Fighting with a Hidden Blade: How to stab with the Hidden Blade and Attack Moves(Beginner - Intermediate)

Welcome to the second lesson!  Today, I will be teaching you first the proper way to stab with the hidden blade(so that you don't stub your fingers), then we shall move on to more advanced moves.

Hand Positions when using a Hidden Blade

There are two starting positions for an attack when using a Hidden Blade: the Fist(such as in Open Ready Stance A), and the Splayed Fingers(such as in the Auditore Position).  The Fist can be used in two ways:  You can punch an enemy with the blade extended, or you can turn your fist up so that it is facing upwards, so that the blade can penetrate fully.  If you use Splayed Fingers, you can only attack with your palm facing the enemy and your fingers pointing up.  If you hold your fingers parallel to the blade, then you risk stubbing your fingers against an enemy's body, if you want to do any serious damage.

Attack moves with the Hidden Blade

Now comes the fun part: You will now learn the attack moves when using the Hidden Blade!  These will all be high profile, conspicuous attacks; assassination moves will come in a later lesson.

I will be grouping these moves by difficulty.  The easy ones, I will group as "Beginner".  The medium ones, I will group as "Advanced".  The hard one, I will group as "Expert".  The Expert moves will be in a separate post.  Make sure to master all moves in the "Beginner" stage before advancing into "Intermediate", and the same for Intermediate to Expert.

Also, if I miss an important move, feel free to post a comment.  I'll be happy to add it.

Beginner Moves:

1. Simple Stab

With your blade extended, turn your palm upward and stab at a place like the heart or the head.  This is the most basic move possible, and your probably already know it.  You can use this in conjunction with a punch or kick to knock the opponent off guard or to distract an opponent.

2. Simple Slash
With your blade extended, slash your blade across an enemy.  Again, this is another basic move.  You can use this in conjunction with a punch or kick to knock the opponent off guard or to distract an opponent.

3.Simple Counter
This is a little more complicated than the previous two.  It is a simple kind of counter.  When attacked with a punch, make a knifehand with your hands(shown below):

Step back with your right foot into a back stance(if you do not know what a back stance is, you can look it up or go to the "Stances and Positions" lesson, then scroll down to "Open Ready Stance D").  Block the punch with your closest hand, bringing the bottom of your hand onto the side of the wrist:

Bring the part marked with the "X"s down onto the side of the wrist

After you have blocked the punch, quickly move in and stab with the hidden blade.

Using these moves, you can improvise a counter yourself.  Simply use the counter in the first step, then insert your own moves.

Intermediate Moves:

1.Counter and Throw
Our first intermediate move is an interesting move.  Safety Note: Be careful when practicing the throw on a live thing.  If done incorrectly, you might break their neck when they land on their head.  Go through the motions slowly, and if possible, make sure the person knows how to roll out of a throw.


First, have someone punch you.  This also works with a hook punch or slice.  Counter the move using a knifehand block.  Then grab the wrist with the hand farthest from the opponent.  Kneel or crouch down.  Then, pull the person down over your back, throwing them off balance.  Finish the motion, and they should land on their back.  Stab them with your blade.

Video of Judo Throw:



2.Counter Grab
This is a combination of the throw in the previous move and an escape.

First, have someone hug you from behind, pinning your arms.  Then, use the escape shown in the video below:



Please excuse the fact that I give no written explanation.  The move is too complicated to write out.

After that, grab an arm with the hand farthest from the grabbed arm, then execute the throw from Intermediate Move 1.  Then, stab the enemy with the hidden blade.

Well, that wraps up our first part on Attack Moves.  The next part will be on advanced attack moves.  Keep a lookout for that lesson!

After we wrap up on attack moves, we're going to look at defensive maneuvers, then we'll move on to assassination moves.