KM in a real situation?

[kazak4x4]

I am pretty new to KM (4 months), but love every minute of it! What I am wondering is all this training, does it pay off in a real situation?

I was curious to hear from people who actually used Krav in the streets. Did you panic? Did your body remember the drills and executions? Was your mindset strong? Were you able to block punches/kicks as good as in practice?

[kirk]

Re: KM in a real situation?

I have been lucky enough not to have been put in a situation were i have had to use Krav. I am much more situationaly aware because of Krav.

I do have a fellow instructor that was attacked, sucker punched and was taken down to the ground. He stayed calm, eye gouged the guy. Once the attackers two buddies saw that, they backed off and he was able to get up and away safely.

Another guy I train with, his brother was attacked at a store. Mind you he has never taken an official Krav class just what his brother has shown him. The guy threw a wild punch, he 360 defensed it and then dropped a hammer fist to the guys nose. Breaking it, and knocking the guy down on his ass.

Just my 2 cents….

[satilan]

Re: KM in a real situation?

I know I haven’t been posting here in a long time (had to stop training due to neck injury) but I think my story illustrates the applicability of KM in a real life situation:

I was about 16, my KM training buddy (best friend) and I went to shoot some hoops in my old neighborhood. My old neighborhood is, all together, a quiet and peaceful place but sometimes kid-gangs from the adjacent neighborhoods would come to ruin it for everyone.

And so it happened that a band of about 10-15 young guys (ages 12-15) entered the basketball court. Everyone else knew they had to leave – but my buddy and I stayed. Why would two 16 year-olds leave when a bunch of “kids” come in?

Bad decision. Pretty soon, they snatched our basketball away and my friend, not a very bright individual apparently, went chasing. They separated us. A semi-circle formed around me and their “leader” this notorious guy, started punching me in the chest, smiling stupidly. This is when my KM training came in: I stayed extremely calm. I even remember being able to make logical decision while his ineffective attacks were landing. I watched for my friend to notice what was happening. Other kids in the crowd started going at me from the sides with useless kicks, all of which either landed short – or were absorbed by me simply turning my hips. It was all done under immense control. I did not want to hit anyone back because I knew the stories about these kids’ older brothers that were in and out of jail for stabbing people. – I just kept watching for my face and groin area, ready to strike if I suspected an attack to those areas.

Soon enough, my friend notice what was happening. He had more street-smarts so he knew that we could probably embarrass this gang-wannabes but that it would be better to disengage.

We ended up running away.

I felt bad fro weeks, it’s a shame we didn’t hit back but I think it was smart.

All together, my KM training helped me stay cool under pressure, it made me more familiarized with physical contact and so I was able to make perfectly logical decisions. It taught me how to absorb and reflect attacks to such an extent that I had virtually not even a bruise on me that night.
But better than all, it must have saved my life because we were so controlled that we did not hurt these kids, an act that would have started a whole gang “war” against us.

We just wanted to play some b-ball!

[kazak4x4]

Re: KM in a real situation?

What a cool story, thanks for sharing that. That is a true KM training as far as I see it. Control and patience.

[claymore]

Re: KM in a real situation?

This may sound crazy, and I wouldn’t recommend it, but it really is a testament to the efficacy of Krav Maga. I actually had to use a KM gun disarm while deployed, before ever taking a real Krav class. I purchased the KMW videos back in 2002, and trained the techniques on my own and with my soldiers for a few months prior to deployment. Basically all we had to go by were the tapes and several drills that John Whitman emailed to me.

Having some background in self defense and really focusing on the fine points of the techniques (and realizing some additional points that weren’t covered in the video, as they are not meant as an end-all-be-all), we were able to become “somewhat” proficient.

Bottom line, the technique was executed, bad guy disarmed, no soldiers or civilians who were being threatened were injured, and thankfully the gun did not discharge, as there were several people in the immediate vicinity.

At that point, I became a believer.

Make no mistake, I had a lot that needed fixing when I started actual Krav classes, but trust me, it is worth it to continue training.

Good luck!

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