Miguel's Musings

Aluminium Karambit, Ontario Gen II SP 52, and a Kris

I took the day to work on some Kali independently for a change. My sticks are out in the car which is in -4C weather, and I had these “training tools” available so I picked em up and trained a little. Here are some workout notes and observations.

Using the Kris and the Gen II SP 52, I repeated a number of regular sinawali patterns. I started with a heaven sinawali, Kris in one hand Gen 2 SP 52 in the other. After a time, I switched hands so that both sides of my body would be exposed to the weight and balance of the Kris. Then I switched to reverse uppercutting sinawali, again doing the drill for a while and switching the hands that the blades were in for balance’s sake. Then I did a one side multiple hitting drill, which was particularly perilous because the blades have to pass each other  on their way to the target. Poor timing or tiredness would’ve lead to a cleanly shaved off thumb.

In training with the Kris, I noticed a few things. One, as always, it’s easier to choke up on the handle to decrease the weight and increase the speed. Though unconciously, I found my significantly weaker left arm sneaking up to the hilt of the blade during training. Second, the edge definitely needs careful attention, specifically when the Kris is chambered in the hip position. If care is not taken to flatten this double-edged blade when in the chambered position, one can easily slice one’s obliques out. Third, that guard is pointy.

Kris Guard next to the scratch in my shoulder.

Even though I wasn’t moving very quickly, a chambering back to my shoulder position when the handle wasn’t choked up in my hand led to a few scratches in my shoulder. Nothing major but at high speeds could be worse.

Finally, I ended out the training session with a heaven sinawali and “shadow” knifetapping using the karambit. I focused mostly on keeping the “box” where the sinawali was able to move. Smaller box meant smaller movements and quicker rechamber and firing. It wasn’t the cleanest of technique, especially once speed began to ramp up.

A kind of random note as well, the Gen 2 SP 52 had much worse tactile directional feedback than the Kris did. Because the Gen 2 SP 52 is made with a simplified Kraton handle, and also not really designed for fighting at the training level I was working at, it was difficult to tell exactly where the edge of the blade was facing when swinging. I had to repeatedly readjust where the blade edge was in my hand in order to line up with my swing. Although, this could also be because I’m a bit out of practice and all my angles were screwy, not leaving that out as a possibility here either.

I plan on doing another post on the Kris before returning it to it’s owner. One with a more detailed breakdown of the Kris and its properties, just wanted to get these things jotted down before I forget. Also, not the most difficult workout this week, but important training. Thanks for reading!