Krav Maga Blog - Feb 2017

The transactional nature of certain violent crimes, such as muggings, street robberies and car-jackings, etc., may at first glance lead us to believe that these are relatively simple events i.e. somebody wants something we have and uses force to deprive us of it. However, if we view these and other similar crimes is such a simplistic way, we may in fact misunderstand an incident we are involved in, and engage in dangerous decision-making. Although not all of the information available to us, when we are targeted by a violent criminal(s), is weighted evenly, it is worth taking the time to...

People have pain management systems; they get switched on, when somebody is preparing to fight. If you’ve ever stepped into a ring to compete, or put on a pair of gloves to spar, you will have begun to make some mental shifts, preparing for the potential pain you may experience. The same thing happens in real-life confrontations, and it is important to know how to bypass an aggressor’s pain management system and shut it down, especially if you are dealing with a highly-adrenalized assailant, who will be naturally pain resistant, due to their heightened emotional state.  Social violence is largely ritualistic,...

Attacks and assaults occur along a timeline, with warning signs and pre-violence indicators, that precede the physical phase of the assault. There is sometimes a tendency within the self-defense world, to simply teach that a punch is a punch, a grab is a grab, a push is a push, etc., without looking at the context within which these assaults are made e.g. there is a big difference between dealing with a grab, following an assailant having tried to disguise their motives, win your trust and putting you at ease, and one where a visibly aggressive person verbally confronts and threatens...

There is a huge difference between proactive blocking and reactive blocking. Many people believe that any block is a reaction/response to an attack, however this isn’t – and shouldn’t – be the case. Every block should be seen as an attack, that creates an opportunity, and something that is proactive, rather that reactive. There are of course times when we may be taken completely by surprise, however these should be exceptional circumstances, rather than the norm. Most social violence happens face-to-face, with an abundance of warning signs that allow us to recognize when an aggressor is getting ready to initiate...