Krav Maga for less-abled people?

[splatcat]

Got to thinking today that as much as I love doing Krav, there are people in my family who simply wouldn’t be able to get through one of the classes, even the most-basic L1 class. One person who comes to mind is in his 70s, another is in his 40s, but has sustained back & knee injuries that force limitations. One in-law comes from a family where weight is a constant battle. Each of these are good, loving, fundamentally-decent people who would be easy prey for most low-lifes out there. I feel that they deserve better than that.

Is anyone here aware of any resources that are geared toward providing at least a modicum of self-defense capability for people with limitations?? (I know that Krav can help with all of these situations, but in many cases, it’s not going to resolve the underlying issue(s) & it will simply be necessary for the person(s) in question to work within the limitations…)

Thanks in advance guys! thumbsup

[oglenewinkel-d13]

Re: Krav Maga for less-abled people?

Hello Splat

Krav Maga is a very effective system for everyone including those with physical limitations. You have to think outside the box when approaching any training especially with people with mobility or health issues. First off we need to address the need to fall back on self defense techniques at all. 90% of confrontations can be avoided by utilizing good personal safety skills. Remeber the 4 R’s of personel safety those are Risk Awareness, Risk Recognition, Risk Reduction, Risk Avoidance, the RAD instructors out there will recognize those terms. Type those terms into Google and you will find all kinds of stuff on personal safety.

No matter what you do sometimes you are faced with a situation where you must act. Almost everyone can step forward and strike with the palm, or deliver a foot stomp or low shin kick. There are all kinds of things out there that can level a playing field when someone is attacked. There are these cool things called Kuba-kickz that are legal and suck when you get kicked by. If your relative uses a cane I would suggest checking out http://www.canemasters.com. Maybe find a tia-chi class this can help with mobility, flexibility and self-defense.

Another good resource is the International Disabled Self-Defense Association. You can find them at http://www.defenseability.com. Any self defense instructor should be able to adapt techniques to help with someone who is disabled. Ask them and see what they can come up with.

Good luck

Otto

[splatcat]

Re: Krav Maga for less-abled people?

Otto –

Thank you!! That’s outstanding info! You’ve given me a bit to think on/learn about, and possibly even helped a number of people. :woohoo: I’m going to look into/learn about what you’ve posted, then (in all likelihood) pass the info along to the people in question.

Thanks again! thumbsup

[seraphs-coal]

Re: Krav Maga for less-abled people?

This is an interesting subject that i have pondered a few times and I would like to put up a few random thoughts,

Pro for the idea that Krav is for anyone is the fact that with the right instructor it can be mastered at the basic level in a good time frame, the basic moves in Krav are brutal and effective.

Yet on the flipside, Its my observation that if you want to kick someone in the gonads as instructed in Krav, you want to be very sure you can do that by getting in and hitting hard enough to to damage, give a weak kick or miss because you have arthritis or whatever in that area and you will fail and find yourself in close to that person leaving yourself open for counter attack.

There was a case up in Queensland of an elderly couple being awoken by a home invader, both were well into their 70’s. The assailant then pulled a knife on the elderly man, turns out the man was a black belt in Aikido and was able to turn the attackers knife on him and actually stuck him with it, when I read the article the police had not caught up with the guy yet but there was a massive trail of blood on the fence and down the street for them to start their enquiries from.

My point is that I do ponder whether Aikido or other styles where an attackers own force is used against them to apply pressure points and so on has merit for those challenged physically or with a disability? Not having studied it I cant say, but it does prove interesting to ponder on anyway!

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