Keren - Krav Maga: Real World Solutions to Real World Violence - Disrupt . Damage . Destroy . Disengage

Acknowledgments

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Patrick Colin OReilly for his tireless work on photographing, editing, and helping select the final photographs for the book. His approach to capturing the movement of both attacker and defender has lead to a much more realistic work, than the one I first envisaged when I was approached to write the book. I would also like to thank Andy Rallings, for his technical contribution and advice (and continued support and friendship), as well as for his roles in portraying both assailant and target/victim in the photos. Other characters of note include Jake Augustern, Efe Atabay, Liz Berrien, Barry Bock, Sam Clark, Noah Grayson, Jeff Quigley, Jose Rodriguez, and Michael Ryan, for playing such convincing attackers and victims. I would also like to thank Justin Termini for helping us come up with the idea for the books cover photo, and taking the numerous photos until we felt we had the right photo.

A big, big thanks to the owner and staff at Jennys Pizza and Tavern at the End of the World in Charlestown, for allowing us to use their premises to shoot many of the scenarios described in the book. I would also like to extend my thanks to Scott Campeau, Dave Birringer, and Justin Termini for their editorial advice, input and tireless work in reviewing various iterations of the book, and to Liz Berrien for helping define and structure the book, as well as for her constant editing of it.

My biggest thanks go to all my instructors, who have taught me over the years. Especially to Marcos Lall (my first real Krav Maga instructor), who was the first person to really demonstrate the systematic nature of Krav Maga, and to Dennis Hanover, whose teaching and instruction influences almost everything I do.

OSS/Respect
Gershon Ben Keren

Conclusion

There is more to protecting yourself than learning how to fight and defend yourself physically. Violence occurs along a timeline, with pre-violence indicators (PVIs), such as an assailants synchronization of movement, which can alert you to the presence of danger; as well as victim facilitators (VFs), which are actions and behaviors you engage in that draw the attention of aggressors and predatory individuals. If you are able to learn how to reduce and eliminate these behaviors that draw attention to yourself, and understand how to identify those actions which an attacker needs to engage in before assaulting you, you will never need to use the techniques described in this book. This should be your goal.

Krav Maga was born out of the situation in which Israel found itself in the 1940sand continues to find itself in today: outnumbered by enemies on all sides, as well as internally, who wanted to deny its existence. There are times when conflict is unavoidableyou may not be prepared to accept the consequences of not fighting. When such situations occur, you should work preemptively with full, unwavering commitment to your goalending the violence as quickly as possible.

If you do ever need to use the techniques described in this book, do so with everything that defines who you are, as every fight and confrontation you are involved in is a matter of survival, and you must meet it with every ounce of your emotional and physical being.

Contents

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

This book is dedicated to Dennis Hanover, the Survival Family, and the people of Israel

Please note that the publisher and author of this instructional book are NOT RESPONSIBLE in any manner whatsoever for any injury or litigation that may result from practicing the techniques and/or following the instructions given within. Martial arts training can be dangerousboth to you and to othersif not practiced safely. If youre in doubt as to how to proceed or whether your practice is safe, consult with a trained martial arts teacher before beginning. Since the physical activities described herein may be too strenuous in nature for some readers, it is also essential that a physician be consulted prior to training.

Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

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Copyright 2014 Gershon Ben Keren

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

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Introduction

What Is Krav Maga?

Krav Maga , meaning Contact Combat, is a method of fighting taught to soldiers and military personnel by the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). It is a proven method of self-defense that has been tested to be effective in one of the toughest and most hostile environments on the planet: Israel and the Middle East.

Using natural reflexive actions to deal with threats and attacks, Krav Maga works with the way your body will naturally respond when subjected to the high stress and elevated emotions that are part of a violent confrontation. The training is based on what you will do when assaulted, not what you think you will do, or would think you should do. Techniques and solutions that deal with one problem/attack are reused to deal with others, thus reducing the total number of techniques that need to be learned and trained.

Krav Maga techniques are simple, brutal, and no-nonsense, with no regard to aesthetics. They are 100 percent utilitarian in nature and are designed to be performed effectively in any emotional statewhether you are tired, surprised, or stressed, etc. Krav Maga never assumes a state of preparedness (there are even training stances that reflect this lack of readiness).

It doesnt matter if you are standing, sitting down, laying down or in any other physical positionKrav Maga teaches you to fight from where you are, not where you would ideally want to be. It teaches defensive tactics against both unarmed and armed assailants, as well as against multiple attackers. No possible scenario is ever excluded or discounted when training solutions to violenceif it can happen, its trained.

Krav Maga teaches a survival mindset of never giving up, however insurmountable the odds against you may seem. In the IDF, the system has one goal: To get a new recruit combat-ready, both emotionally and physically, in the shortest possible time.

Krav Maga is constantly evolving, simplifying, and improving techniques, developing and evolving new ones, and making others redundant and obsolete. This makes it the most up to date and relevant system of self-defense available.