What does Starfleet crews use for hand to hand combat ?

[Can]

I realized that in Starfleet crews have a severe disadvange for close combat. Klingons have Bath'lets and knives , Dominion troops have bayonets , even Romulans have blades. Does Federation soldiers have anything similar like that ? Only thing close to it was the blade Reese used in "Siege of AR-..." episode during Season 7.

 

[14thDoctor]

Maybe they're trained in pistol-whipping enemies with their phasers?

 

[Timo]

To be sure, we almost exclusively see Starfleet starship crews in combat. Their equipment might be drastically different from that of Starfleet ground fighters.

But I gather it's a doctrinal issue, mainly. To allow the enemy to reach bayonet range would mean defeat already in the Starfleet doctrine, so there's no point in distributing bayonets. The average phaser-wielding Starfleet warrior is analogous to a heavy machine gunner: his task is to kill everybody at medium ranges already, and the lethality of his weapon grows to damn near 100% at close ranges. He can stop entire armies of bayonet-armed enemies at the push of a trigger, much as in "The Omega Glory". It's his own damn fault if he lets somebody proceed from medium through short to point blank range!

A hand phaser should be the ultimate close combat weapon. It has none of the shortcomings of today's firearms in this respect: it's not so long and clumsy as a rifle, assault rifle or submachine gun that it could be knocked aside in a melee, and it's not limited in ammo like a handgun. You don't even need to hold it in a specific way to be able to safely fire it, as there is no recoil or ejection of casings.

What advantage might a knife have over a hand phaser? The only one I can think of is that a phaser fired at extreme proximity just might harm the good guy, too. Witness "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" and the suicide-murder by Andrea the Android.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[MrPointy]

The Feds have knives, I don't know if they're designed for combat though; see Nog's comment about that guy's knife in AR-558.

Maybe the Kirk-fu they are trained in is that good.

 

[Kegek]

Bat'leths are unwieldly and pointless. The Klingons may be warriors, but the reason they haven't conquered anyone important is probably due to this idiotic strategy of theirs.

 

[Photon]

Quantum boxing gloves and Triphotonic Body Armor

 

[anti-matter]

I always saw that as a disadvantage as well but going back to TOS it looks like the FED demands a certain degree of proficiency in hand to hand combat.

 

[Delta1]

Timo said:It's his own damn fault if he lets somebody proceed from medium through short to point blank range!

Or the ECM officer's fault, for letting the transporter inhibitors fail. Or the ECCM officer's fault, for letting the enemy sneak in a duonetic field generator, or not knowing that the enemy uses personal cloaking fields. But these incidents are probably rare enough that Starfleet finds it cost-effective to just ignore them.

What advantage might a knife have over a hand phaser?

You can use a knife to cut an improvised bandage, open a container, construct a snare, or kill an enemy silently, in the dark, and with no EM or subspace signature.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Lightsaber cheese knives.

 

[shatastrophic]

For the most part their razor sharp sideburns. But, they are trained to use their opponent's weapons. Take out one opponent with phaser, take out remaining opponents with dead opponent's weapon. Dont forget the double clutch punch and flying kick. Also they can throw themselves in a lateral postion toward and enemy in order to take them out. They are also trained to have a very theatrical fall when they are kicked or punched as to confuse the opponent into thinking "Did I hit them that hard". This distraction gives them enough time to pounce.

 

[Jack Bauer]

I think the karate chop to the back of the neck works pretty well. JUst look at any episode of TOS.

 

[HRHTheKING]

I'm sure Starfleet could create a blade weapon for their personnel. Consult the Klingons for further development.

 

[nx1701g]

I don't think that it was ever expressly stated what they use for close quarters combat. In the RPG books though there are passing references to stun batons.

 

[Sisu]

Don't they use their hands?

 

[Timo]

You can use a knife to cut an improvised bandage, open a container, construct a snare..

..All more efficiently achieved with a phaser, as seen a couple of times. Why, you can both open the tin and cook the contents with one shot!

..or kill an enemy silently, in the dark, and with no EM or subspace signature.

I wonder if a silent phaser could be manufactured?

As a defensive weapon, the hand phaser would seem to beat knife on all counts. But stealth attack seems to call for a different approach. Then again, stealth attack is probably Not The Starfleet Way.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Delta1]

Timo said:

You can use a knife to cut an improvised bandage, open a container, construct a snare..

..All more efficiently achieved with a phaser, as seen a couple of times. Why, you can both open the tin and cook the contents with one shot!

Not if you're trying to work quietly, in the dark, with no EM or subspace signature. (Have we ever seen a phaser used to cut everyday materials? They seem to go right from "stun" to "burn" with no "cut" setting.)

As a defensive weapon, the hand phaser would seem to beat knife on all counts. But stealth attack seems to call for a different approach. Then again, stealth attack is probably Not The Starfleet Way.

As a simple side-arm, of course the phaser is superior. It even has some survival applications, when it isn't out of power or jammed. But if you want a lightweight multipurpose tool, suitable for use in any environment, with minimal maintenance requirements, and functional as a defensive weapon when needed, you want something with a blade.

 

[OmarB]

I seem to remember Riker usually leading a class in "Anbo-juitsu" on TNG. It looked pretty ridiculous to me being in marital arts for almost 20 years now. But then Riker usually holds his own.

 

[Korczynski]

OmarB said:
I seem to remember Riker usually leading a class in "Anbo-juitsu" on TNG. It looked pretty ridiculous to me being in marital arts for almost 20 years now. But then Riker usually holds his own.

I've only been in the marital arts for a few years and my wife and I try to avoid hand to hand combat

From what we've seen the Starfleet crews tend to do pretty well in hand to hand combat without bladed weapons. Just ask the Klingons on Deep Space Station K7...

 

[Blueicus]

Really, with the double-barrel fist attack, who needs Batleths or switchblades or clubs with nails sticking out of them?