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Comanche Buzzsaws & “Clearing the Kerf” by Mark Hatmaker

 


[The following is meant as an adjunct to the accompanying lengthy video.]

Novice Question: “What’s the best punch/kick/strike/submission?”

Answer: Overwhelming Force

Or…

“Combinations, combinations, combinations.”

Or…

“Punches in bunches!”

Wise striking, canny grappling, and experienced weapons-wielding all fall into the General Forrest strategic camp of “Get there firstest with the mostest.” [With a big emphasis on “mostest.”]

There are two general ways to “prepare” combinations.

One-Rapid Turnover

·        That is, a succession of strikes, submissions, slashes, shots fired et cetera in rapid succession.

Two-“Clearing the Kerf”

·        “Clearing the kerf” is an old rough ‘n’ tumble phrase borrowed from woodsmen and lumberjacks.

·        We’ll come back to this…

Comanche Vocabulary Word of the Day: “Wuhpa [?] itu”

·        General Definition: “To hit repeatedly.”

·        Pronunciation for the curious…

·        “Wuhpa’itu” is all one word/concept.

·        The bracketed question mark in the middle let’s us know to raise the pitch of our intonation on that second syllable as one does when asking a question.

·        The first syllable and the last two have a swallowed almost closed lipped feel to them.

·        One need not nail the pronunciation though to follow the concept of “Wuhpa’itu.”

“Wuhpa’itu” is not merely “strike repeatedly” or strike in serial combination. It is a bit more than that. It is to hit in such a way that each successive hit is pre-loaded in a manner more resembling the sine wave leading to a whip crack than one boxcar following after the other.

The point is subtle but distinct in the concept and application.

In the video we discuss how subtle shifts in hand position, palm recovery, “wrist-catching” etc. make the demonstrated action more than just “pat the hand out of the way.”

Let’s return to the lumberjack/woodsman phrase borrowing to make the point a bit clearer.

“Clearing the Kerf” is a phrase used when using any toothed saw, be that the standard push-saw you may have around your home or the “misery whip” two buckers use to section logs.

·        To use any manual saw properly, we must make each aspect of the draw [positive & negative] clean and smooth.

·        A saw’s teeth cut on the push and the offset clears the kerf [the slit or notch of the cutting area] of sawdust.

·        Fail to clear the kerf and the saw will cut inefficiently. The saw will slow or bind halting the job being done.

·        To cut and clear a kerf properly, diligent attention must be paid to long pushes [for the cut] and long smooth draws [to clear the kerf] which prepares the next cut.

“Clearing the kerf” in the old school combat sense was to strike, grapple, or wield your weapon in such a way that each offensive motion [push of the saw] contained a pre-loaded kerf-clearing aspect to it.

·        One could push for the cut, draw shallow and get right back on the cut—you can still cut a board this way, but not as smoothly and always with the danger of a bind that must be rectified.

·        To cut and clear the kerf was to ensure efficiency, reduce work, and speed the job being done.

While observing the video [and each to follow] hell, while observing your own work it is wise to get beyond just the mere cut-stroke that is easy to see and strive for and examine for kerf-clearing as that is where all the hidden devils in the details reside.

[If you dig working such devilish old school details, consider joining our RAW/Black Box Subscription Service. Details here and here.]

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