Krav Maga Blog - Jul 2015

I remember a joke I was once told. Not a good one but it makes a good point. A man is watching a group of runners taking part in a road race, when a man comes up to him and says, “Why are they running?” he responds by saying, “Well, the person who comes in first gets ten thousand dollars”, to which the other replies, “So why are the others running?” Winning, success, failing and failure can be confusing concepts for us to get our heads around. These were things that I struggled a lot with in my youth as a...

I try not to get caught up in conversations about use of force, and what is and isn’t legal etc. for a few simple reasons. Firstly I’m not a lawyer, so I can only offer my opinions and understandings as a lay person, and if I don’t have expertise in an area, I’d rather let somebody more knowledgeable than myself speak on the subject, and secondly, if you have done everything possible to avoid a physical confrontation, you should not be worrying about the legal consequences of your actions, as you are effectively in a fight for your survival, where...

On July 4^th, in a train carriage, ten people watched as a passenger stabbed and kicked another to death (there were apparently 30-40 stab wounds on the victim), without anyone intervening. It would be east to judge these bystanders, for doing just that, standing by, however when we start to break down these situations, we should not be so surprised that nobody intervened, or be so sure that we would if placed in a similar situation.  Firstly, it is worth painting a very clear, and vivid picture of what these bystanders experienced; violence on a level that they had never experienced...

This Blog Post carries on from last week’s. This wasn’t my intention however something a prospective student said to me after a class, this week continues to demonstrate how some people view self-defense and their right to defend themselves. After a class, I was asked (I am paraphrasing), “I want to learn how to defend myself, so I’ve been watching clips on Youtube to see which system might be best for me, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it is either Krav Maga or Aikido, but I’m leaning towards Aikido because I don’t want to hurt anyone.” So firstly,...

Over the years I’ve had many conversations with people who tell me that they don’t believe in violence, and that they don’t believe in the use of physical force etc. Usually these statements are said is a self-congratulatory and judgmental tone that suggests the person purporting these views has somehow come to a higher level of understanding, about how various conflicts and confrontations can be solved, and that there is never a need for a physical solution. I respect everybody’s views and conclusions on all subject matters, however I feel the level of education that such individuals have around real...