body 6. Flee country -downblock