Skip to main content

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.]

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apache Running by Mark Hatmaker

Of the many Native American tribes of the southwest United States and Mexico the various bands of Apache carry a reputation for fierceness, resourcefulness, and an almost superhuman stamina. The name “Apache” is perhaps a misnomer as it refers to several different tribes that are loosely and collectively referred to as Apache, which is actually a variant of a Zuni word Apachu that this pueblo tribe applied to the collective bands. Apachu in Zuni translates roughly to “enemy” which is a telling detail that shines a light on the warrior nature of these collective tribes.             Among the various Apache tribes you will find the Kiowa, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Chiricahua (or “Cherry-Cows” as early Texas settlers called them), and the Lipan. These bands sustained themselves by conducting raids on the various settled pueblo tribes, Mexican villages, and the encroaching American settlers. These American settlers were often immig...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Conversation with Neil Melanson by Mark Hatmaker

Here is a chat I had with a good man with a good mind, Neil Melanson. If you are unfamiliar with Neil’s exemplary work he has coached at Xtreme Couture, Alliance MMA, and a HC with the Blackzilians. He is now at gym Genesis Training Academy and Coach of the Filthy Few MMA team. -DVDs out are: Head Hunter, Catchwrestling, and Ground Marshal guard basics  -book Mastering Triangle Chokes -black belt under Karo Parisyan in the Hayastan Grappling System  First things first, Brother Neil, thanks for taking the time to have this chat. Allow me to get another thing out of the way, your book Mastering Triangle Chokes , top-notch. This is high-speed, low-drag stuff all the way. Often there is chaff to be culled through, but you have a linear approach that appeals to the pragmatic streak in me. Excellent work. Thanks a lot man.  You are a real articulate and detailed coach so that means a lot coming from you. Your approach to grappling appeals to my expansiv...
Post a Comment
Read more

Walk Like a Warrior by Mark Hatmaker

In reading contemporary historical accounts written by soldiers (cavalry and dragoon), settlers, scouts, pioneers, and other citizens of the American frontier 1680s-1880s, I find mention that Native Americans (“Indians” or “Savages” in the accounts) did not walk like “white men.” Their gait, stride, and foot placement is described often in poetic terms as “light” or “light-footed,” “fleet”, “gliding”, and often times “springy” or “spring-like.” These terms while descriptive of the effect do little to tell us the how or why of the gait. We can find clues in accounts given by trackers in any of the myriad “Indian Wars” or skirmishes that riddled the continent in the first few centuries of the settling of the nation. The obvious telltale barefoot or soft impression of a moccasin is often a giveaway that you have a Native American track but this is less so in the moccasined foot as more and more Anglo backwoodsmen adopted this footwear. But there are a few accounts that mention ...
4 comments
Read more