Karambit Knife – Impact Weapon

The Karambit knife built from Italian made FOX Knives. Founded by Oreste Frati in Italy, FOX Knives are known worldwide for their innovative quality and solid craftmanship in cutlery since 1977. They have taken this Malaysian origin plantation tool and engineered it into a pragmatic personal defense weapon. A tool that can be used as an impact weapon for less lethal or edged if the threat is life threatening.
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FOX Knives features:

Ergonomic Handle Design fits Forward and Reverse Grip perfectly
Can be carried for Reverse or Forward grip deployment
Total Ambidextrous opening

Blade specs for the serious Knife carrier:

Blade Style: Talon
Blade Edge: Plain (V Grind)
Blade Finish: Teflon Coated Black Finish
Blade Length: 2.25″
Steel Type: N690 Co Stainless Steel
Length Open: 7.0″
Thickness: 0.12″
Weight: 3.5 oz.
Pocket Clip: Ambidextrous Tip-Up
Handle Material: G-10 (Composite Material)
Lock Mechanism: Liner Lock

Striking Surface

In our past Karambit article highlights Doug Marcaida demoing the application with the blade side. This segment we want to explore a little more on the impact side, there are instances where you do not need to deploy the blade.

For those that study Filipino Martial Arts, this article may be slow for you. We wanted to approach this for someone that’s an LEO or private citizen with an average personal defense skill knowledge level.

ASJ approach is to convey this skill set to any level of expertise so they can train and have fun quickly. Doesn’t require you to practice 20 hours a week to be proficient, only 5 minutes to learn. But, does require you to put in some hours of hands on time. That’s just the reality of it, if you want to be better.

Block & Strike
Here’s the meat of the article, block and strike. There are many types of blocks, we are only using a basic cover by bringing the hands up to cover the face with elbows pointing forward. From there you work the timing of block and hit with the Karambit. Targeting the typical facial area. Concentrate on doing multiple strikes that combines the use of Karambit and your other hand. Strikes with Karambit aren’t meant to be knock out punches, these are designed to inflict pain with their hard surface and can possibly cut the facial area.

Defanging the Snake
The term “defanging the snake” comes from the Filipino martial arts system to neutralize the hand (arm) that wields the stick, knife or punch by attacking it directly. This part of the strike is to target the hands, wrist, forearms, biceps and shoulders with hard points of the Karambit. There is nothing mystical about this concept, we are not going after any pressure points, which you can if you have been trained. Again, we are going after these areas as secondary targets and this is what drives the attackers punch delivery system. These tactics are used to supplement your blocking with a little pain inflicting strikes. These strikes to the limbs are not designed as a knock-out blow. If you put some pain into these areas the attacker won’t bite you as hard.
A final note on training with the Karambit always train with trainer knife version such as the FOX 599TK. This will mitigate injuries and accidents against using live blade.

For more information on the Karambit from FOX Knives, go to TheUltimateKnife.com.