Piper is a criminal system. It is a means of utilising knives and also other improvised weapons. It is real. It kills people. It is almost completely focused on offense. Since in warfare between South African gangs it often comes down to knife vs. knife situations there are defensive strategies, but even those use offensive techniques.

Piper is controlled chaos. Controlled because you are aware of what you are doing, chaos because the unpredictable constant motion means your enemy has trouble pinning you down. He cannot even pin you down visually, thus it is very hard to do so physically.

Piper is a knife system. It is not an adaptation of a sword or machete or stick system. With the shimmering blade and knife twirling principles it is not just footwork that is all over the place, but also the arm and the hand. Piper does not immediately go for the deep killing thrust or ripping slash unless a target is wide open, and does not employ relatively easy, easily intercepted techniques.

Piper is an African knife system, thus it has a strong African movement flavour to it. The feet and the audio/visual/tactile fakes and distractions (clicks, clapping, slapping your body) all become like an improvised drumming session, using half and quarter beats. Thereis no buildup of detectable rhythm.

Piper is individualised. Within its principles and strategies the individual expresses him or herself. A smaller, wiry Piper exponent will do very different things than a larger, heavier or bulkier exponent. This is logical, since Piper is used in killing confrontations on a daily basis. A large man trying to implement methods and strategies applicable to a small man would soon be dead. Survival of the fittest applies.

There are no fancy, superfluous techniques, because of its evolutionary nature. What didn't work has been quite literally killed off. No system on earth (Krav Maga, Systema, Filipino systems) can match Piper for the sheer number of violent incidents that happen on the Cape Flats alone. Until only recently the knife was a primary weapon, not an adjunct or backup to handguns and other military tools and training as is the case in military systems.

Piper has always been taught in a playful, imitative context. Young gang members would spar playfully and would learn their methods from seeing it applied against civilians or gang members in a live, violent context.

Piper is all about your INTENT. In certain S.E. Asian systems such as Silat and Kuntao, the usually normal and reasonably well adjusted student is taught to visualise himself as a ferocious animal such as a leopard or tiger. The gang member who uses Piper is already highly predatory, no visualisation needed. He hunts, he kills, he displays no fear or feeling. His knife is not to make him a cool "Martial Arts Knife Fighter", it is a tool - it produces money, women, status, respect or kills his enemies, hurts those he hates and despises and saves his life. His knife is used to threaten, to intimidate and to perforate. He thus starts off with a mindset that ômartial artistsö will never reach (which is as it should be, martial artists are not criminals). It is necessary however, that martial artists realise that this IS Piper. The knife is not an extension of your hand, it is an extension of your will. The knife is a vehicle to express your intent, to enforce one's will regardless of laws or civilisation. The reverse is also present - fear. In fact, that fear is an integral part of the system. Yes, I know the Martial artists out there have opinions about fear and all the wonderful research and things their instructor taught them...let's say here the research is a little bit more "applied". You could get killed since it's not a rubber knife sparring game. Yes, Piper does NOT use anything other than real knives. We know you'll find that hard to accept.

Piper practice is done with real knives. The knife most commonly used is the Okapi, a cheap locally made blade. Sparring is done with these blades, stopping just short of your targets. This keeps it real and reminds you of the intent and the fear that would be present in a real-life confrontation. Rubber knives are fine as long as you understand that this impedes the learning process, and real criminals don't practice with them for a reason.

Teaching Piper to civilians has both positive and negative effects. Piper is the most vicious, deadly and brutal knife system in the world. Anyone who learns some of the methods and strategies will supercharge their combative arsenal. However, remember that you have neither the the viciousness or deadly intent of the criminal who kills and maims with a blade; nor his formative experiences seeing people knifed to death in front of you. In making a Martial Art of Piper one still has a skill far in advance of most martial artists, but you've removed some of the sting. It now has a name, a syllabus, a grading structure when before it had children learning it in dark alleys and scarred adult survivors.