What’s the difference between the martial arts and practical self-defense? Although the answer to that question will always be the subject of debate, in simple terms it comes down to the skill of the practitioner and what he can realistically do in the chaos of a real fight. While some people will argue that there’s no way you can pull off a complicated technique under stress, there are some very dedicated practitioners out there who can—and have—done some amazing things in real-world situations because they had invested the time and effort to develop a higher skill set.

While some will argue that simple is always better, too simple can often result in an incomplete toolbox. To put it another way, in the immortal words of James Keating, “Don’t judge the whole world by your own crappy standards.”

When it comes to knife tactics, the question of how much technique is too much applies not only to the application of the blade, but also to the use of the knife’s other weapon potential. Most knife trainers and practitioners will readily acknowledge the potential of a knife as an impact weapon—either striking with the butt of the handle or, if it is a folder knife, with either end of the closed knife. However, one trainer has taken this concept to a much higher level and created a series of knives—and a complete system of instruction—that maximizes the potential of the closed folding knife as an impact tool. That trainer is Bram Frank and the latest offering in his family of unique defensive tools is the Lapu Lapu Corto (“LLC,” for short) “Magnum.”