Karambit: Exotic Weapon of the Indonesian Archipelago [Paperback]

Steve Tarini (Author), Steve Tarani (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Unique Publications (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865682062
• ISBN-13: 978-0865682061
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,559,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on this weapon, June 15, 2003

By 

magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Karambit: Exotic Weapon of the Indonesian Archipelago (Paperback)

Mr. Tarani has trained in Indonesian Silat and is one of the instructors in edged weapons tactics at the famous Gunsite training academy in Arizona, and has served as an instructor and consultant on edged weapons to many law enforcement and government agencies. He is certainly a fine, qualified instructor and he gives an excellent discussion on the history and practical use of this weapon in this book.

I only have one problem with a book like this. Obviously one book can't cover everything important on knife-fighting, but I had one comment about this, relating to primarily slashing weapons, which is what this book is about.

Although the Karambit is certainly an effective weapon, like all weapons it has its advantages and limitations. In this case, since it's a slashing weapon mainly, requiring curved, rounded strokes that travel in an arc rather than a straight line, it's inherently slower than using faster, straight strikes. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so the fastest way to traverse the distance isn't an arc.

Mr. Tarani does point out that one advantage of the Karambit is that since you can reverse the stroke each strike affords two opportunities to slash--but nevertheless, it still won't be as fast as a straight strike.

And by "straight" I'm not talking about the powerful straight thrusts such as seen in the classical karate punch--I'm referring more to what I call a "ballistic thrust," which is more like a flast flicking strike and which has more speed than power.

An opponent skilled in this type of movement will have an edge in a knife-fight with an opponent with a Karambit or similar curved weapon. I've seen this many times in tests with my own students and black belts--I found they could reach my hand, arm, or body once they were skilled in these techniques (which can take a few years to learn) more easily than I could using slashing strikes. Of course, they could use slashing strikes too if the opportunity arose. Paul Vunak, another respected instructor in knife-fighting, also makes this point in his seminars, although he approaches it from the standpoint of the Filipino rather than Indonesian martial arts--which is fine, too.

That having been said, this is an excellent book on the use of the Karambit weapon. If one sees this method as an important addition to one's existing knife-fighting skills and repertory, that would be the best use of this book and technique.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great overview, March 30, 2005

By 

L. A. Kane (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Karambit: Exotic Weapon of the Indonesian Archipelago (Paperback)

Karambits, curved fighting knives primarily from the Indonesia Archipelago, are becoming more and more popular albeit controversially so. Folks either love 'em or hate 'em with not much in-between. On the pro-side, they are nearly impossible to disarm and can perform multiple cuts in a single pass as practitioners can flip them mid cut. On the con side, they require very close quarters and are nearly impossible to stab with. This book clearly advocates the benefits of this unique weapon, providing an excellent historical overview along with practical tips and tricks for using one effectively. I think it oversimplifies in some places (kinda like I just did) but not to a large enough extent to warn folks away from it.

I do feel obliged to mention that these weapons are really, really expensive (at least for anything of quality anyway) and very challenging to master without competent instruction. If you want to use one, I suggest picking up a non-edged trainer first. They can also be used as control devices in their own right. While no martial art can be taught solely from a manual, this one covers all the basics in a fair amount of depth. It is easy to read and understand.

The author, Steve Tarani, is a Filipino Escrima and Indonesian Silat practitioner as well as a world renowned edged weapons combat instructor. In that capacity he has passed his skills along to thousands of law enforcement professionals and civilian practitioners. He is certainly knows his stuff and communicates it pretty effectively in this book.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great all around book, December 31, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Karambit: Exotic Weapon of the Indonesian Archipelago (Paperback)

I picked this up to browse at the local bookstore and ended up buying it an hour later. Mr. Tarani does a great job of introducing this unique weapon through history and some techniques. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. No one expects to learn a martial art thru a manual alone, but this gives a good taste of what you'll get from a qualified instructor.