Bear

The incident took place in the Solu District of Nepal, about 30 miles SW of Mt. Everest, on the farm of a neighbor of my father-in-laws'.

The farmer went out to tend to his corn patch in the morning. He arrived to find a Himalayan black bear having his breakfast in the corn patch. The bear did not take kindly to having his breakfast interrupted and charged the farmer.

The farmer had only his khukuri, made by Solu knife maker, Kancha Kami, to defend himself against the attack. He knew that he could not outrun the bear so his only choice was to hold his ground. When the bear came to within striking distance the farmer struck the bear in the head with a single blow from his khukuri. The bear fell dead right at the farmers' feet.

Since there are no supermarkets or refrigeration in this part of the world the farmer took advantage of the situation and butchered the bear on the spot. He then sent his several children to the homes of his neighbors with 30 or 40 pounds of fresh bear meat each. The neighbors, all curious as to the gift of bear meat, asked how the bear had been killed. The children related the story which became famous throughout the district.
From that day forward the farmer got a new nickname, "Bhalu," which means bear in Nepali.

BILL MARTINO 1/2/99

alligator

This is the result of an encounter between Florida Fish and Wildlife Officers Bill Robb and Dwayne Lindsey and an alligator in the Wendy's parking lot in Titusville, Florida.

 leopard

Ajamlal Ria was returning to Darjeeling from leave when he was set upon and mauled by a leopard, which mauled his left hand. Asked how he escaped, he said simply that he had killed the leopard with his kukri. Pressed to explain how he had managed to get his kukri unsheathed, he said that he had not drawn it but had hit the beast with his kukri in it's scabbard and the blow had split the scabbard apart. The rest was easy, he said. In spite of his wounds, he had skinned the leopard and taken the head to the office of the administrative district for the reward of Rs. 5.

from THE GURKHAS by Byron Farwell.

Dan K.'s Automobile accident

I was a passenger in the back seat of a Suburban on the way to the airport. All of my blades (big ones anyway) were packed.

A guy driving a speeding car center punched us on my side. Damn seat belts nearly did me in once again! All those in our car were hurt. I was damaged the most, but others had mild concussions from heads impacting windows, etc.

I was the only one not dazed, but the right side was not functional. I reached over the seat and broke out my trusty "Villager". This was from that first batch that came over from Shop 2.

I used it to first cut myself loose from the seat belts and then I cut the others loose. Their buckles may have been working, but I only had one hand to use and things had gotten cramped. I slid the blade down along side the body with edge out. Then I turned the knife 90 degrees and using an "ice pick" grip cut up and out. Worked great.

I next used the khukuri to clear the broken glass out of the way. The hard part was crawling over the others in the back seat to get out (my side was a total crunch). Thank God for adrenaline and endorphins. It wasn't until I had the others out and safely away from the car (possible fire, more cars piling in from "rubber-neckers", etc.), that I found out just how busted up I was.

Didn't have to call for help though, the cops had been chasing the other driver and had lost him for a little while, long enough I'd say. The hardest part of the whole thing was trying to keep the storm troopers from making off with my khukuri.
Dan

Dan K.'s friend

A friend of mine (no longer among the living), used to sleep with his khukuri and a trench knife. This guy was in France in 1918 and he had used his trench knife to gain that khukuri. It was at the time in possession of a German fellow. How the German came by it is anyone's guess.
Back in the late '40s he was living in an apartment in Chicago. An arson fire was started in the hall outside his apartment, so that he and his wife were trapped in there and facing the prospect of becoming "crispy critters".
There was no chance of an exit from the window, because he didn't have anything long enough to use for a rope and the next building was too close even for firemen to carry a ladder in between the buildings, as they were on the third floor.
Using the tools that they had: a hammer, the khukuri; and the trench knife, they cut through the wall adjoining them with the next apartment.
No one was home, so they continued on and repeated the performance one more time. This time they broke into the corner apartment that had windows facing the ally and the fire fighters ladder truck could reach them.
That's enough reason to sleep with your toys.
ps. The walls in that place had 3/4 inch plaster on both sides with real 2x4's and fire stops in them.

Broken Arrow's foiled Car jacking

I'm in Law Enforcement in the city of San Francisco. The whole system is so screwed up, that the criminals are not scared to go to jail or the state pen! Even if I used my firearm in the proper manner, the accusations from I.A. and the lawsuits from scumbag's family will always be present.

I think the Khukuri has its place as a combat blade. Now since, I have been using them for almost a year, I would rate them highly like my Barong in cutting power. A plus side is that the Khukuri could be used for other things like utility work, while the Barong is meant only as a weapon. I like long swords also, but in this day and age toting a Katana (even in a swordbag) will draw some attention. A 20" Khukuri will fit into a back pack.

When carrying a khukuri in my car, I usually use my front passenger seat belt through the belt loop of my Khukuri. Then I cover the whole thing with a t-shirt or any piece of cloth. This keeps my blade handy and safe in case of a crash. Even thought the standard Khukuri sheath doesn't have a retaining strap, the bend of the blade and sheath keeps it pretty secure. In this incident the scumbag tried to jack the other car ahead of me first, so I had enough time to draw my blade and lay it next to me just in case.

The khukuri used in this incident had fullers like a Gelbu Special, but also one on top of the spine (from the bend to the tip). Also, this blade had a chiruwa style tang on it. Originally it was a blem that Uncle Bill sent. I had to recontour the tang to fit the horn scales. This Khukuri was made by Kumar and passed my cow spine cutting test. Excellent blade and makes me smile when I clean and maintain her!

Carjacking is a crime that happens throughout the U.S. and also some other parts of the world. Mostly violent, but sometimes not. I dealt with this crime many times due to my profession. I do get mad, when the scumbag gets away and innocent people get hurt. Scumbags have tried to car jack my three times so far and all of them failed. The first and second incidents occurred on Asby Ave. in Berkley, CA. On the first attempt my O.C. (pepper spray with halon type valve) stopped the scumbag in his tracks, the second incident was stopped by my chrome plated Desert Eagle .44 Mag. Cool expressions on their faces. No witnesses, so no reports were needed.

The third incident happened in San Francisco. I was driving down Fell St. toward The Japan Cultural Center when a scumbag was eyeballing cars going by. He was standing on the street corner of Fell and Golden Gate. I saw him trying to gain entry into the vehicle ahead of me and the female driver of that vehicle screamed and took off! He made eye contact with me and proceeded to make his way towards me. I realized this guy wants to play! If, I shot him I could make it justifiable, but there would be a **** load of paperwork, court appearances, a friendly talk with I.A., and last, my HK USP would be taken into evidence. Also, the scumbag’s family would try to sue me! Sitting next to me in my car, my khukuri seemed to talk to me! Weird ?!? I had a big smile! ! So, I unsheathed her and when the scumbag ran up and said "give me your !@@#$$% car!" I said "sure!" I opened my door and I jumped out with my khukuri in my right hand. I had a grin on my face and I said "you can have it if you want, but I need your head first!" Mr. Scumbag seen the beautiful fullered blade on my khukuri and my willingness to use it (well, this particular khukuri hasn't tasted blood yet, so I guess it was a good time for the taste). The look on his face was one of those Kodak moments! I wish I had a Khukuri Cam on my blade! I attempted to do a Kesa cut (shoulder to hips) on him, but he ran off! Damn, I missed! Imagine that, no witnesses, 0230 hrs. in the morning and no sound from my khukuri! Oh well, there will be other chances. A close call, but dangerous. So far, I have been lucky, but if someone gets the upper hand then so be it. Even if I die, I need to go out fighting!

Ever since I have been living in this country I found out through experience that many people prefer to get shot over getting stabbed or losing a limb or head! Every time I pointed my HK USP at some suspect, some of them would say "shoot me Mother @#$%&* !" Same with the baton! Never with my blades (Khukuris, Barong, Kris/Sundang, and even my Katanas)!

The scumbag was using a beat up Glock 17 (which will still work if it was loaded) . Even though he had a gun, I could and did bridge that gap very fast! Even if he got a shot off, I'll still get him. The only way he will stop me is that if he hits me in the CNS (central nervous system)! I personally feel that in this country, there is a need for both (gun and blade). Even when I was in the U.S. Army, I always reached for the blade first! Sort of weird.  If given a chance, I will still use the blade first if the situation warrants it. Several times in my firearms training using a kill house, I have used my H.I. (20" Sirupati, first blade I got from Uncle) Khukuri for head decapitations on the 3D targets. My trainers wondered why they didn't hear any gun shots in the room that I just walked out of. They asked me why I didn't neutralize the target in there and I said, "check them out". Heads were rolling on the ground!

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't claim to be some kind of combat expert/ guro. I just do what I have to do, to win. I am still learning each day and adding to my skills. I need to keep evolving so I won't become extinct.
 

Copyright (c) 1999-2001  by Howard Wallace, all rights reserved.
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