Congratulations to Nicola Provolo of Krav Maga Verona! Nicola successfully completed his 2nd Degree Black Belt test. Nicola finished the test despite receiving an injury to his leg -- a torn calf muscle that might require serious therapy. However, Nicola continued is test and finished very well. Good job, Nicola!
Winter Camp with Colorado Krav Maga is here again! John Whitman will be teaching several seminars this year, and a crowd of Krav Maga Alliance instructors usually show up. Join us for a great time!
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Most Krav Maga students in Los Angeles have heard of the “Knockout Game” popping up around the country. If you haven’t, it involves thugs randomly selecting a victim on the street and sucker punching them, trying to knock them out with one blow. You can watch a report on the phenomenon here.
First of all, it’s not a game, so screw that term. Let’s call them Knockout assaults. I’d like to call the perpetrators pathetic, maladjusted cowards, but that takes up too much space, so I’ll stick with “thugs.”
Anyway, like most self defense instructors, I’ve been asked about it. First off, let’s acknowledge that even if this is a “widespread” or “growing” trend, you are still far more likely not to be attacked by a “Knockout” thug then you are likely to be a target. So don’t panic. Just train.
And by “train,” of course, I mean “train in Krav Maga,” because this is what we train for. There are two practical solutions to the Knockout trend: situational awareness and reaction drills from positions of disadvantage.
(Please, please don’t tell me you would just shoot the bad guy. I am all for you carrying concealed, but that gun is most likely going to be under your jacket or in your purse when the sucker punch comes.)
Start with situational awareness: be aware not just of who is near you, but how they are behaving. Pay more attention to strangers and less attention to your smart phone. If you’re not beginning to shift from Yellow to Orange (or at least from Green to Yellow) when you walk by a group of teenage boys on the street, then you are making yourself a victim. I’m not saying you have to be paranoid. Just be aware.
Next, train against punches from positions of disadvantage. Krav Maga calls these “outside defenses,” and they work well with even minimal time to react. Also, they are instinct-based, so they are close to your natural reactions, provided your situational awareness has given you any time to react at all. We can’t guarantee that these defenses will work, because the skill, speed, and power of the attacker are variables we can’t control. However, they are designed to work against the attacks that you see in the video.
The trend is disturbing. But the solution, while not guaranteed, is simple: keep aware of your surroundings and train from disadvantaged positions. Use drills that incorporate as much unpredictability as is possible to create in a training environment. Start slowly, and build to higher and higher speeds. And maybe, just maybe, someone will be able to show one of these thugs who the sucker really is.
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Check out this upcoming event, December 13-15th in North Carolina at Triangle Krav Maga.
Learn unique survival skills training from Krav Maga Black belts, police, and Green Berets. Get your training and then play the survival game to put yourself and your team to the test!
Everyone is welcome!
Register here: http://store.trianglekravmaga.
Congratulations to all the attendees at the Level 2 certification held at Fit and Fearless in Austin, Texas. Great facility, great people, great job everyone!
Don't miss out on your chance to take the new Dynamic Arrest and Control cert, taught by KMA Force Coordinator Jeremy Stafford! This 3 day cert will be November 22-24 and will cover:
- multiple non-cooperative suspect arrest and control
- dynamic structure domination
- arrest and control
- arrest teams
- downed officer and citizen rescue
- baton training
- long guns as impact devices
- team takedowns
No experience necessary. It's going to take your training to the next level! Register today!
Congratulations to our School of the Year and Instructor of the Year!
Paul Garcia's school, America's Best Defense in Attleboro Falls, MA, earned School of the Year honors with their skill, professionalism, and enthusiasm in training and teaching Krav Maga. They epitomize everything the Krav Maga Alliance stands for.
Tony Morrison, owner of Top Gun Karate in Manhasset, New York, was honored as Instructor of the Year. Tony has dedicated the last few years to perfecting his Krav Maga knowledge, and he has become an inspiration to others.
Thanks to everyone who came to the Affiliate Banquet to honor these two gentlemen!
Last weekend we held our annual Allied Forces event in Las Vegas, which involved three days of Krav Maga, fight training, live fire shooting, and simunition training. All of this was preceded by a business seminar run by Paul Garcia, and instructor update training by John Whitman.
Business Seminar - Paul Garcia of America's Best Defense delved into successful sales and marketing strategies. If you're a school owner, you should have been there. It was some of the best practical advice you'll ever get, and it was FREE.
Update Training - Krav Maga sticks to its principles, but we're always looking to improve techniques. This seminar went over technical details of the Krav Maga Alliance curriculum.
Advanced Krav Maga - knife, stick, stress drills, and more. This is the heart and soul of what we do, and it was a blast!
Fight Training - not only did we do a bunch of great sparring drills, we also had Seb Zewdie, the 1980 Olympic Bronze Medalist in boxing, give a 2 hour seminar on boxing that was excellent!
Live Fire Training - this hands on instruction on firearms was taught by Jeremy Stafford, Director of the Force Division. Advanced students did a lot of stress drills and shooting competitions. Awesome work!
Siminution House - we trained against an Active Shooter in a hostage situation, learning to enter and clear rooms, and to deal with a Shooter who was already pulling the trigger on hostages. This section was run by two current SWAT team members with years of experience doing exactly this.
Mark your calendar for October of next year!
Ready to build a stronger school with better training, better support, and a better network? Click here to submit your info and learn what it means to join the Krav Maga Alliance.