- Joined
- Sep 11, 2002
- Messages
- 3,548
A long ways back Uncle Bill had a "half off" deal on WW2 villagers. I picked one up, thinking I could use a beater.
The "beater" as usual was better-looking than many other full-price khukuris. I liked the balance, and I used it for etching practice, sharpening practice, and chopping down the odd treeling.
WARNING: This is NOT meant to be instruction, so please don't attempt any of these vaguely described moves without proper instruction, unless you sign an affadavit saying you don't care if you cut your own legs off.
Today I finally got a lesson in khukuris from my Bando instructor. He got a 6x6" beam for me to chop on, and I practiced the snap of the wrist that makes a quick chop that is easily retracted. Since I have some experience with the "sweet spot" on a khuk, the learning curve wasn't that steep for the basic moves.
In Kachin Bando (not A.B.A.) the khuk is held with the index and middle fingers loose, the thumb along the spine, and the pinky and ring finger snug below the "ring" on the handle. This allows for a quick "snap" motion an quick retrieval, since the lower 2 fingers "dig" the horn of the pommel into the heel of your palm and lever it there. The thumb stops the blade from coming back too far on the retrieval snap/yank.
I was so used to holding tight with the TOP 2 fingers that this was unintuitive to me at first, but I quickly got the hang of it. I was flinging big chips of plywood all over the deck soon after. One blow is angled at the left side of the opponent's neck, the other at the right (carotid arteries).
Another snap cut uses the point of the khukuri instead of the sweet spot. I never thought of the point as being of much use until I saw this strike. It's the same "snap" but you hit with the swell of the point, and the khuk sinks right in like a hungry pitbull.
Most important is the stance and angle of the swings. In Kachin Bando we lead like a southpaw, right side forward, with the rear foot at almost a 90 degree angle to the front one, which points at the target or "center" of the opponent. This allows you to swing a khukuri at a downward angle to your left, and avoid your own leg (very important!). Same with the snap cut to the downward right,you use your own right knee to base the angle of attack, so your swing is nowhere near it.
There are backhand reverse sweeps if you miss your target, to bring up a quick defense and counterattack, to the torso or legs of the opponent. Inside we used a dull tourist khukuri to practice some infighting - counters and parries that involve using leveraging the kukri with your forearm against the neck or arm of the opponent.
The neck one was similar to the "rear naked choke" in grappling, except the kukri is subsituted for choking forearm. The curve of the khukuri with his wide spine makes it uniquely suited for these in-close moves. I brought a Movie Model khukuri was well, to show him the different design. He liked the swedge point, which makes it a much better piercer, but the length of the blade makes it difficult for infighting. I'm bringing the U.B.E.next time- that one is shorter and has a great curve to it, and I love the balance on mine. If I ever get attacked by a crowd of zombies, it will be at my side. And now I'll have an idea of what to do.
The "beater" as usual was better-looking than many other full-price khukuris. I liked the balance, and I used it for etching practice, sharpening practice, and chopping down the odd treeling.
WARNING: This is NOT meant to be instruction, so please don't attempt any of these vaguely described moves without proper instruction, unless you sign an affadavit saying you don't care if you cut your own legs off.
Today I finally got a lesson in khukuris from my Bando instructor. He got a 6x6" beam for me to chop on, and I practiced the snap of the wrist that makes a quick chop that is easily retracted. Since I have some experience with the "sweet spot" on a khuk, the learning curve wasn't that steep for the basic moves.
In Kachin Bando (not A.B.A.) the khuk is held with the index and middle fingers loose, the thumb along the spine, and the pinky and ring finger snug below the "ring" on the handle. This allows for a quick "snap" motion an quick retrieval, since the lower 2 fingers "dig" the horn of the pommel into the heel of your palm and lever it there. The thumb stops the blade from coming back too far on the retrieval snap/yank.
I was so used to holding tight with the TOP 2 fingers that this was unintuitive to me at first, but I quickly got the hang of it. I was flinging big chips of plywood all over the deck soon after. One blow is angled at the left side of the opponent's neck, the other at the right (carotid arteries).
Another snap cut uses the point of the khukuri instead of the sweet spot. I never thought of the point as being of much use until I saw this strike. It's the same "snap" but you hit with the swell of the point, and the khuk sinks right in like a hungry pitbull.
Most important is the stance and angle of the swings. In Kachin Bando we lead like a southpaw, right side forward, with the rear foot at almost a 90 degree angle to the front one, which points at the target or "center" of the opponent. This allows you to swing a khukuri at a downward angle to your left, and avoid your own leg (very important!). Same with the snap cut to the downward right,you use your own right knee to base the angle of attack, so your swing is nowhere near it.
There are backhand reverse sweeps if you miss your target, to bring up a quick defense and counterattack, to the torso or legs of the opponent. Inside we used a dull tourist khukuri to practice some infighting - counters and parries that involve using leveraging the kukri with your forearm against the neck or arm of the opponent.
The neck one was similar to the "rear naked choke" in grappling, except the kukri is subsituted for choking forearm. The curve of the khukuri with his wide spine makes it uniquely suited for these in-close moves. I brought a Movie Model khukuri was well, to show him the different design. He liked the swedge point, which makes it a much better piercer, but the length of the blade makes it difficult for infighting. I'm bringing the U.B.E.next time- that one is shorter and has a great curve to it, and I love the balance on mine. If I ever get attacked by a crowd of zombies, it will be at my side. And now I'll have an idea of what to do.
