It is a depressing but true fact that a lot of women feel afraid when walking the streets alone at night - all you have to do is ask around to realise just how many of us are fed-up with walking home clutching our keys between our fingers. Of course, two men can be extremely unequally matched when it comes to strength and size, but the sad truth is that the majority of women can put up little fight against the majority of men purely because of our biological make-up. And that’s a scary thought.
Krav Maga and physical training is what I will talk about in this blog post. In KMG we rely on four “legs” that we need to improve all the time, Technical, Tactical, Mental and Physical. If one of them is lacking the whole platform on top of them will fall to one side.
Self-defence is about taking control of any situation you do not feel comfortable with - if someone does not respect your boundaries, you have the right to do something about it. The question is what?
The first link of the chain is avoidance, next is prevention, third is defensive action then finally the need to fight and escape. Within each link there are options depending on the challenge in front of us.
Krav Maga training gives us the solution to each link of the chain or timeline - giving us the skills to recognise the impending problem and hopefully react with the appropriate solution.
Bark worse than bite? Defending an aggressive action like a punch or a choke seems easier compared to verbal threats, simply and obviously because we can actually see the punch! Dealing with the non-physical verbal cues or threats can be harder to deal with, because they are simply not as visually obvious. They can still be corrosive and a step towards more violent behaviour.
Going back to the links in our chain, before we need to defend ourselves we can train to use our voice and have the strength to walk away. But sometimes we are too close to the issue to recognise the signs.
Westminster council have created a new initiative which emphasises the issue of domestic abuse particularly amongst young people in the U.K and gives us some important tools to help recognise the early signs. Though the initiative is London based the problem is global, the tools are there to be shared as a friend or teacher. There is a fantastic video with some useful questions to ask and some links to other helpful organisations. Please share as much as possible.
Sarah Brendlor - KMG Affiliated instructor
Thank you to SpeaksSense for the images and text below. For more information on this important initiative visit speaksense.org
Did you know that young people aged 16 to 24 are the most likely to be in an abusive relationship? In fact 1 in 5 of 13 to 17 year olds have been physically abused by a boyfriend or girlfriend. As most young people would only ever tell a friend about any relationship issues, making sure that they know how to respond to possible signs of abuse is essential to help prevent it.
As a friend, your words can make a big difference to someone caught up in abuse. But would you know how to #SpeakSense?
#SpeakSense, a new campaign developed by young people with the backing of Westminster City Council, aims to raise awareness among young men and women on the different ways a relationship can be unhealthy, and what to say or do if a friend talks to them about issues that could indicate abusive behaviour.
Has your friend asked you for advice related to any of the issues above? Or have you picked up on something without them telling you? Watch the video...
If you suspect something is not right, acting to solve it is not always easy but it can save lives. Learn the facts and how you can help at speaksense.org.
Chatting with Sarah Brendlor, Krav Maga teacher about using this amazing self defence in today's world. www.londonkravmaga.com kravmagaglobal-uk.com Book a lesson today.
A short interview on Wandsworth Radio’s Health hour. Chatting about Krav Maga and the importance of self-defence! May 4th 2016
When are we going to do a head butt? They look fun!
PLEASE NOTE: The training is designed to educate and teaches the student to act responsibly. It makes sure the student understands potential dangers and how situations could escalate. I teach prevention. The student will then learn when it is appropriate to use the techniques, emphasising non-violent solutions.
A violent attack can occur to anyone at any given time. Below Eyal Yanilov Master 3 at Krav Maga has listed the techniques that he has acquired over the years of training.
