People will often take martial arts classes in order to defend themselves against an armed attacker. The most common weapons used in street assaults are knives and guns. In the UK, knife crime is significantly high. In contrast, shootings tend to be much more prevalent in the United States.

Regardless of the statistics, it is important to know to defend against both kinds of weapons. Many classes will provide students with disarming techniques. The main aim is usually to both dodge an incoming danger and take the weapon from the attacker. At the same time, it is common to also incapacitate the opponent.

Students of martial arts are trained with these techniques frequently. Eventually, their responses will become part of their muscle memory. This means that if they encounter a real-world armed attack, they will be able to automatically defend themselves. With the right moves, an unarmed person will no longer feel defenseless.

As a safety precaution, fake guns and rubber knives tend to be used during martial arts demonstrations. This allows the student to practice grappling the weapon away from the attacker without having to worry about suffering an injury.