[CalledDownLight]

I'm taking bat. I'm also not going to stand with my feet planted waiting for the guy with the knife to run at me nor try to backpedal away from an initial blow. I'm gonna move toward the guy with the knife and control how far I am from him instead of him lurking just outside my range and waiting for a spot to jet in. Also, you can get off a swing in under a second and, although a knife is faster, if I hit you then its gonna slow you down enough for me to reload and swing again. You're at least going to be knocked off balance even if you protect yourself with an arm. Once either fighter becomes somewhat immobile the fight is over. Killing the person won't be an issue at this point.

Your untrained fighters aren't going to know how to best deflect a bat blow and aren't going to have good enough balance or grappling skills to get and stay in close. The people who have taken martial arts or even the people who end up in street fights aren't in the norm. Most guys have a few fights as kids or teens and never fight during adulthood. Take 2 random guys and there's no way the guy with the knife can even execute the type of strategy you all are proposing while it is pretty easy for anyone to figure out that its best to swing a bat when they are just inside your range.