I (21f) am 5’5" and skinny. I recently attended a self-defense class, and there I was tought how to use a pocket knife. And as I have some male friends 6’5"+ tall, I thought that that height actually makes your belly particularly vulnerable in case of a fight (in comparisson with short people):
- a short person’s shoulder height is around the same level as your belly making it easier to stab/hit;
- your belly is proportionally a larger target.
And in general, if a 6’5"+ guy stands in front of me with his stomach released (even if he has just a bit of a belly) it feels like having an exposed, large and squishy punching/stabbing bag right in front of me, into which, if needed, I can easily harshly and deeply plunge anything straight away.
I also practice historical fencing (rapier) and most of the times I stab tall opponents into the belly - my favorite thrusts are ducking counterattacks when I duck while they attack, go low and impale a tall guy’s unprotected belly right onto my rapier.
What do you think about it?
I don’t know about knives, but in fencing sword, the first target is the hand and arm, not the belly. The hand is as close to you though for any size of your opponent.
A tall opponent has a longer reach, so that is what you need to be wary of in fencing. It means it does have a advantage to attack. But once the blades crossed, the advantage is gone, and the you have the advantage bellow your taller opponent. Because you have more room for movement in the two blades space than your opponent. You are committed there though, because getting away from the situation will be harder.