How Krav Maga Can Change Your Life

Three major life skills learned through Krav Maga training.

“Krav Maga heightens perception and transforms fear into something more productive” — Imi Lichtenfeld

Walking through central London gave Jono the creeps.

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began and lockdown measures were implemented, the place felt like a ghost town.

In his mind, the city was reminiscent of an old western movie set where everyone scatters as the baddest man in the land shows up, looking mean on a jet-black stallion.

Only this time, instead of tumbleweeds, an old newspaper could be seen scurrying across the empty street, floating on a slight summer breeze.

Usually, the eerie silence put Jono on edge but today his heightened sense of anxiety had been triggered by something different.

In the distance, five blocks away, a gathering of two-thousand people barricaded the streets, chanting and banging drums, as if preparing for war.

Jono had never been to a protest before so didn’t quite know what to expect.

He was terrified yet excited. His inner voice of reason was screaming out; ‘“No! Turn back! Go home, be safe.”

But somewhere deep within his heart seethed a force that would not listen, hypnotically coaxing Jono onwards in the direction of the restless horde, like a moth to a flame.

Life is Unpredictable

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” — Mike Tyson

Life has a nasty little habit of throwing you curve balls when you least expect it and usually at the worst time imaginable.

Whether like Jono, it’s getting caught up in a protest turned riot — which, let’s be honest, isn’t a regular occurrence for most.

Or perhaps something less extreme; like having your evening plans ruined in order to pick up the slack at work because Karen got into an argument with the project manager and has stormed off in a rage (again) — bloody Karen.

Whatever undesirable situation you find yourself in, more often than not, the troublesome outcome could have easily been avoided.

With the correct training that is.

Street riots and office politics sit at two very different ends of the social spectrum, however, through skills learned at Krav Maga training you will be suitably equipped to fight your way to safety if needs be, whilst also having the know-how to prevent a full-blown office drama, in a peaceful and relaxing manner of course.

Krav Maga is most commonly known as the military hand to hand combat style used by the Israeli Defence Force (I.D.F), though in recent times Krav Maga has become a popular form of self-defence for men, women and children of all backgrounds, shapes and sizes.

From the outside looking in, Krav Maga can seem violent, excessive and darn right scary to say the least.

But delve a little deeper into this aggressive, yet effective system and you’ll find that Krav Maga has a lot more to offer than just a lesson on how to kick someone’s ass.

Krav Maga Teaches You to Be Aware of Your Surroundings

The Krav Maga self-defence system covers a wide range of skills and techniques, each designed to increase your chance of survival, no matter what situation you find yourself in.

“Most people underestimate how quickly a situation and turn from bad to catastrophic.”

One of the fundamental principles of Krav Maga is situational awareness. It teaches you to be aware of your surroundings, to observe the actions of others, their movements, body language and tone of voice.

Krav Maga also teaches you to recognise possible dangers before they take place, giving you the advantage and enabling you to act first, removing yourself from harm’s way — a skill that poor old Jono could have used to avoid trouble.

And while these Krav Maga techniques are taught with the aim of keeping you safe from physical harm, they can also be easily applied to help benefit you in other areas of your life.

Take the ordeal with Karen for example. This could have been handled in a much more calm, efficient manner had you recognised the signals beforehand.

Picking up on the hostility displayed by Karen through her tone of voice, mannerisms and overall body language, you could have acted quickly to defuse the situation before things got out of hand.

Something as subtle as speaking in a softer tone to counteract aggression can be the difference between an all-out brawl in the office or everyone going home happy after working together as a team to achieve their project objectives.

Another scenario that happens daily and no doubt you’ve witnessed or been a part of comes in the form of driver competence.

Picture the scene;

You’re driving on a busy freeway when all of a sudden you notice in your rear-view mirror a motorcycle zipping in and out of traffic.

Yes, the rider is driving erratically but you’ve seen him, you’re aware of his presence and you can allow him to pass before signalling and switching to another lane.

A mundane yet very real daily occurrence that has, on many occasions, ended in a much more devastating manner.

But with the slight application of some basic Krav Maga training, everyone goes home happy and safe to their loved ones.

Krav Maga Teaches You to Be Calm Under Pressure

Ok, so maybe you miss the signals, have a lapse in judgement and find yourself in a terrible predicament.

Now what?

Well, never fear for Krav Maga has the answer.

As Krav Maga stems from a military background it comes as no surprise that the techniques learned are meant to be performed under extreme pressure.

“A calm mind is the ultimate weapon against any challenge in life”

Imagine, if you will, a maniac coming at you wielding a knife with the sole purpose of carving you up like a Christmas turkey and you’ll get an inkling into the conditions Krav Maga was built around.

The thought of that alone is enough to increase your heart rate and leave you frozen solid on the spot.

But through specialized and thorough Krav Maga training, you can handle such life-threatening events with a cool, calm and collected mindset, increasing your chances of surviving to fight another day.

Now, you may be lucky enough to live in a safe environment where the threat of knife attacks is pretty low, but seeing as we have a theme going on here, which no doubt you’ve already picked up on — using your Krav Maga skills of awareness, bravo — it will come as no surprise that the art of remaining calm under extreme pressure is the second fundamental principle from Krav Maga that can be used in everyday life.

Let’s use the motorcyclist as an example.

So, let’s say through no fault of your own you failed to see this Evel Knievel wannabe testing his ‘skills’ on a public freeway and you accidentally cut him off.

He is furious, raging, borderline psychotic and decides to follow as you exit the freeway to the streets below.

You come to a junction, the lights turn red and he pulls up alongside you.

Jumping off the bike he storms over to your vehicle with both fists clenched.

Then, like a crazed chimp at one of those drive-through safaris, he starts banging on your windows, yelling obscenities and threatening your safety.

What do you do?

For many, this is the point where they act upon pure emotion, adrenaline levels rise and the fight or flight response kicks in which, more often than not, results in things turning from bad to worse — we’ve all seen the videos online where road rage leads to carnage.

But luckily, you’ve got Krav Maga training on your side to help deal with the situation.

By remaining calm, speaking in a non-threatening, confrontational tone you’re able to keep your cool, de-escalate the situation and resolve the issue, once again safely making your way back home to your loved ones.

Krav Maga Teaches You How to Defend Yourself If Necessary

Many people think that Krav Maga is all about kicking ass at the first sign of danger and doing so with all the style and finesse shown in a Bruce Lee movie.

This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Yes, the techniques learned through Krav Maga can greatly increase your chances of coming out on top against an attacker, but for the most part, Krav Maga teaches you to avoid conflict at all costs, which is the third fundamental principle learned from Krav Maga.

Sometimes this can mean running away from danger, a move that may be seen as cowardly — but only by those with no experience, those who like to act tough in front of others and rarely think of the consequences.

Trust me, it’s much better to forfeit your image of a tough guy/girl than it is to forfeit your life.

“Survival is your strength, not your shame.” — T. S. Eliot

However, attacks don’t always have to be physical, in some cases; you may have to defend yourself verbally or mentally.

With the skills taught in Krav Maga not only will your ability to survive a physical altercation increase but so too will your self-belief and confidence, which is vital when it comes to standing up to the office or schoolyard bully for example.

And, as is the cases with all bullies, when someone shows fearlessness in their presence, they usually back off.

Change Your Life for the Better

Escaping from riots, dealing with street altercations and handling one on one confrontations doesn’t happen every day, but it does happen.

Krav Maga training won’t turn you into a lean, mean, killing machine — well, it might, if you train long and hard enough — but it will provide you something even better, a personal sense of empowerment.

You’ll be able to walk into any situation knowing you have the skills and know-how to come out on top.

So, if you’re looking to change your life for the better, while at the same time getting a kick-ass workout, then fire up your Google search engine and simply type in the words; Krav Maga near me.

Originally published at https://www.bloodyknuckle.org on November 11, 2020.