Simple Training on the Kukri

[Texian Pistolero]

Digging through old boxes,

I found an old store of edged weapons from my army days.

One is a kukri (Ghurka) blade.

As I recall, when I bought it,

it was touted as "British Army issue".

I don't know if this is true ot not,
but it is good steel, robustly made if not finely finished.

Stout leather sheath.

Is there any simple training on how to use this tool?

I don't care about any tradition (if you pull it, it must taste blood) nonsense.

I'm talking about a simple training regimen.

I see this as a finely designed hand ax,rather than a knife.

My current concept is to simply whip it out and go postal, making sure no personal body parts are in the arc of swing.

Comments?

 

[mete]

I love my kukris.The british army was issued them for jungle use so there is a standard pattern for that.It is a jungle knife that is it's purpose . Of course it can be used for other things. As far as I know the Gurhkas never had any formal training for it's use as a weapon.

 

[El Tejon]

Would think any FMA instructor couple with forearm/grip exercises could get you started.

 

[MrMurphy]

Hack down and forward. For beheading your enemy, go sideways. Think of it as a short, curved machete and use it the same way, because the Kukri was a farming tool before it was a weapon.

 

[bcochran]

kukuri

I studied under a Ghurka who, as of a few years ago, was still instructing US troops. He is a vet of WWII. Over 200 kills. He gave a workshop in Orange County. The movements are basically the same as in other knife and stick fighting.

He demonstrated a technique used at Tobruk (WWII to you younger guys) wherein he and his squad decapitated 40 German soldiers and caused two battallions to surrender., for example.

 

[Sodbuster]

caused two battallions to surrender

Reminds me of a thread I read awhile back over at the Himalayan Imports forum at bladesforum.com. I think it was in Singapore just a couple years ago some people were fixin' to riot and cause problems. Police or paramilitary around with rifles, crowd didn't disperse. A squad of Gurkhas showed up with only their kukris. The crown disappeared.

 

[victory]

The cold steel special projects catalouge just showed up at my door in time for christmas. Ghurka Kukri's on special.

 

[Specter]

I have several Kukris

Ontario Kukri

Military Issue Ghurka

And a Cold Steel LTC Kukri

The LTC is a vastly superior blade in balance and wieldability, and its better lookin too!

 

[JShirley]

I started w/ a Cold Steel kukuri, but since I bought my first Himalayan Imports kuk (a WW II), I've never bought another Cold Steel product.

I have purchased another 10 or 12 HI pieces.

Take your kuk out and chop some brush with it. You'll quickly learn how to use it. Also, check out the HI forum at BladeForums.com for more info on kuks.

John

 

[Jim March]

For historical interest: it started out as a weapon, then turned into a combination weapon/farm implement, with regional variations "trending" towards weapon or tool use.

The "original" was brought to Northern India by a guy name of Alexander. Dunno how "Great" he was. In any case, his army's main weapon was the spear; their backup sword was a forward-curved bit of nasty that also spawned the Falcata.

Once the basic design got to Nepal, the grip was improved in ways that allowed steady wood chopping...it was rendered "springy" by both the tang and grip design - the hollow wood one-piece grip was filled with a glue that retained some "shock absorber" properties. A good Nepalese Khuk is a better tool than one of the Cold Steel copies.

I own one khukuri - it's a Himalayan Imports "visiting kami program" one-off, relatively light and straight, 21" overall...not all that far off at least in length and heft to what Alexander's army carried, and clearly a weapon first, tool second.

 

[Jim March]

Oh, as to martial arts use:

There is an MA native to that region called "Bando". It's a cousin of the Indonesian Silat and various Philipino arts like Kali...most of which stress constant footwork in conjunction with the blade action.

As one example: hold a khukuri straight up overhead. Now drop your weight, bend your knees and step backwards and to the side at a 45deg. angle to an imaginary incoming assailant, while chopping down. Your motion "pulls the blade" right through an arc, adding power and speed while at the same time effectively dodging an incoming attack. Now keep the blade in motion - let it flow downwards from that strike (assume a miss), step sideways hard while moving the blade across in the same direction you're cutting.

(IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP: as the blade moves down past horizontal after a clear miss, twist your grip so it's traveling spine-first past your knees. This also sets your wrist up properly for either another chop or a backhand slash or whatever.)

You'll feel a "flow" going on - the movement patterns add to the blade's effectiveness while providing a moving target. ALL the bladework is like that, it ain't "stand and chop".

Doesn't have to be a human assailant. The Himalayan foothills have bears about the same size and aggressiveness as a North American Black Bear, which means they don't *usually* attack but they can. More than one has met it's end by khukuri by this exact method - back-and-side-step while chopping hard to the neck.

 

[Texian Pistolero]

Sounds like I need to find some local real estate agent with some light brush clearing on local acreage, and get for free what I would otherwise pay hard money for!

I recall that some ex-navy SEAL out of Cali has a video out on the use of the machete in a simple horizontal figure eight pattern.

Makes sense to me.

Main idea is to recover from a hard chop- without trimming any precious body parts.

 

[bcochran]

khukuri

The motions are the same as in stick fighting or folder knife motions.

It is just as important to learn how to avod being hit or stuck.

It is a matter of muscle memory. Smooth is fast. Watching a video may communicate a concept. However, it will not give muscle memory.

Despite a warning that someone would be hurt on the first draw, a woman cut herself so badly that she was out with the first draw. This underscores that you learn by doing under close instruction.

The basic movements can be mastered quite easily in about 5 - 7 intensive days. The key though is tracking, stalking and silent movement at night. That takes longer.

The Ghurka records indicate that they would inflict 8 casualties for every one they took. SF gets about 120 according to my trainer because they use firearms. When you consider that most military contacts are at night and within 20 feet, a Ghurka is not really at a disadvantage.

 

[captlid]

its called a kopis

a modern example can be found here
http://therionarms.com/sold/therionarms_t428.html