Times of India

HYDERABAD: Terrorism has made life unimaginably tough for the latest batch of IPS probationers what with new combat techniques being introduced into the training schedule. The latest addition for budding police officers at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) is "Krav Maga" an Israeli hand-to-hand combat technique that gives the fighter more aggressive endurance.

But it is not just with "Krav Maga" that the 61st batch of IPS probationers who pass out on November 6, 2009 have an edge over the alumni of the prestigious institution. The 91 probationers, including 23 women, for the first time also had to develop their skills in scuba diving. Certainly fun was simply out of question. "It was all about learning to not only explore the unknown waters and surviving hazards but also acquiring the skill to rescue," said an officer engaged in training the probationers.

With a thorough revamp of the basic course syllabus for IPS probationers on the cards, the introduction of "Krav Maga" and scuba diving is only an indication of how the nearly one-year training will become more demanding.

Being cut off from civilization for a few days and getting lost in the deep and dangerous jungles of Tamil Nadu was probably not what the probationers, had bargained for when they got into the IPS but they slugged it all. Leading the change in training is director K. Vijay Kumar who in an earlier avatar as chief of TN Special task force had tracked down sandalwood smuggler Veerappan. "The jungle experience need not necessarily make the trainees physically tough. But it certainly makes them mentally tough," Vijay Kumar told TOI.

Not everyone could master the "Krav Maga" during the two-month training module but it certainly raised the standards of training for IPS probationers. "Krav Maga" is basically a tactical defence skill which stresses on threat neutralisation, simultaneous defensive and offensive manoeuvres, and aggressive endurance in a "him-or-me" context, according to NPA officials.

Source: Times of India