On the day Derek Chauvin was convicted on all three charges, a Columbus, Ohio, police officer shot and killed 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant. The bodycam footage reveals a wildly chaotic scene before the tragic shooting occurred. The bodycam footage shows that Ms. Bryant was holding a knife and attempted to attack two people with it. The question arose in my mind: “Did she have prior knife training?”

If you are not able to view this video, click here.

Footage of this incident was captured from across the street as well. See below.

This post is not about the state of policing in the USA, nor is it about whether the officer was justified in his decision to deploy his firearm. This post is not about the state of relations between minorities and the police in the USA.

Instead, I am posing one question: did Ms. Bryant have any experience or training with a knife?

I am a people watcher. I observe how people walk, the type of clothing they wear, their physical fitness, and whether they have had martial arts training. Some folks hide things very well. Others, not so much.

As seen in the screenshot below, Ms. Knight’s body positioning just before she was shot caught my eye.

This screenshot suggests that she may have learned how to handle a knife from someone. From whom or where is the question.

I see two things in this screenshot that suggest some prior training.

First, it appears that she was using her left arm to pin the other girl against the car. Second, she holds a knife remarkably similar to several knife fighting styles. These actions are not typical for “untrained” folks. Take a quick look at the Filipino martial arts video below.

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More specifically, look at this screenshot taken from the above video. While the blade orientation is slightly different, this is fundamentally the same body positioning/posture Ms. Bryant has in bodycam footage. Note that the gentleman has his left foot forward. Furthermore, look at how he has positioned his left hand.

One way to look at the bodycam footage is that nobody holds a knife like that unless they have had training or experience.

While the screenshot of Ms. Bryant highly suggests some training, it is not necessarily dispositive. But, still, the question must be asked: Did she have some training with a knife beforehand?

I can think of four possibilities.

First, she may have educated herself by watching YouTube videos, something similar to the above Filipino martial arts video. While YouTube is wonderful, it does have its dark side. Unfortunately, ill-intentioned folks may educate themselves on any topic, ranging from bomb-making to knife techniques to sword techniques.

The second possibility is that she may have taken Filipino Martial Arts classes. One might say: “otherwise, how would she know to hold the knife in that specific position? And how would she know how to use her left hand/arm in that manner?” Maybe not.

Next, is it possible that she learned this technique from someone in her social network? Family? Friends? Who knows?

The fourth possibility is that the position was just happenstance. Maybe it was. She may have never had any training before that fatal moment. Maybe she improvised in the heat of the moment. I doubt it, though.

Again, I am not delving into the officer’s decision to shoot and kill her. I am focused on one question: where did she learn this from? I’m interested in this from a forensics perspective. My opinion is that this was a learned move. Beyond the screenshot, it isn’t easy to ascertain how much training she may have gotten.

As we know, killing or seriously harming someone with a knife does not require much training, if at all. Defending against a knife attack is far more difficult.

However, there is a difference between an “untrained” person and one with “training” concerning knife attacks.

A person with “training” may hold a knife in a way that “untrained” folks do not. To be sure, the “training” can range anywhere from hands-on practice to watching a demonstration. Many folks can learn quickly from watching a demonstration. That well may have been the case with Ms. Knight.

Unfortunately, knowledge of basic knife fighting techniques is readily available and widespread. Just type “knife fighting techniques” or variations thereof on YouTube, and you’ll, unfortunately, find plenty of videos.

The bottom line is that this tragic event is a stark reminder of the dangers of the knife. Anybody can learn knife techniques easily and from anywhere. It also illustrates that anybody can be dangerous when armed with a knife and ill intentions.

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