History Main / NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight

A subtrope of the InverseLawOfUtilityAndLethality. Works where this is in play are anathema to the KnifeNut. Similar to RockBeatsLaser. COmpare and contrast NeverBringAKnifeToAGunfight.

A subtrope of the InverseLawOfUtilityAndLethality. Works where this is in play are anathema to the KnifeNut. Similar to RockBeatsLaser. Contrast NeverBringAKnifeToAGunfight.

* Generally averted in real life. Most self-defense classes you might take will urge you to find a weapon, even a rock or a car key, to use rather than your bare hands. In fact, most martial arts experts, like Bruce Lee's knife-expert friend and student, Dan Inosanto, say that it's virtually impossible for an unarmed person to beat a proficient knife-fighter (which is why they teach disarming so you are the one wielding the blade and the other person is left weaponless).

* Lampshaded by Creator/RichardPryor, who said every guy has to be "Macho Man! I'll take that knife and [[AssShove shove it up your ass]]!" but it doesn't take long for you to go from "Macho Man!" to "Dead Person!"

* However, in some cases this might be TruthInTelevision, with some provisions for skill levels. Among the untrained, it's a good bet that a knife-wielder is going to attack with the knife and nothing else, making him more predictable; the knife acts as an attention-focuser. The unarmed one, however, lacks such predictability; he may use his fists, his feet, his elbows, knees, head, or entire body to attack. Of course, this helps only if you actually know what you're doing and they don't. BruceLee was in favor of this philosophy.
** A proficient knife-fighter, on the other hand, will attack with the knife, as well as his other arm and legs, negating the only advantage the non-wielder has. This is one of the reasons even martial artists specializing in unarmed combat still prefer to use a weapon when one is available. Another reason is that frankly, one's default body is a rather crappy weapon compared to even the simplest of improvised clubs (clubs don't hurt you when you whack someone with them), down to and including a simple rock of the right proportions--unarmed techniques are usually taught for self defense either as a last resort, or when one is taken by surprise without a weapon in hand--in essence, for when there is no better option.

** Subverted in the first knife fight: his opponent's knife proves worthless, but then Bourne grabs a pen as an improvised shiv and ends up stabbing his opponent several times.

* Both used and averted in ''TheExpendables''. The team regularly uses pistols and melee weapons in CQC to devastating effect, but mooks who try to do the same don't fare nearly as well.
** In the sequel, there is an extended fight scene where a large number of knife-wielding Mooks attack the bare-fisted Yang (played by Jet Li). Guess who wins?
* Played straight for the mooks in ''Film/{{Taken}}''. Completely subverted, however, in the last fight, where TheDragon manages to hurt [[BadassGrandpa Liam Neeson]] a few times with his knife before being defeated. In fact, a good portion of the fight deals with Liam Neeson trying to disarm the guy and stab him with his own weapon.
** Neeson's character later wins by basically improvising his own knife out of a champagne bottle and using its superior range to bash and stab TheDragon.
* Averted in ''TheKingdom''. ActionGirl Janet Mayes, played by Jennifer Garner, is only able to defeat a GiantMook after stabbing him twice in the groin and chest, before finishing him off by stabbing him in the head.
* Played straight with - again - ''Film/{{Batman}}''. When he fights the Joker's goons, there's a dramatic fight with one using two Samurai swords. Because he's, well, Batman, he manages to outmaneuver him and then punch him into submission. (Of course, in this continuity, his costume is at least partially armored.)

* Subverted with Wolverine in the ''X-Men'' films as his knives are ''in'' his fists. He nonetheless manages to disarm and take out numerous other knife/gun-wielders and power-casters.
** Bringing ''any'' kind of weapon to a mutant fight is ill-advised. At least with Magneto, they were smart enough to use plastic weapons in lieu of metal ones, but still...

* Averted in many Hong Kong action films, such as those of JackieChan, in which the heroes will often grab [[ImprovisedWeapon any damned thing within their reach]] to even the odds. Sometimes the power of guns over fisticuffs is upheld for dramatic scenes in which the hero is made helpless, such as in ''RumbleInTheBronx''. In a behind-the-scenes feature of a ''RushHour'' film, Chan insists on re-choreographing a fight scene to focus more on the gun, which his character would have to deal with immediately, or he'd be dead.

* Or in ''StarWars'', never bring a blaster to a [[LaserBlade lightsaber]] fight.
** Justified as the only way to block would be to be a magical wizard, or a cyborg with enhanced reflexes. Everybody else would most likely kill themselves with their own weapon if they used a lightsaber, and realistically, normal people can't block blaster shots. Even some Jedi can be taken down with enough concentrated fire.
*** ''Most'' Jedi, in fact, as it turns out.
**** As more than one reviewer of the Star Wars films has mentioned, there are certain obvious and objective tactical advantages to projectile weaponry.
** Subverted in ''Episode III: Revenge of the Sith''. Obi Wan and General Grievous both lost their lightsabers while fighting each other but Obi Wan managed to pry a chest plate off him while they were hand-to-hand. Grievous tries to throw him off a ledge, and after Obi Wan manages to hold on, picks up an electrostaff to finish him off, but Obi Wan used the Force to grab Grievous' blaster and shoot him in his exposed chest. However, he still regarded the weapon as "So uncivilized." right after his victory.
* The SoBadItsGood action movie "Blood 'n Bone" has this in it's climax that after the FinalBattle against a ProfessionalKiller in hand to hand, he fights the BigBad in front of the BiggerBad, the BigBad has a [[KatanasAreJustBetter Katana]] and [[MeaningFulName Bone]] had ... the sheath. He beat him, dropped the sheath, beat him some more, made him drop the katana, and then beat him some more, and then when nearly attacked lethally, [[SubvertedTrope picked up the katana he was given initially and chopped off the Big Bad's hand]].

* One of [[Film/BackToTheFuture Marty's]] running gags against a Tannen family member, who is typically more muscularly built, physically aggressive, and, in the cause of Buford Tannen and Biff-A, armed to the teeth, is to say "Just one more thing...", fake a look of wide-eyed panic, point behind them and yell '''''"HEY, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?!?"''''', punching the distracted Tannen while they weren't looking.

* Subverted in ''SinisterDexter'' when a crime lord brings a nuclear warhead to a meeting, knowing it will end in a gunfight.

[[KnifeNut Knives are scary.]] A single glimmer from its profile has been known to launch a thousand screams of horror. They're eminently deadly, dangerously easy to use. In RealLife, pulling one in a fistfight is a goddamn GameBreaker.

In a good old-fashioned {{western}}, any bounder who pulled a knife in a fistfight would get involved in a down-and-dirty rassle on the ground, then [[HoistByHisOwnPetard fall (or roll over) on his own blade.]] A descendant general rule of Hollywood remains that the first person to pull a knife almost always loses.

Much like all products of the InverseLawOfUtilityAndLethality, this applies equally to {{Heroes}} and {{Villain}}s, though villains are usually likelier to [[GunsAreWorthless pack heat]] or hidden knives. If someone ''does'' get stabbed, shot, skewered, or otherwise hit with the blood-spilling weapon, it was OnlyAFleshWound (though [[HealingFactor regenerators]] are [[ImmortalLifeIsCheap exempt]]). Often goes hand in hand with finding out that just like weapons, ArmorIsUseless. One way to exploit this trope is to make an immobilizing KnifeOutline, as the likelihood of fatally skewering someone [[CouldHaveBeenMessy becomes zero.]]

Note: This [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman only applies to humans]]. In SpeculativeFiction, you can skewer and dismember as many golems, undead, MechaMooks or what have you as you damn well please.

A common variant of this trope is the inversion of the original saying 'NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight': Fictional characters armed with guns will, more often than not, lose to opponents armed with knives. If the opponent is armed with a sword or other more fancy melee weapon, the gunman can pretty much kiss his ass goodbye. This case is similar to GunsAreWorthless, except that there isn't necessarily a reason why the guns are weak. The opponent is not ImmuneToBullets. He just gets PlotArmor to ensure the gunman never gets a good shot before being impaled, much like the knifewielder will not get a good hit in while the fistfighter beats him to a pulp. Since both weapons are lethal, this version is driven more by a simple RuleOfCool instead of the InverseLawOfUtilityAndLethality.

* Averted in ''Film/{{Kick-Ass}}'' when [[spoiler: Dave tries to fistfight muggers and finds himself on the stabbing end of a knife.]]

* Subverted with - again - ''Film/{{Batman}}''. When he fights the Joker's goons, there's a dramatic fight with one using two Samurai swords. Because he's, well, Batman, he manages to outmaneuver him and then punch him into submission. (Of course, in this continuity, his costume is at least partially armored.)

* ''AceAttorney'' example: [[spoiler: Manny Coachen brought a knife to a surprise attack on a 72-year-old man and he ''still'' lost. Alba's a BadassGrandpa.]]

* The novel "Cain" by James Byron Huggins at one point features a Jesuit priest, with no combat background of any sort, going unarmed against a highly-trained cult assassin who has a sword. The priest absorbs an absurd amount of damage, bleeding profusely, while trying to talk the assassin down. Finally, he gives up and just grabs his enemy in a bearhug and squeezes until the assassin's spine snaps.

* At the ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode ''[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesTheClockKing The Clock King]]'' Fugate fights with a CoolSword against an unarmed Batman. Guess who wins?

* Lampshaded by RichardPryor, who said every guy has to be "Macho Man! I'll take that knife and [[AssShove shove it up your ass]]!" but it doesn't take long for you to go from "Macho Man!" to "Dead Person!"

** Using a weapon in the DragonBall franchise as a whole doesn't make much of a difference, as the winner of a fight will usually be whoever is strongest or most skilled. Pretty much the only character whose fighting strength relies on a weapon is Yajirobe, and even then he's implied to be pretty tough on his own.

* Played with in "AvatarTheLastAirbender". Iroh is threatened at knife point for his money. Instead of using his phenomenal ass-kicking powers, Iroh pushes him down. Then he shows him a better fighting stance, which was the mugger's real problem. [[CoolOldGuy And then he makes some tea and encourages the thug to follow his real dreams.]]

** [[GodModeSue Ranma]] breaks so many of his wrist blades that he runs out. He has about ten sets up his sleeves, and usually can conjure a seemingly infinite amount of weapons.

* In "{{Durarara}}, several people hold a knife against Shizuo Heiwajima. This includes [[ManipulativeBastard Izaya]], Seiji and an army of possessed people. The latter two manage to cut him quite a bit. This is all pretty much irrelevant when he starts fighting. It's not that they lost because they brought knives. They lost because they're trying to fight ''[[{{Badass}} Shizuo Heiwajima]].''

* In "{{Durarara!!}}, several people hold a knife against Shizuo Heiwajima. This includes [[ManipulativeBastard Izaya]], [[PsychoLove Seiji]], and an army of possessed people. The latter two manage to cut him quite a bit. This is all pretty much irrelevant when he starts fighting. It's not that they lost because they brought knives. They lost because they're trying to fight ''[[{{Badass}} Shizuo Heiwajima]].''

* In ''CallOfJuarez'', Juarez pulls out a knife after being beaten in a fistfight by Billy. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope He still loses, but only because Reverend Ray draws a gun and shoots him.]]]]

** What it amounts to is basically what was described in ''BurnNotice'' quote below - Izumi grabs the punk's knife arm and beats him senseless. Though the narrator also notes that, unlike what some self-defence books say, one should focus on hitting the enemy rather than obsess over wrestling the knife away. Chapter 34 also notes that opponents might steal weapons away from an inexperienced user and turn them against him.
** Later in the series, Izumi attempts to defeat a [[WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter kendo user]] bare-handed, by using a pair of brass knuckles to block the sword before going for a surprise AlphaStrike. [[spoiler:It fails due to a GameBreakingInjury, and with the element of surprise lost he is defeated.]]

* In the ''GauntsGhosts'' novel ''The Armour of Contempt'', some Hauberkan soldiers try to attack Hark over his execution of their CO. One uses a knife but is quickly taken apart, while another one uses a [[ChainsawGood chain]] [[PowerFist fist]] to little better effect. Then again, Hark has an [[ArtificialLimbs augmetic arm]], so he's hardly baseline human himself.

* In the final episode of Torchwood series 2, Ianto and Tosh run into three creepy religious fanatic types in medieval robes and scythes (not the smartest weapon in a confined space) and finish them off quite easily.

* Sam Fisher in ''SplinterCellConviction'' seems to love this trope when it comes to close combat situations.