were would i find funtional kamas

[username4]

thanks for all the help guys i found some he said he wanted some because he like them as decorations and he hates all that flashy stuff and he also needs them for the brush around ur home and he may also use them in the garden.

 

hopfully not untill after harvest though

[Sauzin]

I think having functional kama is pretty important if you want to understand how to truly use the weapon. While I don't advocate practicing on people, cutting should be practiced on small branches, leaves, grass, cardboard boxes, etc. The kama is meant to slice using the curvature of the blade, as opposed to simply hacking. A lot of people do kata with the kama and simply "hack" at the air as opposed to manipulating them the way they should really be used. Practicing cuts are a good way to see if you are doing it right. Of course, a good instructor would help...

 

I completely agree with this, in a normal training environment. But when you don't have that and you just want something to look cool, there's no reason to use a live blade. When you don't have a teacher to show you the safeties there's only one other way you will learn them. The messy way that ruins gi's. And if you ask me sending yourself to the hospital kind of defeats the point of learning to use a weapon.

[miguksaram]

I think having functional kama is pretty important if you want to understand how to truly use the weapon. While I don't advocate practicing on people, cutting should be practiced on small branches, leaves, grass, cardboard boxes, etc. The kama is meant to slice using the curvature of the blade, as opposed to simply hacking. A lot of people do kata with the kama and simply "hack" at the air as opposed to manipulating them the way they should really be used. Practicing cuts are a good way to see if you are doing it right. Of course, a good instructor would help...

 

I would be interested in seeing the proper way of using them in a martial art related environment. The kamas, or not, in Korean where used to cut rice staks. It is used in such a way that the farmer would put the blade to the bottom of the stalk and then make a semi circular cut so that the blade would cut through the stalk. So unless you are close enough to the opponent to get the blade against the person's body for such a cut, the only other way to use them would be in a 'hack' type strike. How would you do it differently?

[Sauzin]

Well kind of. You see its all about how you move the blade/kama through the air. Actually a lot of it is in the wrist. Simply swinging/hacking with the kama doesn't do the trick. You have to make a wave like motion by pulling the blade back slightly as it moves through the air. As the blade is pulled back in this manner it slices. Often people turn the kama in slightly as they do this. This causes the blade to catch the skin and cut deeper.

 

It's kind of like knife fighting. You wouldn't use a knife like an axe. You run the blade along the flesh so that it cuts. The same is true with the kama only the angle is different (by 90 degrees). But as long as you get the angle and direction correct it will naturally cut when it comes into contact with its target.

[Shorin Ryuu]

I for one have been trained so that some wrist movement is important, but manipulation with the fingers is very important. Regardless of whichever method you use, the importance is in the blade geometry and incorporating it into the method of cutting itself.

 

Emphasizing the fingers, the first two fingers are for direction and stability while the last two are for execution. Think of it as using a Japanese katana. They don't hack with it, no matter what you may see in cheesy samurai films. Whether you are cutting through rolled up mats or through someone's flesh, it is the curvature of the blade doing the cutting. You may thrust straight, so to speak, but the curvature of the blade slices through. In this same manner, the kama relies upon the curved blade to slice, so the action of "sliding" is more important than a forceful hack. With a sharp blade, you can still get a cut with a hack, but it won't be clean.

 

Going back to the fingers...

 

The first two, as I mentioned, are for control. As you close the last two fingers, that is what causes the blade to slide and slice into the target. This is what Sauzin is saying by "running the blade along the flesh so it cuts."

 

Really, like I said, the best way to truly understand what I mean is to do it yourself. Once again, people tend to be a bit miffed if you slice them up, so I recommend using cardboard boxes or the like, or you can even use high grass, small branches, leaves...If they cut cleanly, then you are doing it right. If the grass sticks to your blade after you swing, then you're just "hacking".

 

A brief explanation, but like I said, if you want to know it better, you just have to do it.