Contemporary Knife Targeting: Modern Science Vs. W.e. Fairbairn's Timetable of Death

by Christopher Grosz, W.E. Fairbairn, Michael D. Janich

William Fairbairn's Timetable of Death has been used for years as a standard reference tool by students of edged-weapon tactics. When Christopher Grosz began studying the timetable to validate its use as a reference for law-enforcement responses to edged-weapons attacks, he made a surprising discovery - the information in it was flawed. Grosz began a thorough analysis of Fairbairn's work, human anatomy and the realities of effective knife targeting. He later teamed up with knife expert Michael Janich to document it all in this book. Research was conducted with the help of recognized experts in both the medical and tactical fields. The result is a modern, medically accurate version of Fairbairn's original timetable - plus contemporary self-defense applications of the updated data - that will become the new definitive resource for all students of edged-weapons tactics.

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Robert Mcdonald]

This book is a scientific examination of William E Fairbairn's 'timetable of death,' a list of the major blood vessels of the human body and the the amount of time incapcitation or death would occur after they have been servered.

Using modern medical research the authors clearly disprove the over optimistic timetable given by Fairbairn and replace it with a more accurate and extensive timetable.

What follows after is an application of this information to defending against knife attacks and using the knife as a defensive tool, with Janich explaining his approach to knife fighting which emphasizes disabling body structures such as important muscles groups that will stop an attacker more quickly (often immediately) rather than purely lethal strikes that will take longer to incapacitate an attacker (even if they will eventually lead to death). In short, it is better to eliminate an attacker's ability to punch lethal holes into you all together than it is to focus on punching lethal holes into the attacker that will kill him but leave him able to kill you at the same time.

This was a short but highly informative read and I strongly recommend it to any student of the knife or personal defense.

[John]

I’m a notoriously tough grader and give most books three stars. Because that’s just the way the world works: the majority of work is perfectly adequate to task and meets expectations. That’s how we know when other work is dreck or outstanding. So what edges this book above three to four stars?

This book is likely not going to be extra exciting for most martial arts readers. In fact, many of them might find it downright boring. It does not have many pictures of people in colorful traditional costumes demonstrating dozens of techniques with crisp precision. It has no grand philosophy. It does not harken back to a prestigious or mysterious historical lineage.

In fact, the only historical precedent this book reviews, it tears down and trashes: Fairbairn’s notorious “Time Table of Death” presented to Commandos and Saboteurs during World War II. The included photos do include technique demonstrations, but more often are incident documentation photos from real world knifings — very unpleasant and sobering.

What gains this book the extra star is how it injects much needed science and reality into the oft mythologized subject of martial arts in general, and knife fighting in particular. This book is an important addition to the literature and stands out in that respect.