Krav Maga TamilNadu - Self Defense Fitness Courses

Which is effective in a fight - Gross motor skills or Fine Motor skills ?  This is an argument going on for ages, amongst martial arts instructors. Much has been said on both sides. Now I am adding my own thoughts to this argument, with the benefit of having practiced Karate and KravMaga and the hind-sight acquired after having taught KravMaga to civilians and police. Actually experts say  there are 3 levels of motor skills - Fine, Complex and Gross . Here is my simple description which explains the 3 motor skills in the context of fighting (click for readable view) . To make it even simpler – 1. Practice = swimming on dry land  2. Sparring = swimming in a shallow swimming pool 3. Actual fight = trying to survive in rough waves, blindfolded! See how  complex skills fail in an actual crisis, even for trained police men! "So, I need NOT learn fine movements?!" Let me clarify that I am NOT against teaching Fine motor skills. The mor...

Recently, in Brazil, UFC Featherweight champs Maiqul Falcao and his training partner Kaue Mena was beaten up by a gang outside a gas station. Kaue Mena is now in critical condition at a hospital. The video clearly shows Falcao hitting a girl unprovoked, which brings to the scene a gang of local youth. The gang vastly outnumbers these 2 UFC fighters and they proceed to make mincemeat of the fighters, with rods and merciless kicks to the head. So these heroes of the ring become pathetic zeroes on the street. What's the net take? What are the signs that differentiate a victim of his own Ego, Ignorance and Stupidity? What makes a guy a stupid street fighter? Asking to be hit ?! 1) Tendency to initiate brawls Some people have a negative cloud hovering over their heads always. They keep on goading others by being rude, provoking and abusive. They get away with it when they are in dominant positions, inside their home or office cabin. But once outside the safety of t...

SELF DEFENSE TIP - KRAV-MAGA CHENNAI If you like this post, Please SHARE it. Just click the appropriate icon of  "Sociable'  section on the right hand side of this page. Thank you for giving your precious time! Hope it was worth the while. :) ............................................................... SreeRam is a KravMaga self-defence instructor at Chennai, South India. He teaches Civilians, Chennai City Police and Security. SreeRam has started W.A.H.R (Women against harassment & Rape)an NGO devoted to increase personal safety awareness amongst women and equip them to handle sexual harassment at public and work places. SreeRam conducts KravMaga personal safety and self-defense workshops at corporates, especially IT/BPO companies where many women work late. He has also conducted workshops, for rural women. On 8th March 2012 ( International Women's Day) KravMaga SreeRam released a small handy booklet for women titled " 10A-s of Personal Safety for Women...

Warning - This analysis may NOT be very crisp like my other posts. But still I will highlight the key definitions in bold, so that you can have at least a net-take if you don’t have the time . In KravMaga, I have noticed some basic principles around which the techniques are built. I am attempting to decipher them for my trainees benefit. Part I deals with issues which has to be understood before one takes up training in fighting arts . "VIOLENCE IS THE MOST STUPID WAY OF ADDRESSING A PROBLEM." To every fresher who joins my KravMaga class I start my class with the statement ,"Violence is the most stupid way of addressing a problem." Their reaction is generally a look of amused confusion " I am paying good money to this guy and he is saying the whole class is learning to be stupid!" Former Minister K P P Samy arrested for murder Its just that I want to the trainee to understand there is cost to pay for each action and he can't avoid it on...

The prisons are filled with normal people like you and me. They landed in the prison just because they lost their sanity for a few seconds. Frightening, isn’t it!  When you realise that everything built over a lifetime can be lost in a jiffy. “Violence starts where civilization ends." KravMaga system takes this dictum into cognizance and advocates physical violence only as last resort, when all civilized options are exhausted. What are the triggers of Violence? Volatile situations happen every day in bar rooms, board rooms and bed rooms. Wherever there is more than one individual, opinions may differ. Unfortunately and unexpectedly, sometimes these differences escalate to physical violence. Aggression can be internally present. A small minority do carry their aggression blatantly. They are by nature bullies or brought up in a social/domestic condition where violence is a pre-requisite for daily survival. Aggression...

Myth 1 - Size matters Size is a natural advantage since its intimidating. But the advantage of size in actual street fight is over-rated. Natural reflex, aggression, nimbleness and hitting the vulnerable spots are the key in a emotionally intensive confrontation. But, AVOID going on the ground grappling with a bigger guy, because he can dominate with superior mass. Myth 2 - Technique matters  Its highly improbable that a technique learnt inside a dojo can be applied with 100% effectiveness, in a sudden fight.   One will be under adrenalin infused stress because of the unpredictable and dynamic nature of an ugly confrontation. Its the reflexive adaptability of the technique which will be most natural and least contrived. Myth 3 - Cool head will prevail 3 things matter in street fight - Aggression, aggression and more aggression. As combat tested military and police officers have observed “Combat is 90% Attitude & 10% Technique" Look aggr...

In a sudden confrontation, people often freeze. Even martial-art practitioners and military soldiers are not exempt from this comatose response. First we will look at why this happens and later we will see how to train the body and mind to avoid this freeze. WHAT HAPPENS DURING 'THE FIGHT OR FLIGHT' SITUATION The technical term is Tachypsychia. In this neurological condition due to a sudden surge of adrenalin in the blood stream, the following happen - • Heart beat can rise up to 300 bpm, resulting in high Blood pressure . That’s why many faint in a crisis. • Heavy breathing due to dilation of airway to lungs. • Limbs don’t move , as body prepares for defensive foetal posture. • Dilated eye pupils, which produces visual exclusion known commonly as 'tunnel vision' . That’s why people lose peripheral vision. • Auditory exclusion also happens. That’s why people in shock appear deaf and seem to be far away , in their own world. • Epinephrine dump in the brain makes Tim...

KRAV MAGA is a pragmatic and realistic fighting system. Find out how... WHY AIM AT ‘VULNERABLE SPOTS’ When training civilians, we teach them to DEFEND > OFFEND >NEUTRALIZE> EXIT . And the shorter this sequence it is better. Because, the longer a confrontation is prolonged, higher is your exposure. So, in KravMaga, to keep a fight short and decisive, we always aim at the VULNERABLE SPOTS of the opponent’s body. VULNERABLE SPOTS – NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH ‘VITAL SPOTS’ Hitting vital spots can result in collateral damage, and even worse - fatality. You are not interested in defending a murder charge, are you?! So forget hitting internal organs. This write-up is to educate you on stopping a fight ASAP, NOT maiming or killing. WHAT ARE THE VULNERABLE SPOTS IN THE HUMAN BODY 1) EYES 2) NOSE 3) MOUTH 4) CHIN 5) GROIN (TESTICLES) 6) KNEES 7) ANKLES WHY WE CALL THESE ‘VULNERABLE SPOTS’ 1) THEY ARE EASY TO REACH All these spots are on the surface. It does not take years of practice to ...

How is KravMaga different from traditional martial arts? KravMaga is a ‘horizontal system’ which combines elements of various fighting systems. One will find – o   Kicking & Punching   elements of Boxing, Karate & Muay Thai o   Ground fighting & Grappling like Judo & BJJ o   Holds & Takedowns like Aikido o   Defence against Knife attacks like in Kali o   And also defence against stick attacks, fire-arm threats We can say KravMaga is a MMA (Mixed Martial System) KravMaga is NOT a martial art. It’s NOT a Sport.  KravMaga is a combat system for street survival Why do you say KravMaga is NOT a martial art? There are some major differences in the approach to Self-defence by KravMaga o   There are NO choreographed movements like katas. Intricate and contrived movements fail during an un-predictable street situation.  KravMaga is based on natural reflex and fast direct attacks using gross motor...

SMART STREET FIGHTING Remember these critical points in a street fight - * Keep moving and don't present a stationary target. * Don't be in the comfort zone of the attacker/s - keep changing Range, Direction. * Don't assume there is only one aggressor. Always assume he has got assistance. So scanning your blind side is very critical. * Since you are assuming your attacker is going to get assistance from friends, you always try to keep the confrontation as short as possible; which prepares you for the next assault. * For your life's sake don't try fancy stuff - especially intricate locks and high kicks. They are for movies. * Don't get trapped in the middle of a group.. keep pushing to the periphery of group * Keep you senses and eyes open for exit routes * Don't panic.. Even if you don't feel brave, Fake aggression * If you fall down, try to get up fast. * If you are down in the midst of a gang, cover your head with arms and just roll up l...

In Part 1 we saw the Options of Confrontation in a hierarchy of - AVOID >> KEEP MAX DISTANCE >> USE AVAILABLE OBJECTS Now we come to the options when one is compelled to use one's body OPTION 4 - LONG RANGE - USE LEGS TO DEFEND AND ATTACK Legs are the longest weapons in our arsenal. The advantage in using legs is, one's vital organs are kept away from the aggressor's reach - which is very critical in facing attacks using sharp objects. Legs are the largest group of muscles and bones in the body and can deliver a powerful attack or defense in any direction - Front, Side or Back. OPTION 5 - MID RANGE - USE PUNCHES AND HAMMER FIST If in mid distance, which is between kicking and touching distance, punches are effective. But punches are effective only if it is delivered to the front. What if the aggressor is on one's side or back. Hammer fists are ideal for attacks to the side and back. I personally prefer hammer fists to punches because of its ver...