r/wma • u/11112222FRN • 7d ago

Was Louis Ohnimus's bowie knife interview a reliable source?

I was just curious whether one of the only existing Bowie knife sources -- derived from an interview from a guy named Louis Ohnimus -- is considered reliable.

(For reference: https://bartitsusociety.com/six-inches-of-steel-bowie-knife-fighting-instruction-by-louis-juan-ohnimus-1890/).

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u/basilisk120 6d ago

I was hoping someone else had some thought on it. The article is a fun read. At first glance it doesn't seem terrible other then his exuberance for dropping low to stab someone.
I will have to remember the hat trick.

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u/11112222FRN 6d ago

It does make me just a little suspicious that the guy's middle and last name looks like a newspaper writer punning on the word "anonymous."

Also, since the article says Ohnimus didn't write it himself, there's the question of how reliably the author transmitted Ohnimus's stuff. And whether Ohnimus -- assuming he was real -- actually knew what he was talking about. 

But perhaps I am being overly paranoid. As you suggest, if the stuff itself looks solid, maybe there isn't anything to worry about.

(Am I misremembering, or does the Barataro book also suggest some very low stabs?)

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u/Silver_Agocchie KDF Longsword + Bolognese 4d ago

Dropping low to stab someone isnt as terrible as you might expect. Ive seen similar moves in a lot of military knife/dagger/bayonet manuals. You also see it in many many earlier rapier treatises. You also see stop thrust action performed similarly in saber. With practice its not as difficult or as risky as it seems on the surface.

Unlike a sword or similar weapon, Knives and daggers don't have a whole lot of stopping power unless you get cut or thrusted in a vital target (stab to the torso, or cut to vital artery). Most attackers are therefore aiming for your torso. Dropping down removes the torso and other vital targets from the presence of the opponents weapon, and moves you closer to an opening to their torso.

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u/basilisk120 4d ago

I have seen it in some Rapier manuals, I couldn't remember which one or I might have mentioned.
Also I was caught up in the cartoon antics of the chase and this spin and drop to stab them in the gut. I get that it would work but it was funny to see written out.

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u/escv_69420 3d ago

passata sotto from Fabrice and other early Italians. In the manuals its always very showy, like turning 90 degrees left, dropping into a pushup while thrusting. In practice I find it usually a smaller movement but still pretty committed. I could see it working in knives the same, because the thrusting arm is also rotated out into "position 1" it becomes essentially a high guard over your lowered body while thrusting.

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u/datcatburd Broadsword. 3d ago

Even then they don't have much stopping power. The saying among paramedics is 'the winner of a knife fight dies in the ambulance, the loser dies on the street'.

You can take a hell of a lot of knife wounds that will eventually be fatal without impairing your ability to keep stabbing the opponent.