Levine Darren - Complete Krav maga: the ultimate guide to over 250 self-defense and combative techniques

Complete Krav Maga

Darren Levine is one of a very few people in the world who can critique accomplished Krav Maga instructors, identify pretenders and adapt the Krav Maga system to new circumstances.

Imi Lichtenfeld, founder of Krav Maga

Darren Levines exceptional critical thinking, analytical skills and proficiency in Krav Maga make him one of the best instructors in the world today. This book gives you access to his experience and knowledge.

Amir Perets, Krav Maga 4th-degree black belt, former hand-to-hand combat instructor for elite units in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF)

An incredibly gifted prosecutor, Darren Levines mastery of Krav Maga is equally as effective and deadly as his courtroom skills. Without reservation I strongly recommend this book, and the study of Krav Maga under Darrenthere is no finer!

Scott Reitz, 30-year LAPD/Metro/SWAT officer and head instructor for International Tactical Training Seminars (ITTS)

Text Copyright 2007 John Whitman and Darren Levine. Design and concept 2007 Ulysses Press and its licensors. Photographs copyright 2007 Andy Mogg except as noted below. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the Internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Published in the United States by

ULYSSES PRESS

P.O. Box 3440

Berkeley, CA 94703

www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN: 978-1-56975-179-4

Library of Congress Control Number 2006907931

20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11

Acquisitions: Nick Denton-Brown

Editorial/Production: Lily Chou, Claire Chun, Matt Orendorff, Steven Zah Schwartz, Elyce Petker

Design: what!design @ whatweb.com

Cover photographs: Andy Mogg

Models: Tina Angelotti, Kelly Ann Campbell, Jeanine Jackson, Kirian Fitzgibbons, Gabriel Khorramian, Darren Levine, Kokushi Matsumoto, Matthew Romond, Jessen San Luis, John Whitman

Photographs on pages 13 and 258 courtesy of Krav Maga Worldwide, Inc.

Distributed by Publishers Group West

Please Note

This book has been written and published strictly for informational purposes, and in no way should be used as a substitute for actual instruction with qualified professionals. The author and publisher are providing you with information in this work so that you can have the knowledge and can choose, at your own risk, to act on that knowledge. The author and publisher also urge all readers to be aware of their health status and to consult health care professionals before beginning any health program.

In memory of Marni

Table of Contents

by Bas Rutten

by Bas Rutten

Hey everybody, listen up: This is El Guapo speakingBas Rutten, former UFC heavyweight champion, three-time King of Pancrase, and now spokesperson for the International Fight League. If youve ever seen my fights or trained with me in mixed martial arts, you know that I only teach techniques that work in the ring. The same is true for the streetI believe in only doing things that work.

Krav Maga works. I know it does, because the very day I met one of Krav Maga Worldwides instructors, Amir Perets, he loaded a pellet gun and told me to put the gun to his chest. He said, If you see me move, you pull the trigger. The next thing I knew, he had the gun in his handand he repeated it six more times. It was incredible to observe, and it was simple to do.

Amir later introduced me to Darren Levine, one of the authors of this book. Darren trained in Israel with Imi Lichtenfeld, the creator of Krav Maga. Imi personally asked Darren to be the U.S. chief instructor. If you heard of Krav Maga at all before picking up this book, it was most likely because of the efforts of Darren and the organization he put together.

Darren and I hit it off right away, because he thinks about fighting and self-defense the same way I think about fighting in the ring. Of course, hes not as good-looking as I am, but you cant have everything!

Darren told me a great deal about the system taught by his organization, Krav Maga Worldwide, and I admit I was initially quite impressed. The system is simple and easy to learn. You dont have to be a mixed martial arts champion to perform its techniques. But what I like most about Krav Maga is that it has all the answers. In fact, I gained so much respect for both Darren and Krav Maga that I attended a martial arts trade show with him in 1999. He was the keynote speaker, and once I heard him talk, I became even more impressed. Darren has the ability to explain the Krav Maga system so that it is both easy to understand and obvious.

Darren Levine is one of the best instructors I have ever seenmaybe the bestand, believe me, I have seen a lot of them! He specializes in defense against armed attackers and multiple armed attackers, hand-to-hand combat without weapons, street self-defense for civilians, and the list goes on and on. The fact that he also teaches Special Ops troops, FBI, elite counter terrorism units, federal law agencies, and many more, speaks volumes about his qualities. Even professional fighters like me can learn a lot from Darren. Hes ethical, professional, and responsible. You can tell that I am very impressed with him, cant you?

Krav Maga is a great system, Darren is a great teacher, and youll find this to be a great book.

Bas Rutten

Thousand Oaks, California

June 2007

In the fall of 2000, a teenage girl named Wendy (her name has been changed to protect her identity) was riding on a bus with her church band. The bus stopped at a mall, and Wendy got out to use the restroom. As is the case in many malls, the public bathroom was located far from regular foot traffic, through a steel door and down a lonely hallway. Wendy walked down this corridor and found the restroom. As she exited the room into the long hallway, a man grabbed her from behind, his huge arms wrapping around her body. Before she could even think, Wendy twisted in place, sending back one elbow and then the other, striking him in the face. Startled, her attacker let go. Wendy spun around and, as blood poured from her attackers nose, she punched him one more time and then ran.

Wendy wasnt just a member of her church band. She was also a student of Krav Maga.

***

This is the story of a Denver Police Department officer. On his own initiative, he appeared at one of Krav Maga Worldwides Law Enforcement Training courses in Denver to give a testimonial to the officers who were training. What follows is his story, told in his own words:

In the spring of 2005, I was doing traffic enforcement and pulled over a drunk driver. The guy was totally uncooperative and drunk, cussing, saying hes not going to get out of the car. I opened the driver door and used a twist lock to get the suspect out of the car. As he exited the car, I felt the suspect start to spin on me and saw him making a punching movement towards my head. I had just gone through a Krav Maga edged-weapon instructor course so I blocked what I thought was a punch and used an elbow strike to his head as a counterattack. I heard something metal hit the ground and saw a large folding knife lying next to us. I immediately followed up with knee strikes and the suspect collapsed to the ground. When I took the suspect to jail to book him, we noticed that he had large scars and cut marks across his chest in the shape of Xs. I asked him where he got those scars and the suspect said that he had been in a lot of knife fights. When we ran his rap sheet, we found he had been arrested 17 times and most of them for ADW (assault with a deadly weapon) with a knife. This guy was a knife fighter.