What one motivated Gurkha and his Kukri knife can do.

Gorkha soldiers of the Indian Army marching past during the Republic Day Parade. Tough to beat!


Courtesy: Militaryphotos

A soldier sharpening his khukri before the Republic Day parade, New Delhi


Courtesy: Defenceforumindia

Indian Army Gorkha blowing up a terrorist hideout in Kashmir....



And the controversial two edged khukri - the killer weapon...


Courtesy: Outlook India

[One thing is for sure.. One of those fellas tells me not to park or
Move my car.. I don't think they would get the usual 2 word reply, second word being off!!

Misterlondon..................That would have done you no good, they would not have raised the barrier to let you in, in the first place, secondly, when you are on a military base, you do as you are told. I am afraid your rather large ego would not have got in !

Originally posted by mydarkpassenger
reply to post by lowki

 

I fenced in college.

I fenced also, was mainly doing saber,
it's a very regimented form of combat,
typically in large open areas.

I often had trouble seeing that thin blade, flicking around as it did.
If someone made a real saber so tiny, I reckon it would break.
probably would have been better off with wooden swords.

I also did Russian Red Army close-quarter combat,
where we learned about evading knife attacks,
as well as many nerve-system pressure-points.

I shoot competitively.

also a regimented atmosphere,
you have time to align your sights.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

I admit not having used a gun in this lifetime *shrugs*

When I was a pirate guns didn't aim well.
though the loud bang-bang got people afleeing.
Then could cutlass them from behind,
their shrieks of terror and pain,
further disabling opposition.

Originally posted by projectvxn
reply to post by XLR8R

 

You go ahead and trust that knife at 50 yards...

well it's called the 21 foot rule, about 6.5 meters.

50 yards is 150 feet 45 meters.

though I'm honored you feel the need to increase that distance at least 7 fold.
50 yards is the absolute limit of a full-sized handgun,
25 yards (22 meter) for the smaller variety.
answers.yahoo.com...

however, i'm very unsure where you think such distances would occur,
that's half an american football field,
I guess it's plausible on some streets lengthwise,
and in those parks where they mow the lawn.

Thank god for bullets...

at that kind of distance,
you'd have to be very well trained to get a hit,
if you're caught reloading, lol,
better hope you wont.

Though yes, I see how that for distances between 6.5m and 45m a handgun could be deemed effective.

Seems like I spend most time in forests, indoors and vehicles,
so those kind of distances aren't that common,
unless I'm walking on the sidewalk...

I'm not sure what it's like in American suburbs,
but around here, I'm usually one of the few on the sidewalk.

At what distance would you say that a threat is identifiable?
Isn't most eye tests based on 20-feet,
and mugging happen when people are right next to you.

I guess it is useful against police,
since can see them from so far away.
So handguns make sense for urban gang warfare.

however for self-defense,
a knife still seems the preferable option.
can always carry both if you really love your metal.

More realistically, I'd like to see you use that gun to chop up an onion, or make some kindling. ;-)

If you have a knife, that's a survivalist tool,
can pretty much live outdoors.

with a gun... not at all.
though you might get some squirrels,
how will you skin, make traps, and dig for tubers?

Well I don’t know if my opinion will matter as I am part of the “blue mafia”. However I can tell you that when I work I carry my duty weapon, a backup pistol, a knife in my pocket and a knife on a necklace. I when I am asked about the knife on my neck I try to tell the new guys to get one. The way I see it, most police are killed with their own weapons. That means that it has gone to extreme close quarter combat. This is proven by the fact that most police shoot outs happed in less than 5 yards. I see it as if someone is trying to remove my gun from my belt I will be trying my best to hold it in it holster. I should have a free hand and with that I can retrieve my knife from either its pocket clip or my necklace. I affectionately call it my “last chance” weapon. Either way you look at it, you should never leave your house without a knife. It just such a handy tool! Everything from opening annoying packages to a screw driver!

Oh and great job to the soldier. They may have hyped up his story but that in no way diminishes the fact that he did engage 3 opponents with only a knife to come to the aid of a stranger. This is his job and he did it better that the sorry ass security forces that were on that train. Kudos to him!

Originally posted by thoughtsfull
Brilliant, thanks for posting... I've proudly worked alongside a troop of Gurkhas, simply utterly brilliant people, and I honestly wouldn't expect anything less of them

nor expect anything less of a well used Kukri.

thanks for the linky

cheered my day up

edit on 2/2/11 by thoughtsfull because: (no reason given)

They are one of the Warrior Cast just like several others in India like the Rajputs or Kshatriyas. There are many others in India since the ancient times. The Cast system is what promoted such clans to exist such as Goldsmith, Cobbler, Warrior etc etc. Defence and Offense is built into their culture and passed down through generations. Most of them are very very loyal and brave.
GURKHA
KSHTRIYA

There are many such casts that are often selected by the Indian Army for their requirements for fighting in different terrains. Despite the advancement in modern warfare, some of them still prefer to retain the ancient tactics of defensive/offensive mechanisms and tools. They are good the way they are (which is to possess the heart and spirit of a warrior). I'm sure if given proper training and education with respect to modern technology by the Western Standards, they can be very effective in defense and offense.

reply to post by projectvxn


Woah woah...you haven't seen my throwing arm have you?...It puts the arm a cronic masterbater to shame my friend, I'm talking in the situation in wich this super dude was in. In a tight space, a knife in the right hands will do so much more damage than a gun. But that guy diserves a medal or something because he must have 2 Chuck Norris' for balls

Have met a few of these brilliant lads during work. A fair few of them, once out of the Regiment, actually work on Cruise Ships, as Security. Some of the most dedicated, polite people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Actually remember a story related to me by a retired Royal Marine Commando, who had retired from the RMC's, and was the Head of Security of one of the Cruise Ships we were looking after. He related to me, about how when he was still in the RMC's, and himself, a few of the other lads, and some of the Ghurka's had gone down to a local pub to have a few cold drinks. Anyways, he was coming back from the toilet when he noticed that a few of the Ghurka lads was holding one of their own back, and one of the Royal Marines was standing in front of him, mouthing off.

Anyways, as it turned out, the bloke that was doing the mouthing off had said something offensive to the young Ghurka, and so they got it straightened out, via a few diplomatic words from the Ghurka Bahaldir (Sergeant) Major, and a few of the Royal Marines.

Anyways, the Royal Marine that had mouthed off was pissed off his dial, and they ended up putting him in the Brig to basically stop the Ghurka lad from killing him out of honour. for his family. When the pissed RM woke up in the morning, he couldn't remember what had happened, but realised he was in the Brig. When he asked one of the MP's what the charges were, and what had happened, the young MP Corporal laughed at him and said "Mate, you are in here cause you said a few bad things to one of the Ghurka's, about his sister".

The RM then turned ghost white, and all that he could say for the next 10 minutes was "oh # oh # oh #".

He ended up spending 4 days (by choice) in the Brig, because he feared the Ghurka lads so much, and knew what they were capable off.

Lol, all of this is true, told to me by one of the guys that was there when it happened. And I don't doubt him for one second, because having met a few of the guys on duty on board the cruise vessels, they are very polite, but have an extremely commanding presence. And you can tell that they live by a code of honour, and that if you were to mess with em, you are screwed.

Sent shivers down my spin.

First the restraint and then-unleashed!

You know the first three went down in seconds.

reply to post by TerribleTeam2


I remember as a kid back in India where many privateers and companies still hire the retired Gurkhas as Security Guards. They look nothing like fierce soldiers and surprisingly many of them are tiny. However at that time I wasn't aware of their capabilities until I heard rave reviews about their accomplishments going way back to World War days. Definitely friendly and modest to be around as I remember as a kid.

Originally posted by Thunda

Originally posted by Extreme Pilgrim
Please do not believe all the hype over those 'Mountain Men from Nepal'. Having worked alongside them on on numerous occasions, I found them to be dedicated, but vastly over-rated and living off their past exploits in WWII. They are unable to operate to any great standard in the cold/wet climates such as those used by the MoD in Sennybridge and Otterburn. They have a label by some as being 'jungle warfare specialist' but this is purely down to the familiarisation of the training areas used by the Jungle School (TTB) during their two-year rotational tours that each of the the Gurkha battalions would spend in Brunei. Despite this, I found them wanting once they were actually in the trees.

Riiiiight- What about the Gurkha assault on the AA batteries in the Falkland war?- much 'colder' and 'wetter' than Sennybridge or Otterburn............

And if you had spoken to anybody that had fought there then would know that they were pants. They were brought into the ORBAT as BCR/support to the Spearhead battalions from the Parachute Regiment and RM. Unless you have experience of working alongside them in these conditions, you don't really have much input. I have and they were poor.