It’s going to be a very busy time so let’s kick off with the highlights for the early part of the year:  

Events in 2009

There’s a lot happening in the early months of this year. I’m doing:

a seminar for the Chinese Community Assocition in Limehouse on the 17th of January which, given the Martial Arts Tradition in that community, is a nice honour;

a general/instructor training seminar in Northern Ireland on 24/25 January which has attracted interest across the 6 Counties

A repeat of the successful training on a Bus seminar, probably on 8th February. This is done in conjunction with the police in South East London, takes place in Plumstead bus depot and covers primarily how to defend yourself if attacked when sitting down and/or trapped in a confined space. Limited spaces on this one so let me know as soon as possible if you’re interested.   

Also..

Urban Confidence Seminar

We’re doing a seminar on 28 February with Simon Jordan, the UK’s top Confidence Coach: see his website here: http://www.simonjordan.com/index_old_bakup.php called Urban Confidence.  There’s some interesting connections between what he and I teach in terms of approach and intent so this should be very interesting. Details to follow – again, please let me know as sson as possible if you’re interested.

Instructor Training/General Seminars

For the first  group  this year the weekend training sessions will be:

13-15 March (the 13th is a Friday, we train from 7pm –10pm)

20-22 March

And a final weekend, dates yet to be confirmed, probably 4 - 6 April. Will be finlised very quickly.

These dates will also be open for people wishing to attend on a general seminar basis. They’ll be tough but you’ll learn a hell of a lot. Again, space limited so let me know if you’re interested when you can.  

Team Minotauro UK

I’m delighted to say that my friend Leo Negao is back from Brazil.  Leo is a top Brazilian Jiu Jutsu practioner and Mixed Martial Artist. I’ll be resuming my very painful training with him amd will be helping him to establish Team Minotauro, Antonio Noguiera’s world-renowned MMA organisation – in London.

I hope 2009 is a good one for you.

Cheers,

Stewart
http://kravmaga-centrallondon.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.urbankravmaga.com/

0791 261 6361   

Aberdeen

24, 25, 26 October

London Fight Factory, Bethnal Green:

Weekend 1; 7,8,9 November

Weekend 2 (Test Weekend for all): 14, 15, 16 November

Please call if any questions, including if you wish to attend any of the courses on a “seminar” basis i.e. you don’t wish to become an Instructor, just train.

Stewart

Basic Criteria for Entry

Basically 4 years experience in a recognised martial art/fighting discipline, though this criterion will be relaxed if a candidate is known to and recommended by a Certified Urban Krav Maga Instructor. Prior to acceptance on the course, candidates who are not known to a Certified Urban Krav Maga Instructor will be required to attend a training session at an appropriate venue to confirm their suitability for the course.

Some Feedback on the Course

After training in several martial arts over many years, including Wing Chun and several other styles of Krav Maga, I’ve found what I’m looking for in Urban Krav Maga; a fully developed fighting system using proven techniques. I wish I’d found you years ago.

I would reccomend anyone interested in the reality of going to the ground in the street look at the groundwork section of UKM.

Mark O’Neill – Urban Krav Maga Instructor

As a novice to ground work I was not looking forward to this weekend,but thanks to Gershon & Andy’s training methods,knowledge & personalitise the weekend was incredible & despite the brused chest,ribs,neck,shoulders & ears I came away buzzing. I would also like to thank every one else on the instructors course, a great bunch of very talented guys, for all their support & help.Thanks every one. Would not change a thing.

Jonathan Saunders – Urban Krav Maga and Tae Kwan Do Instructor

Great course, great team.

Ben Hockman, Chief Instructor Beyond Fighting

These weekends seemed like a doubled edged sword. While continuously leaving the gym battered, bruised and physically and mentally shattered I thrived on the fact that I was drilling this system inside out.

I thought that although there was a hell of a lot to cover (due to the breadth of the system), everyone taking part did a fantastic job taking it all in and did excellently on the final weekend. Personally, after Gershon and Andy’s weekend I feel a lot more able when it comes to ‘rolling’.

Geoff Roberts – Urban Krav Maga Instructor

Structure/Content of the Course

These courses are open to people that wish to become instructors and to those that wish to do some intensive training over a weekend or weekends. Candidate Instructors must attend all parts of the course; others can attend any weekend that they wish though it should be noted that the Final weekend will be dedicated to revision and testing for the Candidate Instructors.    

What the course will cover: 

COMMON STREET ATTACKS

These are listed in frequency order.

•  One person pushes, hands to chest, followed by the pushee striking first to the head. STUDENTS WILL LEARN 4 PRE-EMPTIVE MOVES AGAINST A POTENTIAL ATTACKER TO AVOID THIS PUNCH TO THE HEAD
• A swinging punch to the head.
• A front clothing grab, one handed, followed by punch to the head,
• A front clothing grab, two hands, followed by a head butt.
• A front clothing grab, two hands, followed by a knee to the groin.
• A bottle, glass, or ashtray to the head.
• A lashing kick to groin/lower legs.
• A broken bottle/glass jabbed to face.
• A slash with knife, most commonly a 3 to 4″ lock blade knife or kitchen utility knife.
•  A grappling style head lock.

This is based on information supplied by Law Enforcement; instructors will set up scenarios for students that mirror the top 10 street attacks; students will be taught to understand the dynamics of the situation as well as the techniques that can be used to deal with them.

In addition to the tai sabaki and hand/arm movements necessary to defend these attacks students will learn:

Pushes

·       Grappling/striking responses to an aggresssive pushing attack prior to a fight

Punches/Strikes 

·       Left jab

·       Right cross

·       Left hook

·       Right hook

·       Left/right uppercuts

·       Left/right uppercut/horizontal elbow strikes

·       Use of all the above singly and in combination with appropriate footwork

·       Defences against all the above: singly, when thrown in combination and with appropriate footwork.  Counter-strikes following the defences with appropriate footwork.

Knife Threats

·       Defending/disarming against knife threats from the front to:

·       Throat;

·       Side of neck;

·       Abdomen.

·       Rear threats to lower/upper back and kidneys

·       All threats with/without control from attackers non-weapon wielding hand.

Striking

·       Side kicks

·       Jumping side kicks (to the knee)

·       Low/high Roundhouse kicks  (high kicks for learning defenses only)

·       Straight finger jabs     

·       Appropriate use of hands, elbows, knees, feet and shin in combination.

Knives

·       Knife Threats to the rear, all around the body with control from attacker’s non-weapon wielding hand. Threats with point and edge of weapon

·       All Slashing/stabbing knife attacks; defend and take the weapon 

·       Take-down defence against knife when attacker holding shirt/ lapel with one hand and stabbing with the other; dealing with knife threat in similar situation.

·       Appropriate use of ‘knee shoot’ against slashing knife attack

·       Knife threat, blade held horizontally to throat, attacker pushing you against a wall.

·       Knife threat to rear, blade held under armpit

·       Knife threat from rear: knife held to left side of throat, attackers arm under your right armpit and vice versa

Free knife fighting i.e. defending against attacker aggressively attacking with knife and use of improvised weapons where possible 

Guns

• Defending gun threats from “hands up position”
• Response to gun threats when attacker pulls the weapon back quickly
• Gun threats from ‘hands down’ position
•  Rear gun threat head forced against wall

Defending stick attacks

Defending Chain Attacks

Garrotte Defences

Groundwork

This will focus on the concepts that are key to defending yourself in these situations and drilling these concepts in action. Main areas covered will be:

 Takedowns

·       Setting up a takedown

·       Effecting a Takedown

·       Follow-up to a takedown

·       Defending against a takedown

 Escapes 

·       Attacker in full mount punching/choking

·       Attacker inguard choking/punching

·       Application and defences against scarf hold

·       Attacker in mount  pinning both arms down

·       Rear, front and side chokes-inside and outside

·       Rear stranglehold

·       Clinch, attacker striking with knees

·       Defending kicks when on the ground and getting up safely

 ·       Appropriate use of arm bars on ground and defending against application of arm bar

·       Defending full mount when attacker high up your body, i.e. knees in armpit

·       Use of half guard

·       Defending Side Mount

·       Defending Rear Naked Choke on ground

·       Applying and defending Full Nelson   

·       Appropriate use of arm bars on ground and defending against application of arm bar

·       Defending full mount when attacker high up your body, i.e. knees in armpit

·       Use of half guard

·       Defending Side mount

·       Defending RNC on ground

·       Applying and defending Full Nelson   

Application of and defence against:

·       Americana

·       Triangle chokes

·       Kimura

·       Omoplata

·       North/South hold

·       Heel Hook

·       Ankle Wrench 

All instructors must, at least:

• teach successfully at least 5 techniques to instructors and students – correction/coaching, set drills etc.

• undergo 10 minutes pressure testing being sequentially attacked by 4 others – attacks covering all the above levels

• Demonstrate appropriate sparring skills on ground/floor and free fighting  

Costs

Candidate Instructors

£1,200 for the full course. There are no recurring fees after this; to maintain your licence Instructors need to train for 4 hours during the course of the year – 2 of which hours must be consecutive- with a member of the Urban Krav Maga Technical committee.

If Candidate Instructors fail the course they will be able to re-take at an appropriate time and location with no additional cost.

Candidates can attend and pay on a modular basis but to gain their licence they will need to have attended all sections of the course within a calendar year. 

Non-Instructor Candidates 

£150 per weekend, payable in advance

Duration of Course and Location

The course will be held at London Fight Factory, near Liverpool Street Station in London. See:

http://www.londonfightfactory.com/contact/contact_us.html

For all weekends the timing will be:

Friday	7pm –10pm
Saturday	8am –6pm
Sunday	8am-6pm

Dates of Next Course to be advised very shortly.    

Again, I wasn’t wholly sure how it would work having a whole weekend dedicated to grappling but I thought it worked very well and will look to keep it for the next round of Instructor training. Comments from the guys who have attended the Instructor training courses so far will be appreciated - including suggestions on how we can improve the process next time.       

cheers,

Stewart

Jamie, Church of England Minister:

A drunken man came into an refuge we were running. He became extremely aggressive, produced a baton and started to threaten people with it.. Two of us tackled him and practically without thinking I took control of his arm and disarmed him…I was amazed at myself being able to do this so quickly; after this we managed to talk him down and he was subsequently arrested.

Lessons: if the guy has a weapon and you choose to act, do so quickly, without hesitation and focus on neutralising the threat as soon as possible. Against batons move into the attacker quickly as they are long-to-medium range weapons difficult to deploy effectively close-in.

Paul de Silva, Civil Servant (extract from a letter to Stewart McGill):

I was on holiday in Spain ..after a few too many beers I walked back to the hotel alone and was set upon by 6 youths…one ended up on top of me raining punches on my face – of all the martial arts I have done before it was the stuff that I learned from a relatively few lessons with you that I actually used. I covered my face so that I also prevented the back of my head hitting the ground, I bridged violently, head-butted him as I went over, got up immediately and ran. The youths were so surprised and shocked at the fate of their friend that they didn’t even pursue me.

Lessons: if on the ground facing punches from someone in full mount, grab your head strongly and have your forearms cover your face – very importantly this helps stop the back of your head hitting the ground as well as guarding the face. Bridge continually: you may not dislodge your attacker immediately but you will disturb his balance and therefore his ability to punch properly.

Howard, businessman:

I was working late at night when somebody tried to force their way into the office. I confronted him- he shaped up to throw a big right-hander; I stepped into him to take away his range with my left elbow raised high and hit him in the face with the heel of my right hand. He stepped back stumbling badly, I gave him a roundhouse kick hitting the side of his leg with my shin. I must say, even with the adrenaline pumping it amazed me how he went down he went down like a sack of spuds.

Lessons: try to get home earlier. Also, if you’re going to step in to take away an attacker’s range make sure you cover up properly and hit the guy hard and quickly. Often good to follow up a high blow or blows with a lower strike particularly a kick like Howard describes, if you have the range.

Jasper, student:

4 youths stopped me in the street and wanted my mobile. I moved to the edge of the pavement, took the kid on the outside and pushed the heel of my hand onto the tip of his nose. His head went back arching his back at the same time. I pushed down, stepped into him and the back of his head hit the ground very hard. I ran, his friends chased me for a few seconds but their heart wasn’t in it and I got back home buzzing.

Lessons: if you elect to fight in this situation, position yourself optimally in the pre-fight stage and take out the first guy very aggressively. Get out as soon as you can.

Aasim, Computer programmer and Urban Krav Maga instructor:

I was on the way back from training when a guy cranked up on something pushed me backwards and threatened me. I moved back, dropped the bag and –tragically – the kebab that I’d just bought.. I extended my arms into the fence position, my fingers pointing at his eyes. He tried to head-butt me, I simply raked his eyes with my left hand and kicked his groin with my left leg. He went down to his knees and came out with the usual self righteous whining. I left the scene immediately. Apart from the techniques, what helped me were the reality-based Urban Krav Maga techniques. If you’re attacked there’s a good chance that you’re going to be carrying baggage so we actually practice handling surprise attacks when carrying a bag. This really helped in this situation as the bag –and kebab – were only going to get in my way so losing them immediately helped me end up unscathed.

Lessons: always have your fingers pointing at the aggressor’s eyes when putting up your fence; if it’s shaping up to be a fight, drop any bags you’re carrying; incorporate drills into your training in which you’re attacked carrying baggage, wearing heavy clothing etc. just as you might be if it kicks off in reality.

Tough to describe this, hope that all made sense. It’s dangerous, messy and the downside is very, very bad but that’s the reality of any confrontation, particularly when the guy has a knife. If the guy is after you with a knife and you can’t run away or get a useful weapon like a chair then, as a last resort, I think you have to go in very hard, cover yourself as best as you can and attack the guy very aggressively to give yourself a chance. To be honest, if you just deflect and move without being able to run like hell out of the way very quickly, he’s going to get you sometime soon so aggressive attack is a perfectly valid option. It’s risky and the knee strike can affect your stability but on the upside it can really screw the attacker thereby giving you the opportunity for attack and disarming.  Being stabbed and slashed can also affect your stability pretty badly.

Anyway the results I saw this week when the knife attackers were going for it like hell and the defenders used this approach were, I thought, pretty conclusive about the strength of this approach. I’ll be interested in any comments but particularly from the people that did the drill this week.

Stewart        

We’ve made a lot of progress so far on the “Urban Project” since we kicked things off in the early part of the year:

We’ve produced the DVD box set and picked up some damned good reviews from people like Peter Consterdine and Bob Sykes, see this link:

http://www.kravmaga-eastlondon.com/urban-krav-maga-dvd.htm

I was asked to do a seminar with the Royal Military police in Aldershot which went very well, see some of the pictures here:

http://www.kravmaga-eastlondon.com/krav-maga-gallery.htm

and we’ve begun the process of authorising the next group of Urban Krav Maga instructors. I’ve done 3 seminars so far and I have to say that this is up there with the toughest things that I’ve have ever done. It’s an ambitiously big syllabus - that  I won’t change as I want to make sure that all Urban Krav Maga instructors have a proper comprehensive knowledge -  and we need to ensure that people emerging from the process can impart the knowledge as well as be able to do the stuff at a reasonable level of competence.

It’s been tough but very rewarding so far: when an experienced shotokan black belt tells you that it was the best martial arts seminar he’s attended than you’ve got to feel good. At the same time you’ve got to keep humble - the whole process is also rewarding for me as the guys that I’m working with are all good, experienced martial artists and I learn from watching how they move, what works for them, how they respond when a technique doesn’t work as initially planned, how they adapt techniques to their own strengths and weaknesses etc.  I’m going through this as it leads me onto a statement of some important principles of Urban Krav  Maga that I’d like to keep constant and that all instructors and students stand by:

1. Never think you know all the answers, and never think that the answers you do know will always be the same.  I don’t go for the “great unimpeachable guru” syndrome that afflicts a lot of martial arts and some reality based systems; as far as I’m concerned I’m just another guy trying to work out the best way of not being hurt.  
2. We all learn from each other and each other’s experience; if it works we’ll do it irrespective of provenance.
3. Techniques don’t always work out as planned and all opponents break up differently -always have a Plan B and be prepared to adapt responses according to what works at the time.    
4. The traditional martial arts provide a much underestimated base to everything in reality self-defence-the shotokan black belt referred to above was able to make great progress partly because of his very strong background in that traditional art and the understanding it gives of tae sabaki and the footwork that needs to be right for anything to work. The more that I train, the more grateful I am that I did my time with the traditional stuff - I may have wondered at the time why the hell I was doing all those reps with the strange stances but it’s become clearer as I’ve got older. However, Kata will never appear on the Urban Krav syllabus
5. Always keep humble - it’s a good thing to be in itself, its a mindset consistent with the traditional martial art philosophy that the ultimate enemy is yourself (that being said some of the most egotistical people I’ve met have been traditional martial arts teachers- funny old game) and you’re always going to meet somebody tougher than you at some point so be ready in every way.     

Don’t want to get too philosophical or pompous here so that’ll be enough of that stuff. Will be sticking more posts up over the next couple of days, hope that you get something out of them

Stewart

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