What Jerry said about kerambits and the military.

Walking Man

Walking Man

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Jerry wrote this:
"For many who lie in harms way, the War Boar is the most usefull design that we have offered to date. We have many, many orders from soldiers who are in the mix right now and have been filling their orders all along."
It is my understanding that kerambit requires pretty specific training. Is the military doing that these days or this just the request of individual soldiers? The only reason I'm asking is because I'd find it surprising if the military started teaching kerambit hand to hand combat after so many years of using more convention knife fighting techniques......
I also imagine that kerambit training may be limited to a very few select troops.... like special forces, etc.
Anyone have the inside scoop? (JWBirch, are you out there?)
 
They don't train regular infantry much in the way of knife fighting techniques, if you go to ranger school you get an hour or so with a bayonet. Not much personal experience with active SF, but I know my friend in the guard said they've never gotten any they've just been trained to combatives level 3. I'm sure there are individuals who train on their own or perhpas teams go in for training together.
 
The more training that soldiers are given for killing up close, the more effective their conditioning for killing at distance becomes.

Many armies are rethinking the amount and extent of CQC training that soldiers should be given, because sufficient distance to do the job in the way it used to be done is les and less common.
 
I have trained in and taught the kerambit for several years. We even have a few vids out. It is very specific. One of the pluses is the ability to still be able to grab onto things with the weapon hand as the ring will keep it from dropping. I still prefer the straight drop point of a knife but then again I have never handled a War Boar.

To my knowledge it is not taught as a regular part of any military curriculum but what do I know. I have seen where certain people are invited to teach specific groups and I have also seen individules go seek out the training on their own.

Most of the kerambits (many spellings for this word) that I have seen are very small. I would love to try out a war boar. What a beast it must be.

Are those things shipping now or are they just taking orders? I may have to snatch one up.
 
I don't really think you need much specialized training to use a kerambit. Maybe to be an expert, sure- but to grab it in your hand and cut with it? no way. It is just a curved knife! the addition of the Ring is what makes it a kerambit.

How does a ring suddenly make the knife difficult to use?

Answer: it doesn't.

Use it as you would any hawkbill knife, and you have a fine utility knife. Slash with it if necessary for self defense. Pretty basic. If you want to learn martial arts to fight more effectively with the knife, that's great- many people also practice martial arts with bowies or daggers or swords. If someone tells me one of these will be useless without special training, I would just laugh.
Only reason I am not getting a WB is those three little letters I love so much. . .

FBM.
 
I'm not sure that the military has specific criteria in teaching hand-to-hand combat. I have heard, read and seen various situations. When I did basic in "85" at FT. Knox, we received daily instruction in grappling, boxing style and lots of bayonet training (off and on weapon). I actually picked up my ways of handling my blades from my 1st Seargent, who liked to spin his blade alot. He told us about a knife that was like a dinosaur claw and how it worked, but it was from overseas and not very popular here in the states. I suppose he was talking about the kerambit. My father was a Vietnam era S.E.A.L., and he said in his training he was taught next to nothing about knife fighting, but rather more in Judo styles of grappling and fighting. I met a couple of his buddies that were in the teams, and they were trained heavily with knives and even machetes. A good friend of mine as a young man, was a Ranger in Vietnam. He said they trained them with Bowies in Basic, and he was more than proficient with it.
 
RF: to pick up and use the kerambit, or any knife, no one needs any training. What I was referring to were the "systems" and/or "techniques" that have been developed. Such as Silat. So the specific training needed to use a kerambit would be the training needed to use it "their" way. Interesting systems but not needed to "use" it.

However, I bet there are some very specific tasks the War Boar can perform/handle that others can not.

A simple benefit of the ring would be retention. You could roll with someone and have a better chance in retaining your blade. I don't think the ring makes it any more difficult to use. Just my 2 cents. Hopefully some of our military guys and gals can chime in on this.

I still prefer the drop point, straight blade as the knife is primarily a tool for me.

But you are correct. My 3 year old could reek havoc with one. My dogs would live in fear. I would live in fear. ;)
 
I have seen first hand what a hawk billed carpet knife can do in the hands of a complete amateur. It was very bad. Small blade, devastating result.
 
Knife-fu aside...

What advantages might the WB have -vs- a straight blade w/o a finger hole as a tool. Any disadvantages? Or just preference?
:)
 
I have seen first hand what a hawk billed carpet knife can do in the hands of a complete amateur. It was very bad. Small blade, devastating result.
 
Army training is sporadic at best, and I can't speak for the other services. 1st SF group has received instruction from Kelly Woorden, but I don't know if blades are part of his course of instruction. 5th group has a good judo and mixed martial arts program, but again, no knives to my knowledge. Some of the Ranger Battalions also have/had good programs, I've met some who were able to train and others who didn't. Note that these aren't generally programs that troops are required to take all the time. And if they are required to take them then it is for a short duration, then they deploy again. They generally focus on basics, as muscle memory is the only surviving aspect of these programs.

Most units get nothing in the way of unarmed martial arts training.

As to the war boar, it is a lethal design. I know of one story where a guy had a punk on his back, pulled a Strider Kerambit, and opened the guy up from pelvis to sternum. Instinct may be better than training if you have poor training or insufficient muscle memory. Worked for that guy. Close in I'd expect a Kerambit to be more maneuverable and lethal than a Steel Heart, especially with it's flying serrations up top. I've got one on order, for what that's worth.

Another thing is that big knives are losing favor, although inappropriately so. Guys don't use their big knives for 3 or 4 missions, and just put them away. Sometimes you can get away with this, I don't recommend it. When you need a big knife, few other things will compensate, and those things won't be around either. But a small or medium sturdy fixed blade is better than no blade. And if the guys are getting into some nasty s$^t in some of the more urban environments overseas, then I think the War Boar is a pretty good choice. Hopefully in Okuden kydex.

Finally, the WB means a troop can get INFI for $187 (possibly less, but that's between Jerry and the troops). That's important stuff when HOGLEFSHs are over $500. My first Busse would have been $187 if I hadn't requested some niceties on it. And even then Jerry made sure I paid the "appropriate" amount. Powerful stuff for a guy on enlisted pay. People tend to remember that sort of thing when they get rich and all hogged out later in life. Someday...:D
 
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