Hi Fearn. Your point is well taking on the use of the ice pick grip with the Piper knife system. It looks fast, fierce and dangerous from the videos. Of course this grip is used with a rather small knife and in conjunction with a specific martial art which maintains a protection of the torso throughout. In fact the knife seems to rarely move above the torso in these moves, quite unlike Norman Bates use of the butcher knife in Psycho. Also the elbows and your other hand are almost as likely to deal the finishing blows as the knife. Very scary looking art.
I tried some of these moves (at a much slower speed i must say
) with the reverse grip and must say that i can see doing some effective fighting this way. The hilt does still feel a bit awkward in the hand though. Then i turned the blade back and adopted the more accepted grip which actually allows a grip on the blade as well as the handle with the thumb and fore finger gripping the base of the blade. From my perspective the blade control and speed is greatly enhanced in this position. So is striking distance. If i were going to fix the hilt in just one position this would be the one i would chose. Others might have a different experience. Your mileage may vary.
