Modern Day Kerambit User or... Something else?
Jun. 28th, 2007 | 09:33 am
Kerambit training these days is done in all sorts of environments. DVDs and pictures and video clips show guys in rural mountainous areas, in driveways in urban cities, in Karate schools, and in nice cozy martial arts academies or in the countries of origin, like Indonesia or Malaysia. I believe an important question to ask yourself as a modern day Kerambit practitioner, where do you live, and IF you had to apply the skills of your Kerambit, where do you practice, and HOW do you practice?
Me? I live in NYC. If I go to the local area park, I feel like i'm in the wilderness. When I lived in the country down in rural Florida, my girlfriend at the time used to laugh at all the armament I used to carry, as I was not used to snakes of the animal kind, and only the human type was known to me. When I lived down there, I stuck out like a sore thumb. She called me the Northern Yankee Short Fake Chinese Man, and my dress and appearance sure didn't fit in when we'd go to the flea markets and such selling used toilets and used guns, and things. A very far cry from the neighborhoods I knew comfortably.
The point is, perhaps for the vast majority of Kerambit users there is only so many ways to cut and thrust. But folks who decide to really delve into this art come to learn there is so much MORE out there that this tool is capable of doing. To fully realize the potential of the Kerambit and to make it a true part of one's lifestyle or application, you'll need to ask, can i do what I train where I live, in its given environment and wearing the clothes i'd normally be wearing whether it be at work or at a party. I don't see too many guys walking around the streets of NYC in Karate uniforms or in traditional Indonesian dress as an example.
I believe it is important to recognize a tool's cultural origins and to respect it. I think it is important to also respect where we are and where we live and how we train for today's world and the environment that we're interacting in.
Me? I live in NYC. If I go to the local area park, I feel like i'm in the wilderness. When I lived in the country down in rural Florida, my girlfriend at the time used to laugh at all the armament I used to carry, as I was not used to snakes of the animal kind, and only the human type was known to me. When I lived down there, I stuck out like a sore thumb. She called me the Northern Yankee Short Fake Chinese Man, and my dress and appearance sure didn't fit in when we'd go to the flea markets and such selling used toilets and used guns, and things. A very far cry from the neighborhoods I knew comfortably.
The point is, perhaps for the vast majority of Kerambit users there is only so many ways to cut and thrust. But folks who decide to really delve into this art come to learn there is so much MORE out there that this tool is capable of doing. To fully realize the potential of the Kerambit and to make it a true part of one's lifestyle or application, you'll need to ask, can i do what I train where I live, in its given environment and wearing the clothes i'd normally be wearing whether it be at work or at a party. I don't see too many guys walking around the streets of NYC in Karate uniforms or in traditional Indonesian dress as an example.
I believe it is important to recognize a tool's cultural origins and to respect it. I think it is important to also respect where we are and where we live and how we train for today's world and the environment that we're interacting in.
Observation Skills
Jun. 27th, 2007 | 09:57 am
How critical do we need to be when we develop our skills of observation? When we watch different video clips, what is the point of YOUR eye's focus? As we improve in our technology and our understanding of the application of skills, we begin to look for both the good characteristics and the negative things that a person's movments will reveal to us.
Any type of kinetic activity, otherwise known as a movement, will be compromised by ANY weakness along the chain of its skeletal structure. When using a tool like a Kerambit, when we are moving in free space without obstruction we can get away with alot of error, and fortunately for the vast majority of practitioners, 95% of the population will never notice or be cognizant of obvious weaknesses and flaws in technique.
The remaining 5% of skilled and knowledgeable practitioners note and monitor the weaknesses of others. In real time, impact, cut resistance, body response, and tissue detoriation and compromise, all will act and pose difficulties for the unskilled technician trying to apply the skills that he or she believes she has. Always seek to remove ANY weak links in the chain of skeletal structure supporting the movement you are trying to execute.
Any type of kinetic activity, otherwise known as a movement, will be compromised by ANY weakness along the chain of its skeletal structure. When using a tool like a Kerambit, when we are moving in free space without obstruction we can get away with alot of error, and fortunately for the vast majority of practitioners, 95% of the population will never notice or be cognizant of obvious weaknesses and flaws in technique.
The remaining 5% of skilled and knowledgeable practitioners note and monitor the weaknesses of others. In real time, impact, cut resistance, body response, and tissue detoriation and compromise, all will act and pose difficulties for the unskilled technician trying to apply the skills that he or she believes she has. Always seek to remove ANY weak links in the chain of skeletal structure supporting the movement you are trying to execute.
Kerambits and Humidity
Jun. 27th, 2007 | 09:38 am
Training outside yesterday was brutal. A very hot and very humid day, the sweat was dripping off my body and was making retention on the Kerambit difficult. Walking about and training while the blade was sheathed on my person was also difficult as I was very much aware of how much sweat was being absorbed by my sheath and blade, and the hot and humid conditions was clearly making me uncomfortable.
When our clothes are wet and damp, our carry equipment sometimes becomes more outlined. If you observe someone being fidgety and fussing with different parts of their person, you have to wonder what is there. Maintenance of the Kerambit becomes an issue, as we consider what type of steel are we using, how often is maintenance performed on your equipment, what biological aftereffects of training linger upon our sheath and blade and attachment devices? Can this become unpleasant, or leave a tell-tale stimulus that is unwanted?
While trying to be somewhat funny and somewhat light-spirited this morning, i've mentioned some serious considerations that need to be addressed if one is serious about their equipment. Proper selection of blade steels, positioning, sheathing, and handling are critical to consider in relation to one's environment. Just some food for thought.
When our clothes are wet and damp, our carry equipment sometimes becomes more outlined. If you observe someone being fidgety and fussing with different parts of their person, you have to wonder what is there. Maintenance of the Kerambit becomes an issue, as we consider what type of steel are we using, how often is maintenance performed on your equipment, what biological aftereffects of training linger upon our sheath and blade and attachment devices? Can this become unpleasant, or leave a tell-tale stimulus that is unwanted?
While trying to be somewhat funny and somewhat light-spirited this morning, i've mentioned some serious considerations that need to be addressed if one is serious about their equipment. Proper selection of blade steels, positioning, sheathing, and handling are critical to consider in relation to one's environment. Just some food for thought.
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