“On my way home from your class this evening three youths mugged me in the car park outside my flats in Deptford The problem was I had a coat over one arm and a rucksack in the other. The main assailant was waving a knife around. We tussled for a bit – them trying to get my stuff – I made a lot of noise to get an audience from the surrounding flats, got aggressive, didn’t get cornered and fought them off (only the guy with the knife really tried to have a go at me). I didn’t really think there was any point in running (they were all teenagers I reckon – though hoods obscured their faces). The overlooking windows opening and neighbours shouting made them eventually disappear.

Anyway, thanks. A few weeks ago I wouldn’t have had the attitude to deal with the situation. Though I suspect the sensible thing would have been to have let them take my stuff (as the police subsequently observed). I did think about it for a split second but decided to fight. I’m a bit wired now so a few scotches are in order.”

He’s only done 7 lessons so particularly proud of him. Training points;

don’t look vulnerable or distracted, if you’re carrying stuff and both arms are occupied then attackers are more likely to go for you. Scum are like any other predators in the animal world, they go for what they see as the easiest meat.

if you decide to go for it, do so with aggression as extreme as you can, the bad guys often win because they go into a situation already pumped up, the good guys need to be able to get into “fight mode” very quickly to survive; we’d been doing some drills to train this just a few hours before this crap happened to our guy so maybe it helped.

make a lot of noise to attract attention – this can deter the scum as they often want to get in and out as quickly as possible with minimal attention.

The Police will often advise compliance and I can understand this – they see the damage done to some people that fight back. However, if you do comply you can feel like hell for months or even years afterwards, particularly men as it makes us question our manhood etc.
It’s a tough one this as I can see both sides – another problem with compliance is that sometimes the bastards want to hurt you even after you’ve handed the dough over.

Avoidance always the best gig, check out our wee guide to personal safety here:

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

Well done again to our guy and let’s hope these bastards will soon be long-term guests of Her Majesty.

Stewart

Will hopefully be going to Wisconsin in the Autumn to do a seminar at John Lacy’s club in Madison. John is a real asset to Urban Krav Maga and I’m looking forward to training with him again. He has many strengths as an Instructor but the main one – and this is the most important thing re the quality of any teacher – is that he genuinely cares about the progress of his students and believes that they have the right to be taught the very best techniques using the best methods. This is why he has continually looked to develop himself and his training and has done so successfully.

Look forward to getting over there in the “Fall”.

Stewart

Adapting Urban krav maga techniques

How many times have you been training and tried a move or technique to find it did not work on your training partner? If it did not work on them you think, perhaps it would not work in a real environment when it counts. This is where you have to adapt the situation or technique to suit you and not get fixed on repeating the same move, which you know does not work for that particular opponent/s.Firstly you need a good grounding in the basics of Urban Krav Maga as a starting point so you know what you’re adapting. When training you will see that most moves in Urban Krav Maga work for everyone, but there are some that work better for heavy people, some favour a lighter more flexible person, male or female. If you find the technique is not working because your opponent is bigger, heavier than you or not as flexible then make it work. Experiment a little with some guidance if needed from the instructor to see what will.
While we are on the subject of adapting lets, but also take into account clothing, yours and theirs. When training we wear a tee-shirt, track bottoms and trainers. The weather could be warm; People in the street wear lighter clothing, which works well for striking and grappling. Most of the time it’s a sweaty partner that makes it hard to grip arms, hands or head. But think when it’s cold or winter you will be wearing several layers of clothing restricting your movements, your assailant is also wearing a thick coat or jacket, several layers, gloves or a hood pulled up. Will the same techniques work when you can’t grab, punch or strike the targets effectively, or will you be able to adapt what you do know too come out on top?
I will recount an experience I had at work where I had a chance to put this into practice.
My colleague and I had a call to a house where a male was drunk and on drugs. The family wanted the male to leave the premises. We escorted him down the stairs (which was feat in its self) and into the waiting ambulance. The male was compliant at this point so I stayed with him and my colleague was going to meet me at the hospital.
On the way he began to shout, scream, howl and wave his arms around and sit up on the trolley and tried to grab the ambulance operator. The ambulance guy grabbed the man’s legs as he was tying too wriggle them free of the trolley straps. I tried to control his arms but it was not happening. We were both sweating and I was having trouble getting a good grip. So I adapted a ground technique that I had been having a go at in training. I wrapped his arms across his chest, using my arms to pull his together, a sort of scarf hold. I then braced one foot against the side of the ambulance to get a little more leverage. I used my left forearm to defend against him biting me (which he tried several times).This also gave me the advantage to relieve the pressure on his chest at intermittent times when he was lucid and compliant. All the while this was going on I was trying to get some help on the radio in the back of a moving ambulance. Eventually my mates arrived and took the p**s at my predicament but did help me out (after laughing). The male was safely taken too the hospital and all was well in the world.
After the incident I reflected on what had happened and saw this as good example of adapting a ground technique in an enclosed hot environment I never expected.
I would not have used this technique with more than one attacker.
If you do end up in a similar scenario where you are restraining a person remember, depending on what technique you are using, relieve the pressure around the chest area if needed, so the person can breathe and apply pressure/pain compliance only if they try to kick off again. (This does not mean when they say “I can’t breathe” or “it hurts” you let go, keep control). This is especially important if the attacker is on drugs or has been drinking. Remember do not compromise your safety; it can take some time until police arrive and you can not rely on the public to help you.

“Adaptation means not clinging to fixed methods, but changing appropriately according to events, acting as is suitable”
ZHANG YU (Sun dynasty, 960-1278) Commentary on the art of war.

Stewart

Next outdoor gig will probably be in The Ferrier estate in south east London in early May – will be able to hire a disused square and a couple of apartment blocks for a morning seminar.
Will be in touch with details later
A huge blog here on some not wholly honest Instructors, check it out:

http://www.fakeselfdefenseinstructors.com/

A few lessons here. (i) Our friend was disappointed that under pressure he opted to punch the guy rather than something more sophisticated, he’s learned a good few third party protection techniques over the years with us; this disappointment being accentuated by the intense pain he felt in his knuckles after he’d smacked the guy. Thing is, under pressure many of us will revert to chucking punches at someone which is why we teach people how to punch properly.

(ii) Punches can be pretty useful weapons, our friend’s knuckles were sore for a little while but the yobbo was in a much worse state. You won’t feel the pain in your knuckles until afterwards but it will be very sore so try to avoid punching to the head more than once with the same fist – 2 hits at the very maximum.

(iii) Get out of there as soon as possible. Our friend did a good job in general but shouldn’t have hung about – the guy could have had a mate, started to fight again, maybe with a weapon. He also got a chance to know our friend’s face – not good if he plans on some kind of revenge. If this sort of thing does happen at a place you regularly visit, such as a railway station, best to avoid the guy getting too good a look at you – get in and out very quickly and assume the worst by varying your journey patterns for a month or so afterwards if possible.

Anyway, Happy New Year to you, stay safe and warm in 2010.

Stewart

Interesting, and worrying, thing about nearly all the confrontations that I hear about about is that it takes the good guys a while to get the necessary aggression going to survive the situation. I guess that the fact they do is a testament to the them and the training but I’m still concerned that the bad guys have an advantage because they enter situations in an aggressive frame of mind from the outset. You can’t graft gonads onto a giraffe, as my old karate teacher used to say, and it is tough to turn nice people into sociopaths -albeit temporarily – but we’ll work a lot in 2010 on how to turn on the aggression quickly.

Stewart

With a traditional martial arts background in Kung Fu, I had little experience and practical knowledge of ground fighting. I also found that a lot of the techniques within my armoury were ineffective against more powerful opponents. UKM has helped me to be more direct, cut the fancy stuff and use techniques that focus on dealing with an attacker in the fastest, most effective way. This Martial Art does not rely on physical strength, but rather on technique and speed.

I would highly recommend the UKM instructors course to all experienced Martial Artists looking to consolidate their knowledge with a combination of proven effective techniques. The course is really physically and mentally challenging! Anyone looking for an easy ride are in for a shock… Prepare to shed blood, sweat and tears.

Stewart and Leo are world class instructors and the experience of training with them was invaluable. Their high expectations and attention to detail truely motivates you to raise your game!!! In addition, both guys have a great sense of humour and made each day of training really enjoyable. The 5 days flew by quickly… and I can safely speak for everyone when I say we will be back for future courses

AJ Abella
The Urban Krav Maga course was excellent covering all stand-up ranges and on the floor. Armed and unarmed, its the whole package. In the street you can call on these practical skills to get you, friends or family out of any situation.

Stewart Mc Gill is and excellent teacher with his own way of teaching; he breaks down techniques, so you as a student can pick it up real easy, and at your own pace. Leo Negao is another positive factor in the Urban Krav Maga organisation. He really knows his stuff, and can adapt his ground game to the street. As guys who know real fighting will tell you , the ground is not a great place to be; but if you you are there Leo will show you how to make the best of a bad situation and get up quickly and safely.

I would recommend it to anyone,

Jimmy Kelly