Shocking vision has emerged of police trying to subdue a woman who was threatening drivers with a large knife in the middle of one of Australia’s busiest highways.
A 52-year-old woman will face court on Wednesday, charged over allegedly threatening drivers and causing traffic to come to a halt on the M1 Motorway near Taree.
At about 4pm on Tuesday (26 November 2024), emergency services were called to the motorway at Koorainghat following reports of a concern for welfare.
Police vehicles descended on the area with uniformed and plain clothes officers surrounding the woman in an attempt to subdue her and remove her from the roadway.
Officers attached to Manning/Great Lakes police district confronted the woman who was armed with the knife and threatening other drivers who were speeding by.
Police blocked the northbound lanes of the Pacific Highway and negotiated with the woman who allegedly threatened officers with the knife.
After calls for her to put the knife down and move away from the roadway, a taser was used to slow here progress toward officers as another can be seen tackling here from behind and pinning her to the ground in the middle of the motorway.
The knife was wrestled from her grasp as a group of police officers fought to subdue her and place her in restraints.
She was taken to Taree police station, where she was charged with attempt stalk/intimidate intend fear of harm (personal), common assault, possess or use a prohibited weapon without permit and use knife in public place – cause person to fear for safety.
The woman was refused bail to appear before Taree Local Court on Wednesday.
There is a lot of debate around the difference between “sport” and “street” fighting, and what effect things like eye gouges, biting and knives have, particularly when it comes to ground fighting. Too much of the discussion is based on theories and assumptions.
I think the martial arts community can learn a lot from the infamous Ukraine knife fight video:
“Dirty” techniques work better from a dominant position, and will not reliably overcome your lack of skill and situational awareness.
The decision to take a fight to the ground is a tactical consideration and could happen by your choice, your opponent’s, or purely as a matter of circumstance / by accident.
All knives are lethal, but knife design is critical in combat.
Pain compliance is unreliable.
Control is paramount.
First, the idea you should never take a fight to the ground. This discussion is usually oversimplified and misunderstood.
You take the fight to the ground when it is tactically appropriate, and you do everything possible to keep off the ground when it is appropriate. Saying NEVER is a brain dead response. It depends on the situation.
Neither man seemed to have a plan of ending up on the ground. The Ukranian was forced to close the distance because it was the only option left when he was caught without his own firearm. There was nowhere to run.
For a moment, it worked – he disarmed the Russian and was able to force him down, before the Russian drew a knife.
In my opinion, the Ukrainian appears to have fixated on taking possession of the knife at this point, and conceded top position to get it.
Meanwhile, the Russian worked to take a controlling position on top. This was a critical moment in the ground component of the fight.
Many of us assume that if we end up on our back, “dirty” techniques like eye gouges should cause our opponent to react in pain and fall off. Or if we stab them, they will quit the fight or be injured/killed and unable to continue. And yes, this is a possible outcome.
Another possibility is that your opponent is determined to kill you, willing to fight through serious injury and pain, and has achieved a dominant position. Poking them in the eye or even stabbing them might not work without hitting a large artery.
Many have noted that the Russian bit the hands of the Ukrainian. This indeed happened several times.
A very important detail many have missed: almost every time the Russian would bite, it was in response to the Ukrainian reaching up to eye gouge him. However, the Russian was able to move his head and avoid most of the damage.
The reality is that just like strikes and submissions, “Dirty” techniques and weapons work better from dominant, controlling positions.
They stabbed each other. The attacked each other’s eyes. The (smaller) man fighting from a top position was able to do this more effectively.
Another point many have missed is that the Russian used biting not just to cause pain and injury, but for control: he held one hand in his teeth, which allowed him to use two hands to fight against the Ukrainian’s one.
He was also able to scan the environment and look for improvised weapons. He picked up three pieces of rubble, one being a shard of roof tile which was stabbed into the Ukrainian’s eye. Stuck on his back, the Ukrainian was unable to move his head to avoid this.
Knife design played a significant role. The knife lacked a pommel or guard, which would have greatly reduced the risk of hands sliding off each end of the knife. Both men lost control of the knife and were injured by the blade incidentally when their hands slid off at various times.
They also both grabbed at the blade intentionally which worked in terms of delaying attacks and fighting for control of the knife. One of the more stomach-churning aspects to watch, but they really did not have much choice.
Much has been made of the Ukrainian’s last words, asking the Russian if he could leave him to die peacefully. Personally, I don’t believe the Ukrainian gave up on survival.
I think it’s more likely that he understood he had lost the fight and was about to be stabbed a lot more, and his request to be left alone to die peacefully was a tactical decision more than anything; he was hoping that although severe, his injuries might be survivable at that point if the Russian stopped. His last words were “don’t do it” as the Russian placed a grenade under his vest.
Finally, pain compliance is unreliable, because it is not direct control. Compliance might be a secondary effect of pain, or it could cause more resistance. Control and position must be of highest priority in a fight.
In this instance, we see both men fighting through gunshot wounds, stab wounds, eye gouging, biting.
Both men were equally aggressive and willing to do anything to win the fight.
In the end, the fight was won by situational awareness, adaptability, improvisation, and positional control.
This is absolutely the most brutal – in the truest sense of the word – combat footage I have ever seen.
Watch this at your own discretion, and I recommend that you first read the short summary below to decide if you would still like to watch.
A second angle was also filmed by a drone:
A Ukranian solder, wearing a GoPro, approaches a structure and takes fire through a window. He was possibly hit, blood is visible.
He falls, returns fire, gets up and attempts to throw a grenade through the window.
The Russian soldier exits the building at the same time and approaches the corner where the Ukranian is standing. They both step around the corner and run into each other, clinch and fight over the Russian’s gun, before they end up on the ground.
They fight hand to hand with knives, teeth, and eye gouges. Both are drenched in blood.
The Ukranian is stuck on his back, while the Russian is able to cause more damage due to his dominant position on top of him.
Translation of the final moments below, from 6:40 in the video:
Ukrainian soldier: That’s it, mum, goodbye. Wait, let me die in peace. You’ve opened everything (meaning critical blood vessels) in me. Let me catch my breath. Very painful. *unclear*. Let me pass away in peace. Just don’t touch me. Let me die. Don’t touch me, let me die. Please go away. I want to pass away on my own. Thank you. You were the best fighter in the world. Goodbye. You were better.
There are a lot of misconceptions about knives and blades.
One thing I find frustrating is that people often believe purely aesthetic decision choices, or features that might improve everyday quality of life for the weapon, actually make a knife more lethal.
In reality, two pointy metal objects with a sharp edge, of a similar size and shape, will have a very similar injury profile. If you stab someone to the neck with a butterfly knife, it will have the same practical effect as the blade on a pair of scissors.
Ultimately, this means two things:
All sharp, pointy metal objects are lethal and must be treated that way; police, for example, are equally justified in using lethal force whether the subject is armed with a balisong or a pair of scissors.
Banning particular kinds of sharp, pointy metal objects does not make the street safer, because they can be substituted for other sharp and pointy metal things which are equally lethal (balisong -> kitchen knife or scissors for example).
Kitchen knives are used in many fatal stabbings. They are just as effective as knives “designed” for killing.
Most knives are small, simple, easy to use, easy to conceal, fast to deploy, and very effective. The qualities many people worry about are superfluous to their function, or merely improve quality of life and comfort. Much of it is about style and aesthetic concerns.
The situation was entirely preventable. These are young men seeking to prove themselves to their peers by showing bravery and demonstrating their prowess and composure in a fight. They were seeking confrontation, with one man arming themselves when they knew a physical confrontation was about to kick off.
We can minimise this kind of outcome by providing opportunity, role models, purpose and discipline to young men, and an outlet to prove themselves and achieve self-worth. Suppressing competitive behaviour in boys and denying them these opportunities is how you amplify toxic masculinity. Their energy has to be directed into productive and benign pursuits. If they aren’t provided a positive group of peers and role models, they will find their own who may be antisocial in nature.
Scissors are lethal weapons
Secondly, this demonstrates just how lethal any type of blade can be. The next time you hear about police shooting someone after they attempted to stab someone with scissors, go back and watch this video, and remember what just a pair of scissors can do.
Bans on specific types of blades are fruitless
Where I live, we have banned the following types of knives:
Flickknife
Ballistic knife
Sheath knife
Urban Skinner
Trench knife
Butterfly knife or “balisong”
Star knife
Zombie Knife
Any object made of strong material with a point can be used to stab, and any hard material with an edge can be used to cut.
Banning any type of blade only results in the use of blades which are not prohibited, especially kitchen knives. Kitchen knives are typically made of steel, have a long sharp blade and a point, with a full or partial tang, and ergonomic handle.
These attributes make kitchen knives more effective as weapons than many of the banned knives, which are mostly designed for their appearance.
Knife designs can increase reliability and practicality, but they are all lethal, including cheap scissors purchased from a late-night corner store.
Laws which prohibit the carrying of blades and other weapons in a public place have more merit and real effect on outcomes, depending on the area and cultural context.
The danger posed by knives, even when we are armed with a gun – you CAN bring a knife to a gun fight and win if you’re close enough.
Not all situations involving mental health issues can be de-escalated verbally. Police have often been criticised in the media for shooting within seconds of arriving at the scene – this incident demonstrates the kind of situation which can lead to that happening.
Patrol Officer Jonah Hernandez was stabbed to death while responding to a trespassing call at the 300 block of South Valley Drive in Las Cruces.
A witness to the stabbing shot the suspect while another witness called 911 for help.
Officer Hernandez was transported to MountainView Regional Medical Center where he died from a knife wound to his neck.
The subject had a lengthy criminal record and mental illness.
Officer Hernandez had served with the Las Cruces Police Department for two years. He was survived by his wife and two sons.
This video covers unarmed defense against both blunt and edged weapons, highlighting the importance of understanding range to either deny attackers their advantage or impose our own.
Yes, you should never fight someone who is armed, and running away is a good idea. However, there are some scenarios where evasion isn’t an option and hand-waving comments like “just run away” do not help. Strategic positioning, range management and movement are the foundation of dealing with weapons.
We start with understanding the nuances of unarmed striking, the significance of maintaining an appropriate stance for mobility and reaction, and the concept of “lunging distance” which is critical for both offense and defense.
Then we move on to managing distances to either escape harm or close in, underlining that effective defense involves being either out of reach or too close for an attacker to utilise their weapon effectively.
The guide also touches on the specialised considerations for dealing with different types of weapons, from long and short blunt instruments to edged weapons, stressing the need for speed, control, and tactical awareness.
