Karambit Kraze: Knife Madness
The karambit craze is prominent and undeniable today and it's understandable with the karambit being one of the most popular knives in FMA and South Eastern Asian martial arts. It's especially popular amongst tactical communities and even just regular people who think knives are neat. This is proof that entire masses of people can all simultaneously fall for something so far from the truth such as, "The karambit is one of the deadliest weapons," or "The karambit is one of the most effective self-defense knives."
Well, it is a weapon, you have to give them that. Except that's not necessarily true either. As we know, the karambit began as an agricultural or farming tool, which then was adopted into the category of "weapon" later on. Like many agricultural tools turned into weaponry, it's efficiency really shines when used for its original purpose when compared to the latter. Even the widely feared machete doesn't come close to it's battle-ready counter part, the sword. When choosing between a machete and a miraculous sword, the machete doesn't even come close, just as the karambit can't truly compete with the standard straight blade fighting knife. Not only is the design itself flawed (which we will get into), but even if you can use one properly this requires several different skills sets that are not acquired easily. Part of the karambit's flaw as a fighting weapon is not even in its design, but in the fact that its role as a weapon is often misinterpreted or simply not known to the wielder. Of course, that is something that's going to be covered, so if at the end of the day you're one of those committed (crazy) karambit lovers that chooses to continue using them, then you'll at least know how to use it the way it was intended.
First off, the idea of the karambit as a weapon is believed to mimic the idea of a tiger's claw. Yes, claw. As in just one. Tiger's have multiple claws, along with several other critical attributes that we don't have, which is crucial here, as we are just frail men (or women) in comparison to the king of the jungle. When you add up their massive fangs, bite power, physical strength, scary fast mobility, and preternatural reflexes, it makes sense why the misconception of having one feature installed into a knife from one of the world's deadliest creatures would make it "one of the world's deadliest knives." Though we have to use that extra bit of brain juice we keep hidden under our overflowing knife collection and take into consideration how exactly a tiger kills and what it's claws are really meant for. Which is? Capturing. That's right, if you have seen or ever done any studies on tigers and how they hunt, then you know the main purpose of the claws are for capturing and gripping it's prey while it goes in for the final blow. It's paws are occupied though, which means its fearsome claws can't slice its prey's neck wide open the way many of you vividly daydream of in your karambit vs bad guy shower fantasies. Good thing the massive feline has a set of very large fangs that clamp down with 1000 PSI of force to easily pierce and snap most creature's necks. So there you have it, the fiercest tool in the tiger's jungle kit is its mouth, not it's claws. This is where we can start to understand and discuss how this relates to the proper use of a karambit.
No, no one is about to tell you start clamping on people's necks as primary form of combat. Besides, at 120-160 PSI bite force for human's, it really can't compare to the famed jungle king. The fighting ancients of Southeast Asia understood this as well. The ancients knew much. They also knew using a karambit would not mean treating it like a normal knife or using it in standard "out" fighting maneuvers. "Out" meaning long-range or largo. Within the trapping range, however, the karambit was a perfect blend for their specialized fighting methods of entering close and trapping the upper and lower limbs with the aid of the curved knife. This is the proper way. The karambit was not a weapon for staying outside the adversaries range and repelling them or finishing them at a distance. Just as the tiger moved in, captured, stretched, and contorted with it's claws, so did the expert karambit user. This is why the karambit is also such a horrible choice for "self-defense." The goal there is to get away, survive, keep the baddie away, or to finish the encounter swiftly. The karambit's design is not meant for such things naturally and actually does the opposite much of the time when treated like a normal knife. It will automatically hook, snag, and bring things toward you, or bring you in to them even if it does hurt the adversary a bit. This also means any normal slash or cut you make can easily do the minimal damage you could have done with a knife designed for self-defense. Your movements will also be impeded or disrupted very quickly. Why? Because, as we established, the karambit is a capturing, hooking, and trapping weapon. It's job is to get caught or "stuck" on its target. This is actually easy to test with a dummy and jacket. Try a few passes, but be careful, because many people have fumbled their knife or damaged their finger within the karambit ring. Keep in mind the trajectory begins to change all over as well and they end up slicing themselves in the process all while the dummy and jacket are smugly watching with superficial wounds, if any.
“Yeah, but its cuts do devastating damage, I've seen it!” Yeah, sure, maybe on a stationary piece of meat, gel dummy, or jugs of liquid. Those cuts are also done for demonstration with power slashes that wouldn't even hit a moving target because their so damn slow (in regards to knife fighting). They sure as hell wouldn't hit a good knife fighter unless he fell asleep at your feet. The reality is you're going to be fighting a target that’s moving and trying to open or destroy any part of you it can with its own deadly weapon. Which, is the counter to another argument often heard - "If I slash a vital target it'll work just fine." Maybe. As we just stated, this target isn't just going to let you and due to the design of the blade, you've sacrificed your reach and you've also lost the ability to thrust. Key word thrust. Those little pin pokes you can do with some karambits don't compare to a true and devastating thrust, which is how you would normally reach those vital targets while fight in largo. You are now once again forced to enter (safely and properly) into the close range and successfully perform your traps or limb immobilizations to achieve your finish, which will be done with your karambit if it is free to do so, or through any of your devastating submissions that you spent years learning. It is a specialist's weapon, meaning to use it at its maximum efficiency the user requires a preexisting set of skills and abilities that are generally trained for a long time. Seems like a lot? It is. If you remember, in the beginning it was stated that one of the karambit's major issues is the amount of expertise it requires. This is what we are trying to grasp. Can it work though even if you're not specially trained? Possibly, but hopefully by now the gears on turning in your brain and autonomy is being stirred within you.
One more time for good measure, the biggest ability you want to develop to use a karambit like a professional is your trapping range fighting. Trapping range fighting requires dedication and commitment to fighting in that manner. You can't half ass this. Trapping range fighting on it's own is a specialist's way of operating and many people fail to achieve the ability to do so. Emphasize weapon based trapping methods and drills. The drills are CRITICAL. Many FMA and Silat practitioners neglect much of their own systems and the concepts that are critical to operating efficiently in that range. They’re also SLOW AS HELL. Yes, many of you are moving like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz and plodding around. Grease that shit up. Your flow drills are your grease! They should make up fifty percent if not more of your actual training and practice. This why many give up on the trapping arts and can't achieve proper traps in real timing (even in a dojo or training setting). Step up the a higher level and realize you are capable. It is not the man that is falling short here, but the methods of training. Train right and the results will be apparent. Never forget that the knife, ESPECIALLY within the trapping range, must be nimble, swift, and precise. This is now a game of skill and practiced knowledge. To operate within these close and deadly ranges requires lots of flight time and flying right. Like a plane simulator. If you don’t get your hours in, well, it shows real quick and in this game second chances are rare.
If your one of those guys that is of the blade and sees no value in trapping methods then stick to training on how to fight “out," which also means you should be using a weapon that is designed for that very objective aka NOT A KARAMBIT. As many of us know, it’s better and safer for multiple reasons to fight “out” anyways. Don’t rush in and get killed, take them out from proper fighting measure or lead them into their own fate or your choosing. Smart fighting is good fighting in these games. The stupid ones die first.
At the end of the day, the karambit is still less effective than other knives. There’s a reason why most top notch knife fighters and experts never or rarely choose a Karambit as their so called EDC. Sure they will use them to demonstrate and maybe even advocate them, but watch what they really operate with and why. The reality is the karambit is not the worst but it’s not the best, there’s far better on the scale. Karambit sits very low on the small weapons scale and even lower on the grand scheme of weapons.
You might think that there's a hate for karambits here, yet this is actually not that case. They are in fact very neat, fun, and still a knife (sort of). Their enjoyable novelty and the attributes they can help people develop in a fun manner should be taken into consideration. They also do offer perfecting precision to a degree, mostly learning how not to cut yourself. Keep the first aid kit close. There has been multiple people over the years that have come to me to specially learn about the proper use of the karambit and nothing else. While they turn out to be decent with it, in the end they also realize it’s time to return to reality and choose a better weapon for their goals. It's also daunting to them when they realize learning a bit of karambit concepts can only take you so far. Without the ability to use levers and your submissions, or traps, once you’ve captured your adversary with your “claw", you’ve now got a bomb you can’t disarm. The booby trap did its job and trapped the boob. (Surprise! It’s you!)
At the end of the day it’s all deadly, but so is the sharpened end of a toothbrush. Sure, it works, but the goal is to use what works GREAT and not to conform to the collective misinterpretations of your communities and sacrifice logic or wisdom just because something might be “cool” or you're offended by logic and reason. Just because everyone believes it, doesn’t make it true. Pave the path to higher levels of understanding as the ancients intended. Everyone today is a supposed Guro or Certified Teacher, yet the gaps in their resumes are clear. Knowing is only a fraction of the art. Remember, there were no ranks. There was only skill and the ones who could do or not do. Doing is the next phase. Being capable is the last. This is nothing to be ashamed of, however. The shame is when these well meaning or not so well meaning people (we all know them) preach their stepping stone ideologies as gospels while knowing they’re missing the mark. Just like a fruit, it’s all still just in its growth process, plucked too early to be edible. There is no shame in to opening yourself up to continuous and higher learning for the better of the arts or your students. Your rank or certification are not the end goal. Many times we find out it’s just the starting line of the marathon. So start running, motherfucker. The clock's ticking.
