Deepa Balakrishnan, CNN-IBN

Bangalore: Three IT companies in Bangalore recieved e-mail threats of attacks last week. Following this Bangaloreans are training themselves in the elite Israeli form of self-defence called Krav Maga.

Ashish Puri, a product manager for an IT company is learning Krav Maga. He deals with a hostage situation one minute, and the next he’s trying to escape from the place of a shoot-out. He and 20 others like him are learning Krav Maga, an unarmed combat technique developed by the Israelis. It teaches you just how to react in a conflict situation like a terror strike. “It’s not about the physical size, it’s the technique we work with. So yes, it does give a lot of confidence,” said Puri.

“Now we’re not fighting soldiers, we’re fighting a surprise element. You cant’ wait for the police to come everywhere or the NSG commandos to storm in. People have to protect themselves,” said Krav Maga instructor, JW Frank. Considering the increased threat to most IT parks in Bangalore, these Krav Maga sessions are a big hit among the city’s techies. “It’s a very practical form of martial arts,” said a techie. “We’re aware that the world is not safe anymore,” said another techie from Bangalore.

We’ve often heard people singing we shall overcome after every kind of attack, but after the candle-lighting and the singing, this is the next step.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/