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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.8
EAN num: 9780865682061
ISBN number: 0865682062
Label: Unique Publications
Manufacturer: Unique Publications
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 150
Printing Date: 2002-11
Publishing house: Unique Publications
Sale Popularity Level: 695805
Studio: Unique Publications
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Rated by buyers 
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The karambit can be defined as a small hand-held, curved fixed blade for personal-defense. ~ In "Karambit: Exotic Weapon of the Indonesian Archipelago" Steve Tarani gives us an outstanding introduction to this unique and highly effective weapon.
The book begins with a very interesting introduction and history, followed by three sections teaching use of the karambit:
> Part 1 - Basic Handling and Operation
> Part 2 - Combat Strategy and Intermediate Skills
> Part 3 - Advanced Application
Each section is well illustrated with numerous photographs demonstrating use of the karambit. Although no book will make you a master of any weapon, you can certainly build a good foundation in the use of the karambit by learning the skills demonstrated herein. I highly recommend Steve Tarani's "Karambit: Exotic Weapon of the Indonesian Archipelago" for anyone interested in adding a new skill to their martial arts knowledge.
Rated by buyers 
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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
Rated by buyers -
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 discusion 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 grey 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.
Rated by buyers -
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.
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