A few stories from the real world of our students applying what they have learnt in Urban Krav Maga classes at the City School of Urban Krav Maga!
 
One of our lady students was attacked recently (we’ll call her M to protect her identity, she did nothing wrong or illegal but I do not want any chance of any comebacks for her from this). She handled the situation brilliantly and the attacker was left with more than a few bruises, and more importantly she went home safe. Read the story below:

“I was just getting off the bus at around 2:30am after attending a party with some friends. I was alone as my friends were gone, and the bus was at its last stop. I stepped off the bus, walked a few meters, the bus pulled away and a man seemed to come out of nowhere. He was around 6ft 3”-6ft-5” tall, and stocky holding a beer can in his hand. He came straight towards me shouting and swearing right in my face, I was a little surprised, but was not too startled as there was really no time to figure out the situation. Before his hands came up I dropped my bag and went straight into his face with an eye gouge, gripping his head tight with a mixture of finger tips and nails, which sent the beer can flying and his hands straight up to mine. I held on but was pushing hard which sent him backwards; I got in 2 palm strikes to the nose, managed to knee him in the groin twice but it was a bit unsteady with the 1st kick and the 2nd kick was the one he seemed to feel. He fell backwards on the ground holding his nose and groin, I fell down on him too as I was leaning in towards him with more palm strikes making me unbalanced, but as I was getting up I continued on him with 4 more palm strikes to the face… as I hurried away I called for an ambulance for him.”

 

Let’s take a look at what we can learn from this incident:
 
  1. Training these scenarios in class with realism pays off - in a real situation you will respond as you train.
  2. If you are carrying a bag when attacked drop it as we train to do in our classes. You want your hands free to be able to defend yourself!
  3. When you are being attacked respond aggressively, quickly and with total commitment. There is no time for second guessing yourself now. Without training for these scenarios it is very difficult to avoid simply “freezing” in such a situation. If however you have trained the scenarios repeatedly, and especially when you’ve pressure tested them in class immediately after a bout of high intensity pad work as we do, then you will be used to acting under the effects of adrenaline. Now, no situation in the dojo or gym is going to fully replicate the adrenal response you get from a real and immediate threat to your safety but it will condition you to GO with full aggression and commitment under the trigger of a similar attack on the street.
  4. Learn to spot  the cues of an aggressive attack. In this case it was very obvious, swearing aggressively, rapid ingress into M’s personal space. She did not wait to  be grabbed or struck. Who knows what this guy had in mind to do once he had his hands on her?
  5. When dealing with a bigger, stronger opponent up close (the disparity in strength is great for a woman dealing with a man) eye gouges are very effective, even if they do not finish the attacker they will buy you the time and space for harder more effective finishing strikes.
  6. At close range palms, elbows and knees rule! Simple hard strikes with good body mechanics using parts of your body that will not get damaged against parts of his body that are vulnerable. This way you avoid injury to yourself but do plenty of damage to the opponent.
  7. The attacker will not be a static and compliant target! M switched attacks from high (eyes and head) to low (groin) and then back to high again as dictated by the aggressor’s response to her counter attack. Again drill in the dojo to cater for the way a real attacker will respond. This way it won’t surprise you when it happens for real! You will already have a  trained standard response to the situations you find yourself in, or one similar to it, and you will be able to access it under pressure quickly to keep the aggressor on the back foot.
  8. Hitting hard and effectively doesn’t require you to be extremely muscular it just requires the use of good body mechanics and learning how to transfer your weight behind your strikes without losing your balance. Even someone weighing significantly less than their opponent, hitting hard and repeatedly, to the right targets, can get the job done!
  9. Real encounters are messy and chaotic, in this instance M ended up on the ground with her attacker. This is best avoided - but if it happens, do whatever it takes to get back up ASAP just as M did.
  10. Stop the attack once you are sure you are no longer under threat and if required get medical assistance for the attacker. Keep it legal and do the right thing. Keep yourself safe at all times but do not go further than required to get home safely
  11. OK this final point is really nit-picking because I think M did a great job. But a situation like this avoided is the best defense. Try not to be in places where the risk is high, especially in the dark, late at night with no one around. Don’t get me wrong, I am not in anyway criticising M here, I’m just being really pedantic. Sometimes we all find ourselves in these situations every now and then - you can’t always avoid it. But if you’re in situations like this regularly the risk of an attack does increase. So do try to reduce the risk to yourself … but don’t let it stop you getting out there and enjoying your life as is your right to do!
 
Once again I think M did just great, I’m glad she got home safely. Well done M!
 
Another incident which was dealt with by one of our students, Guy. This is a good way for things to go. In this incident Guy had the time and space to put up a fence and talk the aggressor out of the violent action he seemed to be intent on taking. See Guy’s story below:
 
“Hi Aasim,
Thought I might share an incident with you last week which demonstrates the value of your teachings.
When I walk to the train station in the morning I cross a roundabout as a shortcut;  last week a driver took offence at me being in the road and actually swerved his car at me.
I involuntarily shouted ‘Tw*t!’ and he stopped in the middle of the road, wound the window down and asked me to oblige him by repeating my remark. I did  - twice.
The car door opened and he got out. I would say he was 5ft 9, bulky, shaven headed with an earring in both ears.
I didn’t really think about what I was doing as he approached. I moved a step back on to the roundabout because I didn’t want to fall backwards over it and dropped both bags I was carrying.
At this point he came very close and was still trying to intimidate me, shouting about me being in the middle of the road.
The whole dynamic of the incident changed when I moved put up a fence and focused on the shoulders to anticipate any possible sucker punch as you have taught us.
He already had his fist drawn back in the amateurish way some people do. But once he could see that I was not scared and I was prepared to fight his mood changed.
I couldn’t help myself saying ‘All right mate’ as I put up the fence but as he moved towards me I said: ‘Don’t come any closer.’
With that he scuttled back to the car. He looked back before he drove off and said something like ‘Next time I’ll have you.’
 
I believe he wanted to smack me in the face and drive off laughing. But people like this prey on fear and I was not afraid because I was prepared.
Okay - putting up a fence is hardly a move worthy of ‘Enter the Dragon.’ But it indicated to him if he did throw a punch I might be capable of something else too and he was forced to back down. It was the perfect outcome - no blows were actually exchanged, no police were called.

I think this is the essence of self-defence. No-one I’ve met at Urban Krav Maga wants to go round hitting people, but when you come across someone who does it is nice to be able to stand up to them.
regards
Guy”
 
OK I know what some of you are thinking - if Guy hadn’t called him a tw*t perhaps the incident would’ve been avoided all together. But in Guy’s defence, it is hard to stop yourself shouting something like that in such a situation when your life is put in danger so pointlessly. It’s pretty much an involuntary response. From that point on however Guy’s response was perfect. He made himself a hard target, the fence, putting down his bags, telling the aggressor assertively to not come any closer. He stayed safe and I ‘m sure the aggressor spent the rest of the day with his blood pressure high fuming about the whole thing - while Guy was unharmed and behaved throughout like the civilised and ethical man that he is. He is left with no psychological or physical traumas from this incident. It can be hard knowing how to act and what to say to prevent an attack, actually saying these things in class and role playing helps a lot. Hey if worse comes to worse you’ll have to fight but there’s a good chance you’ll get away without having to risk anything physical at all. Well done Guy! I agree with you mate, this is the essence of self defence. I’ve no doubt that  if it came to it you would have defended yourself successfully but it is so much better to avoid whenever possible.

Another one of my students (we’ll call him IA) had an incident while driving  - someone pranged his car and drove off without stopping to exchange insurance details. so he drove after him. The guy stopped in traffic and IA got out to ask the driver for his details. The driver of the other car got out. IA asked him for his insurance details. The driver became very aggressive (most likely an uninsured driver), and started swearing aggressively grabbing IA’s lapel and pulled back his fist to strike IA. IA grabbed the hand gripping his lapel and immediately hit the aggressor in the face with the palm of his other hand. This stopped the punch the aggressor was primed to throw. IA immediately moved in and grabbed the aggressor’s head in a Thai clinch and delivered 2 swift and hard knee strikes to the lower abdomen. The aggressor crumbled and IA disengaged having done enough to defend himself. He may have had to pay for the repair to his car himself but more importantly no damage was done to him by the aggressor.

IA did extremely well here. He grabbed the hand the attacker was using to hold his lapel and struck him in the face with his other hand immediately. This is a great “pattern interrupt” it stopped the aggressor’s primed punch. IA then immediately moved in and continued his counter attack with simple, effective, powerful, gross motor, fight finishing techniques. The whole incident over in 2 or 3 seconds. Also it is not always possible to strike pre-emptively. In situations like this it is quite common for drivers who are convinced they are in the right to swear profusely and be quite aggressive after a car crash. IA gave him the benefit of the doubt and tried talking to him until he was left under no doubt an attack was imminent. At which point he re-acted swiftly and decisively.

I have to say that as a self defense instructor it really makes it all worth while when you know that something you have taught has helped to keep your students safe. I believe this vindicates the teaching methods we employ at Urban Krav Maga. Certain things just become standard pre-programmed responses to violent threats. Almost like reflexes, no hesitation and a fully committed and appropriately aggressive response to the threat. Well done to all the students above who trained hard and kept their nerve in situations that could have lead to them being badly hurt or worse.