Krav Maga Session 2

I headed out to Krav Maga session 2 last evening at the IDF training centre in Caulfield South. It was an open class for beginners such as myself and intermediate practitioners. Benji (here in known as the X-Man) was our instructor as was last week. The training focused on warming up (running around the ‘dojo’ whilst doing spontaneous push ups, sit ups and squats as well as ‘pumping up mentally’), 360 degree defense basics (sparring with a partner and attempting to slap them on the face whilst defending – the aim being to block the attacks and slap your opponent), followed by pad work (stance, jab, cross, groin kick with left leg, ‘push’ kick with the back lag, stop forward and ‘push’ kick with the back leg) and then on to more intensive defensive techniques (how to defend oneself against being hit with a stick/ baseball bat, cricket bat, poll, railing, etc.). We finished off with the 'usual' task of being attacked by 5 opponents.

While on the pad work (with myself holding the pads), my opponent was meant to kick me / pad and make the pad holder move back a few steps with that force. My opponent didn’t manage to do this too well (possibly because I weigh in around 120Kgs) hence to my dismay X-Man decided to demo how it is done. The shit did hit the fan and I don’t recall the moment from being kicked to being thrust backwards by about 10 metres. I didn’t quite believe documentaries on the History channel or Discovery when speaking about martial arts and the human legs together with the momentum and force generated from the hips that could dissipate so much force. The human kick is supposed to be able to generate almost 2000 psi (pounds per inch) worth of force. That’s enough to kill a man or more crack his ribs inward into his heart. I have attempted to bench press real heavy weights in the region of 200 KG and understand what it feels like to fight a weight when it comes down on you. But I have never felt so ‘banged up’ as I did after that kick. I wouldn’t advice a novice to do it given a miss of that pad and one could be killed on the spot.  

Krav Maga is not a martial art. It requires a military mindset. It was developed to defend oneself against Nazi Germany during WW2. It is not an art form but more so a strategy to immediately and effectively decimate an opponent. It should be used with caution. In most cases, Krav Maga requires that one AVOID conflict and confrontation.

Response from Krav Maga specialists when asked how they would handle gangs that frequent Melbourne’s rail network in packs –




Man injured as teenage thugs terrorise train passengers

“what we teach in Krav is to do everything possible to avoid confrontation and get help.. in the case that you are pinned to a corner in the coach that’s when the techniques that you have been taught can be put into use.. not to "win" the fight rather to get you out of imminent danger and get some help.. we are not all X-Men like Benji, so we don't need to act like heroes when trouble is brewing.. but know where your personal space is and don't allow anyone to invade it ever!”

“would think it would be to not even approach them in the first place and let them throw rocks from the outside. Most assaults occur because someone says or does something they shouldn't. Asking thugs to stop only antagonises them and escalates (assuming the sequence in the paper is true). I'd rather someone call the police and hit the emergency buttons on the train. Your own safety comes first. Trains aren't as easy to fight on moving and full of people and seats”