A subtlety to the tactic of stepping to the side off the line of attack is to do so to the side opposite the one that holds the BG's weapon. If timed right, this sharply limits the range of his edged or impact weapon to just slightly beyond his torso because he has to deploy it across his body instead of to the side on the strong side, where he has a full arm's reach. Of course, if he's trained, he'll simply change hands, but most aren't so trained.ammoboy2 wrote:I agree with this except the backing up part. If you are lucky you can back up half as fast as someone running forward. The best strategy is to step to the side, this forces the attacker to reajust and change their vector. It is also more difficult to turn while running forward which increases the targeting problem for the attacker. The step to the side provides significant time to engage the knife wielder. The simple side step works even at distances as close as 10 ft while this drill demonstrates you need 21 ft straight for striaght on. Additionally without the side step off the line of attack, a successful handgun shot, which is frequenly not an instant stop anyway, you most likely will be injured. So if you are still on the line of attack then the wounded attacker can still severly injure or kill you. That is not a winning combination, but bringing a gun to a knifefight.MoJo wrote: When you are facing an opponent armed with a knife once he starts to rush you MOVE off the line of attack. You can gain valuable seconds by moving back and to one side or the other.
Another subtlety (although more debatable) is to focus the one shot you may get off into the pelvic girdle to try to take the BG's undercarriage out from under him so he can't run or maneuver. This too holds no guarantees, but it's a more likely stop than a center mass shot and a more likely hit than a head shot attempted under these circumstances.