Krav Maga Practitioner : Gillan Divecha

March 10th, 2008

“Enter The Dragon” gave me my initiation to the world of Martial Arts when it played at packed cinemas back in 1977. I was ten then. Even when it sometimes airs on cable, I still find myself sitting through a good bit of the movie, quite possibly to the end.

When I talk with people today about my Krav Maga classes, the first thing I hear is that I was not alone in my fascination as a ten-year old – almost everyone brings up “Enter The Dragon” as the first time they discovered a curious interest in the Martial Arts.

Some even took up Karate, Kung Fu, Judo, Jiu-Jitsu. . . So, after all these years, are they Black Belts in their respective disciplines ? No. . . except for one 6th Dan.

After the initial “fire in the belly” faded out, most soon grew tired of the exhaustive hours of monotonous practice, memorising and executing complicated, choreographed “Katas” to perfection. Work and other commitments (excuses) also contributed to their growing disinterest.

So, why Krav Maga ? Why now ? People ask.

I’ll answer the second question first. I have lived in Bengaluru for thirty years. It is no longer the safe, sleepy city it used to be. The daily newspapers bring their fair share of fear right in your face – muggings, murders, carjackings. . . Besides, Krav Maga includes an incredible cardio-workout – a fast track to a six-pack! I couldn’t have signed up with Krav at a better time

Why Krav ? For one thing, unlike traditional Martial Arts, it isn’t steeped in restrictive tradition. I am not disregarding other techniques. If they were impractical, they would not continue to enjoy world-wide recognition. I would still consider a skilled Karateka with great caution. But, Krav Maga is a relatively young fighting-form that adapts constantly to multiple situations, multiple attack and defense scenarios – in a car, in an airplane, at the office, in our homes . . . anywhere. It is fast to learn, and is actually Battle Proven !

Battle Proven ? While running the risk of this reading like an History Lesson, the State of Israel and Krav Maga appear to be embodiments of each other.

Israel, geographically, is a little country surrounded by unfriendly neighbours. Krav tells us of two primary combat types – The First Strike and The Defensive Action.

As history has illustrated, Israel has used both “techniques”. The Six-Day War of 1967 saw Israel launch pre-emptive First Strikes against her neighbours and completely demolish them in six days ! However, The Yom Kippur War of 1973, found Israel fighting a fierce Defensive Action for her very survival, against larger, determined forces, and still win. Yes, Krav Maga was used on those and other battlefields.

Krav Maga is not a sport. Krav conditions the mind of the practitioner to snap from being a victim into a predator in split seconds following an attack. The combat methods concentrate on real-life threat eliminations. The attacks and counter-attacks are created to destroy dangerous adversaries, swiftly and safely. This is the ultimate “Jew-Jitsu” !

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