Next New Project (NNP): Krav Maga

NNP is back!


Krav Maga is the Israeli hand-to-hand combat system that involves wrestling, grappling and striking techniques (very brutal counter attacks). It's heavily influenced by street fighting with an emphasis on threat neutralization, simultaneous defensive and offensive maneuvers, and aggression. The Israeli military isn't the only using Krav...it's so effective that various American law enforcement and intelligence organizations have adopted it. If you've ever seen Liam Neeson's movie Taken, a lot of the fight scenes use moves from Krav Maga.

For ordinary folks like us, Krav Maga can be most useful for self-defense. I'm into my 3rd week of training and so far I really like the practical and applicable approach of this technique. Being a single female I'm pretty vulnerable to a lot of possible hostile situations especially when I travel. One of the things that Krav can teach me is how to handle myself during a life threatening situation. The objective here is not to win the fight but to fight to gain enough time to run somewhere safe or to get help.

I used to take Karate when I was a teenager and eventually became a brown belt. It gave me a lot of strength and flexibility but I don't think I'd ever be able to use it to fend off an attacker. I think it didn't really lend a lot of the mental conditioning that Krav has. For example, drills consist of partnering up with different people (women and men some very big) to simulate choke holds, fending off attacks from the ground and running erratically around a crowded small room like you were being chased while trying to avoid from being grabbed.

Again I'm only on my 3rd week so I am looking forward to what fundamental techniques I can learn from Krav. More to come...