British Military Combatives in the Queen's Service

[aesir23]

Originally Posted by johndallman

[URL="http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG37-1641"]
Does anyone know anything about Gurkha martial arts? There's nothing in GURPS Martial Arts, and while Stealth + Knife is clearly the core, there must be more.

Originally Posted by Icelander

I did consider the Gurkhas. The kukri is a fine weapon for cutting off heads, for one. And a solid kukri might be able to disable or dismember limbs in a way that a combat knife usually can't, which is important in case of a regenerating critter or someone who doesn't feel the pain of a possessed body.

My problem is that I've found no evidence that Gurkhas regularly learn any form of martial art. The society many of them are recruited from is one where everyone carries a knife, yes, but mostly they seem to learn the same soldierly skills as any other British soldier. And I can't find evidence that the British had formalised military instruction in hand-to-hand before 2009, when they started to build on the foundation of US combatives (even hiring Larsen as a consultant).

It's true, there is no formal, named style associated with the Gurkhas (although the Nepal Army does apparently include Tae Kwon Do training).

However, I believe that many Gurkha do practice fighting with their kukris, and many do end up with practical close combat experience.

I certainly wouldn't scoff at the idea of a Gurkha PC or NPC with something like Dagger Fighting on their character sheet, nor at the idea that such a person (like the man who took out 40 armed thugs on a train with his kukri) may be recruited to teach close combat to a group of secret monster hunters.