“Krav Maga is a form of self-defence that deals with realistic scenarios where there are no rules. It deals with prevention from threat, psychological buildup to empowerment, verbal self-defence, soft and hard tactical defence against eve-teasing, groping, molestation and rape. It is an instant realisation and reaction to an action or attack,” says Frank J Wolf, instructor, Israeli Krav Maga Self-Defence in Richmond Town. Wolf is the only Krav Maga instructor in Bengaluru.

According to Wolf, this art of close combat was developed by Imi Lichtenfeld, a trained boxer and wrestler in Bratislava in order to help protect the local Jewish community during the German military invasion.

Krav Maga trains one to be ready for any lethal situation regardless of age, size, strength and fitness. “The common attack targets in Krav Maga are chin, groin, throat, eyes jaw and knee. If you are attacked from the back and choked, you will not waste time resisting, instead when pushed back you’ll raise your foot to attack his groin,” he continues.

Krav Maga is popular because there are no esoteric martial art techniques that are put to use. Instinctive punches and kicks used in natural self-defence are polished. Krav Maga is an excellent fitness routine and helps in building stamina, confidence and helps to burn those extra calories. Many law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies like the FBI have adopted it.

The Bengaluru chapter of Krav Maga has trained around 300 people —among them men, women and children. For Kunga Uuangyal, 28, who is a student at the Krav Maga Academy of Self Defence, this art of close combat has pushed him beyond his limits, both physical and psychological.

“Learning this art form for more than two and a half years has been a huge help in building confidence. I now know how to react to situations that need quick thinking and action,” says Kunga.

“The fitness routine followed in Krav Maga is very intense. The workouts and exercises could be strenuous for a girl but constant resistant practice has equipped me with techniques to defend myself and I’m not scared of walking alone on the roads,” says Urvashi Raizada, 18, another student.

Stephanie Steiger, mother of a five-year-old is amazed to see drastic changes in her daughter Sanara’s attitude. “She is confident, she enjoys it and is ready to startle all the big boys with her defence moves,” says Steiger.

Krav-Maga

Less a martial art and more a system of hand-to-hand combat devised by the Israeli defence forces, Krav Maga isn’t for the weak-willed. The system combines grappling and wrestling techniques with street fighting skills. You learn how to break the stranglehold of an attacker by going for his groin, face or knee. Unlike in martial arts where certain moves are not permissible, the focus of Krav Maga is crystal clear: be aware of threats and deal with them as effectively as possible.

Trust us, this ends up giving you as good a workout as any. “Krav Maga improves your cardiovascular strength to the highest level,” says Vicky Kapoor, chief instructor of Krav Maga India. “It also increases your muscular strength.” Apart from improving your coordination and flexibility, Krav Maga also helps you burn calories. “Each workout is an hour-long and can help you burn nearly 800 calories,” he says. A stress busting workout that makes you think on your feet? Now that’s what we’d call a win-win situation.

Interested in learning?

Delhi: Krav Maga India, 011-41764207

Let’s face it it is easy to tire of workouts. Running on the treadmill every day or following the same weight-training routine for a few months can become boring. It also ceases being challenging when your body gets used to it.

To mix things up a bit, take up a martial art. It’s a great workout that tones your body, jogs your mind, and also sharpens your reflexes, keeping you safe on the streets. Not only are there plenty of options to choose from, but you’ll also never have a dull moment in your workout.

Whether you pick a “soft” martial art like t’ai chi chuan, which focuses less on combat and more on holistic health, or a “harder” martial art like karate that teaches you how to protect yourself in everyday situations, you are certain to reap health benefits.

Apart from offering a vigorous cardiovascular workout, most martial arts also increase your muscle strength, improve flexibility and strengthen the core. Thanks to the complex interplay of muscles involved in a martial art, you get a thorough full-body workout.

As Arjuna Awardee and Olympian judoka Cawas Billimoria says, “A martial art demands so much of you that you can’t really get bored of it.”

Karate

Most of us likely took karate classes in school. One of the most widely practiced martial arts worldwide, karate is not just a way to stay safe, but is also a great overall workout.

While there are slight variations in the katas or sequence of movements taught by the different schools of karate, they all emphasise the use of punches, kicks, locks and throws.

Since karate mainly involves striking and sparring with the hands, it makes for a great upper body workout. “Every punch and lock requires different sets of muscle groups,” says Rajeev Sabharwal, founder of the School of Shotokan Karate-Do in Delhi. “With time, your whole body becomes conditioned.”

Some styles like the gojuryu incorporate specific weight-training techniques called hojo undo that strengthen the wrists and forearms.

Most styles incorporate stretching exercises and breathing techniques. “You start with stretches and move on to punches and kicks,” says Sabharwal. “You don’t get bound to one kind of workout.”

Judo

For a martial art that means “the gentle way” in Japanese, judo features a lot of grappling, wrestling and knocking opponents to the ground. But the Olympic sport is safe enough for people of all ages to practice.

Unlike other martial arts which focus on using force to strike or spar with an opponent, judo hinges on using the opponent’s own strength to dislodge or topple him.

Naturally, judo both demands and contributes to a high level of physical fitness. “It is one of the most complicated sports to practice because it requires both power and muscular endurance,” says Billimoria. “Normally, when your power increases, your endurance decreases and vice versa. This training makes you very strong mentally and physically.”

T’ai chi

T’ai chi is for those who prefer a steady, unhurried pace of exercise, as it is made up of a slow sequence of movements that emphasise correct posture, better balance and coordination. Infused with balletic grace, these movements are also said to improve lymph and blood circulation. Since the movements focus on using the full range of motion of your joints, you can avoid creaky joints as you age.

Although t’ai chi does have a basis in self-defence, it is mainly practiced for its numerous physical and mental health benefits. “T’ai chi conditions your heart, liver, kidneys, lungs and spleen,” says Rakesh Menon, director of Flowing Wheel, an institute that offers training in t’ai chi.”It is also a very good stress buster,” adds Menon.

Interested in learning?

Capoeira

At first glance, capoeira looks like an infectious combination of catchy beats and freestyle dance with a bit of football thrown in for good measure. There doesn’t seem to be anything aggressive about this fluid martial art that originated in Brazil. But once you start swaying to the rhythm too you simply can’t resist you will realise that capoeira is an efficient yet engaging way to stay fit.

All the elements of capoeira are geared towards strengthening your core and making you faster on your feet. Take the basic side to side movement or the ginga. According to Mumbai based capoeira instructor Reza Massah, “That movement itself is like doing a 1000 situps”. The 72 basic moves of capoeira incorporate dance moves, stretches and breathing exercises. Since most of these moves are done standing, you’re sure to get a great workout for your legs. In addition, the back flips and high kicks will improve your balance.

More than combat, reacting fast and avoiding injury is the focus of capoeira. “Capoeira teaches you to outsmart your opponent. You learn to protect your face, avert blows and fall better, without any strain on your knees and ankles,” says Massah.

Taekwondo

The Korean martial art taekwondo is one of only two martial art forms that features in the Olympics, the other being judo. In Taekwondo, the leg is the most important weapon of combat. You learn a number of kicks, including jumping, spinning, skipping and sliding kicks.

Apart from being an excellent lower body workout, taekwondo also improves your agility, speed, balance and stamina. It is both an aerobic and anaerobic workout, and stretching exercises on the ground form an important part of the training. Even if you don’t want to break wooden boards a test of prowess and mental discipline used in advanced training taekwondo is sure to give your fitness regime a kick-start.

Frank J, who conducts Krav Maga classes in Richmond Town, offered a different perspective. He usually delivers a five minute talk on how to deal with bullet wounds and shrapnel gashes, and also attempts to include a session by a doctor every two-three months. “Today, the war isn’t happening on the borders. If a car bomb goes off at a mall and your family’s injured, what do you do?” he asked. All of it may be rather grim talk for a city in which a pint is considered more a measure of beer than of blood, but, as Chatterjee said, “Everyone must know what to do in an emergency.”

There are many sobriquets our fair city has earned itself over the years – Bean Town, Garden City, Pub Capital and Silicon City. A rather strange one may soon join the list, going by a meeting of determined committee members of Nightingales Lifesaving Services on a Saturday evening. The group resolutely switched off the first match of the Indian Premier League between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to thrash out marketing strategies which would make Bengaluru the Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation capital of India.

BV Murali Mohan, the project’s co-ordinator, and a pulmonologist and physician at Narayana Hrudayalaya, said, “It takes six minutes for the brain to die once the heart stops in the event of a cardiac arrest. Administering CPR helps to restart the heart, pump blood and keep the brain alive till emergency medical services get there, which would definitely take longer than six minutes in Bengaluru.”

Mohan cited the case of New Zealand tailender Ewan Chatfield to illustrate how an accident could happen to anyone, not just the elderly. In a match against England in 1974-75, Chatfield was seriously injured by a short delivery by Peter Lever. It took quick action in the form of a heart massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by England’s physiotherapist Bernard Thomas to save his life. “One of our main challenges is to convince youngsters that they need to know CPR, because it could save someone’s life,” Mohan explained.

Another proponent of the importance of Basic Life Support courses is Somnath Chatterjee, a consultant at the intensive care unit at Manipal Hospital. “An emergency is what it is,” he stated firmly. “It could happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere.” Like at NLS, the BLS programme at Manipal Hospital (which includes CPR training) is carried out for corporates and groups comprising about 20-30 people, say from a particular housing colony. The classes are a mix of theory and practicals on mannequins, at the end of which a certificate is given to students who can confidently carry out the procedure.

Aysha H, a project engineer with the Quality, Safety and Technology department at Sobha Developers, attended the Manipal Hospital session in August 2008. “There are lots of accidents at construction sites,” she said. “We felt just auditing safety shouldn’t be our job, we should know how to have control over situations.”

R Jayachandran, a physical fitness instructor at Fitness First, joined the NLS programme in April this year, out of curiosity. He said, “There are so many accidents that happen in Indira Nagar and the outskirts. This way, I can at least try to save someone’s life.”

At Solace, a 20,000-sq-ft gym in Calcutta, members can choose from yoga, body balancing, Krav Maga and salsa.

Is it a gym? Or a dance studio? Or is it a spa? Or salon? Well, it’s all these and more. Welcome to the exciting world of new-age gyms that are springing up across India.

Fitness centres, once upon a time, were places where you worked out and walked out. Now they are turning into holistic wellness centres, where members are totally spoilt for choice.

Leading the change are international chains like Fitness First, True Fitness and Celebrity Fitness, which have set up shop here, hoping to turn India into a fitness zone. Others like F. Chisel, a gym-plus-spa set up by fashion channel FTV, too are redefining the concept of gyms.

These new temples of fitness have more high-tech exercise machines than ever before — for every imaginable body part. There are private exercise rooms for celebrity guests, and group exercise studios too. And you can chart your way through an exhaustive menu of workouts ranging from famed yoga guru Bikram Choudhary’s Hot Yoga — yes, he of the Madonna and Sharon Stone following — to Les Mills workouts like BodyPump and BodyJam.

There’s more. Wet areas or saunas now look more like spas than utilitarian gyms. And some gyms even have full-fledged spas as an integral part of their services. They’re also revving up service standards by bringing in internationally certified trainers and offering personalised training. They want to offer a complete lifestyle — that means swank interiors with juice bars, cafeterias and recreation lounges.

“We offer the best in yoga, fitness, spa and beauty treatments,” says Nicholas Kraal, assistant business development manager, True Fitness. The Singapore chain’s first centre in India, launched in Mumbai recently, includes a gym, the first Hot Yoga centre in India and its True Spa. By March, it will take a snip at a new business and open Hakim’s Aalim Hair Lounge.

Or take F. Chisel, a partnership between FTV and fitness consultant Satya Sinha, which is spreading the fitness gospel in Bengaluru and Delhi. “Ours is a lifestyle product. We want to combine everything under one roof,” says managing director Sinha.

Adds Sanjay Mani, head, licensing and merchandising, FTV Channel: “As a lifestyle channel, F. Chisel was a natural transition for us. Our approach is pretty holistic. We want to cater to the hard-working urban youngster, who also loves to take care of his or her body.”

Indeed, actor Milind Soman, who just opened his gym, Breathe, in South Delhi feels, “The way we work-out has changed. People are constantly looking for new ways of working out.”

Fit to lead

The push in the new direction is being led by a clutch of international chains that have set up shop in India, bringing with them, the latest in international gym trends.

So, you have Fitness First India which exists in 17 countries and which has already opened four centres and plans to add three more over the next eight months. “The indicators were right to start our chain here,” says Vikram Aditya Bhatia, managing director, Fitness First India.

Putting in a range of facilities can be expensive, so you have gyms like True Fitness planning to spend Rs 40 crore in India and which is looking at moving to Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. And Celebrity Fitness’ managing director Steve Franklin says he wants to take international-standard gyms to small-town India.

And yes, size matters. True Fitness’ Mumbai centre is spread over two floors — or 60,000sq ft — of an Andheri mall. Celebrity First’s Gurgaon centre too occupies a huge 38,000sq ft.

So what are the five things to look out for in these new age gyms? Read on.

An exhaustive menu

Walk into True Fitness’ Mumbai centre and you’ll see two large expanses on either side of the reception packed with exercise equipment. There are over 250 machines including 140 cardio machines like cross-trainers and cardio-wave machines (which simulate the skiing motion) and 110 Signature Series resistance machines for different body parts. On one side is a beginner’s station where 10 machines are laid out in a circuit for the chest, back, abs, arms, shoulders and legs. At the far end is a spinning studio and just outside it True Fitness even has 22 cardio-wave machines set in a circle for a high-intensity group workout.

That’s not all. Further down are two private training rooms for celebrity clients. Each has a treadmill, cardio wave and Power Plate machine. Plus, there’s a new cable-based machine, Kinesis, for pulley-based workouts of the upper and lower body and legs.

Then, there’s a 2,500-sq-ft group exercise studio. A floor below is a 2,800-sq-ft women’s workout room, and a Bikram Yoga centre, which has a 2,800-sq-ft heated room for group classes and a smaller one for private lessons.

Move over to Celebrity First in Delhi and Gurgaon and here the activity chart reads like a menu card. With over 150 group classes a week from yoga to spinning, you can literally hop from one class to another all day. Again, there are separate yoga and personal training studios. “The idea is to make workouts fun,” says Franklin.

It’s the same at Fitness First, which first introduced Les Mills formats like RPM (spinning) and BodyPump (a group weights class) in India.

Now, others like True Fitness are offering these too. Its members too can choose from over 100 group classes a week including Bikram Yoga. “The response to our Bikram Yoga classes has been fantastic,” says Rowena Ooi, who has moved here from Choudhary’s Australia centre.

A 90-minute Bikram Yoga class entails 26 asanas done at 43°C. “There are a lot of benefits of exercising under heated conditions. It improves the immune system, breaks down fat faster and releases more toxins too,” says Ooi.

At Solace, a 20,000-sq-ft gym in Calcutta, members can choose from yoga, body balancing, Krav Maga and salsa.

The new gyms are bringing in the latest machines too. Amatraa Spa has two Advanced Human Performance Studios with high-tech VibroGym machines. Unlike Power Plate, which has a single motor and so doesn’t vibrate the entire body, the VibroGym has two motors for whole body vibration. “The VibryoGym is used by ultra-busy people as you expend more energy in a shorter time,” says Shilpi Tandon, a trainer here.

Tailor-made and personal too

These facilities are backed by world-class service and personalised care. At Fitness First, it starts even before you join. Members undergo several tests and consultations first. The gym assesses their fitness on five parameters: resting heart rate, body composition, flexibility, lung capacity and blood pressure. It accordingly prescribes an exercise regimen.

On joining, there’s a structured assessment programme. At least 15 of the gym’s 25 instructors are always on call. And every member gets two free personal training sessions. “We’re raising the standard and delivering it with consistency,” says Jeremy Cheong, head of fitness, who has relocated from Fitness First’s Malaysia centre.

True Fitness too offers personalised training. Under its basic membership package (Rs 50,000 per annum excluding Bikram Yoga), members get 12 free personal training sessions. There are 48 free sessions under the Rs 5 lakh package (for a couple, for five years).

Celebrity Fitness’s Rapid Result Training personalised workout is based on five elements: aerobic exercise, resistance training, diet, professional assistance and correct protein and vitamin intake. “We follow these elements strictly to ensure maximum results in the shortest time,” says Franklin.

World-class trainers

The new gyms are ensuring they have the best qualified trainers too. For instance, 50 per cent of Fitness First’s instructors have undergone the Les Mills training programme.

“We fly in master trainers from Dubai and Philippines for training, and keep investing in such things to ensure quality,” says Cheong.

Celebrity Fitness puts its level one Rapid Results trainers alone through six weeks’intensive training. And it has got instructors from Malaysia like Kris Malhotra, who takes the spinning class.

True Fitness too brought a four-member team from Thailand to train its local trainers. Its current fitness manager is from Malaysia too.

And at Breathe, Soman and his partner Rahul Dev have handpicked instructors certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. “The more fit the instructors, the more enthusiastic they are,” says Soman.

Wet and cool

At Amatraa gym, you feel like a VVIP whenever you enter the wet room. For as you sit in the sauna or Jacuzzi, an attendant waits on you offering herbal tea, fresh lime sodas and fruits. The gym has one wet area for women and two for men, stocked with specially-made Amatraa body scrubs and oils.

Meanwhile, F. Chisel, True Fitness and Solace have full-fledged spas. F. Chisel offers varied treatments like Javanese, Balinese and hot stone massages, and hydro treatments too. It has eight luxurious treatment rooms manned by international therapists.

True Fitness’s True Spa has nine massage and two facial rooms. The two VIP massage rooms have Jacuzzis for hydrobath treatments in chocolate or milk. Again, there are various treatments like the Balinese deep tissue massage and Royal Sports massage.

F. Chisel’s Delhi centre even offers body sculpting and makeovers. It has an in-house team of nutritionists and beauty therapists. “We’re committed to transforming the total image of our clients,” says Sinha.

Even older players like Gold’s Gym are beefing up their offering. Its Calcutta outlet has two 900-sq-ft wet areas for men and women, where it offers spa treatments. It has a swanky juice bar too.

Lounge about

The 1,400-sq-ft lounge at Celebrity Fitness could well house your neighbourhood gym. But it’s not just a large space — it has all the features of a pub with its swank décor, psychedelic lights and pulsating music. Plus it has a fresh juice bar. “We’re creating a club atmosphere. You hear the music and immediately feel like dancing. We want people to feel energised here,” says Franklin.

The members’ lounge at Amatraa too resembles a plush bar with leather-and-wood interiors, and a juice bar. “We keep investing on the upkeep as we have high-profile members,” says Amatraa’s Vandana Uberoi.

Meanwhile, Fitness First too has a member’s lounge with coffee machines. It even plans to start a DVD library. True Fitness has a live DJ on the exercise floor and it will open a cafeteria soon. And Solace has a juice bar-cum-lounge.

Clearly, then, the new gyms are ensuring that their members get the best in fitness and that they have a good time exercising too.

Additional inputs by Aarti Dua and Tania Bhattacharya;
Photographs by Jagan Negi, Rupinder Sharma, Rashbehari Das, Gajanan Dudhalkar

Source: The Telegraph

It might have been developed as hand-to-hand combat for the Israeli military, but Krav Maga today has morphed into a popular group activity with team building at its core. There are different programmes for civilians and for the military. And bite this: there are defence programmes for women and children too.

Ultimate Tactical and Combat, a private outfit of Krav Maga practitioners in Delhi, teaches the discipline at various locations like Radisson Hotel, Noida, Club Excel and its own studio in Saket. In Kolkata, Solace gym holds special classes for children twice a week.

Krav Maga trainer Udit Bagga, who conducts classes at Ozone in Delhi at least three days a week, says: “Apart from burning some 800 calories an hour, the highest in any group activity, it is about combat in a real-life situation.”

Exercising alone can be drop dead boring. So how do you get back your zest for burning that fat without letting the monotony of it kill you? Well, just go social.

Social workouts or group exercises are all the rage today. And the news gets better as group sessions — encompassing a wide spectrum from cardio workouts to body conditioning and flexibility routines — come free with membership at most savvy gyms across the country.

“A feeling of bonhomie pervades such sessions. If the person next to you is executing the same steps as you and an instructor is keeping up the tempo to peppy music, you are likely to exercise better,” says Devashish Singh of Fitness First.

According to fitness consultant Preetom Mukherjee-Roy, a good gym should offer at least four to five different group activities. He adds: “The routines are changed frequently which is also why group fitness is never monotonous.”

Les Mills Group Fitness

Group exercises conceived and formatted by Les Mills (a former athlete from New Zealand who developed a series of pre-choreographed fitness-to-music classes) are a rage internationally. At present they are available only at Fitness First and Celebrity Fitness — the two international health club chains in the country.

A typical session may include Body Combat that packs in a power-punching cardio session inspired by martial art disciplines, or Body Balance that incorporates yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates to improve flexibility and strength. For body sculpting there’s Body Pump that includes working out with weights.

“To keep the surprise element going the music is changed and the steps improvised once in three months,” says Singh of Fitness First.

Yoga

Yoga is the magic word in the world of fitness. While some go for the basic traditional yoga classes three times a week, others fit power yoga into their schedules.

If at Wildflower Hall, an Oberoi property in Shimla, group yoga is part of its wellness programme, at Fitness First, traditional yoga is on the schedule three times a week. Meanwhile there are yoga experts like Meera Bhagnani in Kolkata, who conduct classes in their studios.

At Vins, a fitness club in Gurgaon, power yoga is on the menu but only if members pass the flexibility test run by club-owner Vinodini Gupta.

Says Gupta: “If a little bit of power is added to it, yoga transforms into a cardio vascular activity that also helps one to lose weight. Depending upon your target, you can do it three times a week or more.”

Spinning

Non-stop cycling on a stationary bike for almost an hour at a stretch is a big hit too. With an instructor egging you on at intervals (“You are climbing a hill right now, don’t give up now”) and fellow spinners going at it with all they’ve got, it’s not hard to get into the swing of things.

Spinning tops popularity charts everywhere — at Gold’s Gym on AJC Bose Road, Ozone and Fitness First in Delhi.

Says Mukherjee-Roy: “Spinning came into being as off-season cycling. High-octane energy with the right kind of lighting, upbeat music and an instructor acting as motivator makes all the difference.”

Aqua Exercises

In Ballygunge, the heart of Kolkata, Solace Gym and Spa offers exercises in water. You can choose between sessions of aqua yoga, aqua therapy and aqua aerobics.

The deal: one burns more calories in water than otherwise because working out in water is very strenuous. The hydrostatic pressure of the water massages and refreshes you even as you exercise.

In Mumbai, fitness expert Deepali Jain takes classes of aqua aerobics with the help of equipment like aqua pumps, aqua balls, aqua resistance tubing and more. Her main focus is to strengthen the core muscles and the back.

Says Jain: “You cannot cheat the water. You’ve got to work yourself once you are in it.”

Source: I love Kolkata

It’s never too late to learn a how to defend yourself — after all, the streets aren’t getting any safer

You could be petite or small-built, but never underestimate what your body can actually do. And that goes even for the women. The world isn’t getting any safer and one of the best ways to protect oneself is to learn a form of art that will come handy when you’re in trouble. From judo, karate, kick-boxing, kalari — there are plenty of options. Even a form that has its roots far away in Israel like Krav Maga is fast-gaining popularity in Bengaluru.

Krav Maga enables you to defend yourself without having to use a weapon.

Frank, a certified instruction, has been training 200 people and most of his students are women. “It is important for women to learn this more than the men as they can defend themselves better during a blind-attack situation as they kick and punch their way through the brawl. This form of martial art also instills confidence and improves a person’s body language,” he says.

Many women have secured themselves from the fear of being attacked and harassed by kicking and punching away in Krav Maga style. Frank has been trained by Vicky Kapoor, chief instructor, Krav Maga, India, who has also trained Abhay Deol for his upcoming film.

“My tryst with Krav Maga began while I was living alone in Delhi, since it was an unsafe city. It was when I met a few army officers who told me about this martial art that I developed a passion towards it and finally turned into my profession,” says Frank.

There is no specific criterion required to learn Krav Maga and Frank says, “There is no strength factor involved in this form.  Krav Maga does not mean getting into a fight. Instead, it works as a stress buster that helps you get away from it.”

“Twist and turn …straight punch” — an instructor barks out these orders in a room full of women learning to kick and punch their way out of trouble.

It’s a place where young female professionals are undergoing training in Krav Maga, the lethal Israeli martial art. With an alarming rise in crime against women professionals, many firms have started offering self-defence training courses to their female employees.

The trend is more pronounced in the BPO industry where women often have to work on the graveyard shift. As more and more women swipe into offices, harassment is one of the issues they encounter as they step out of their homes.

Manisha Bedi (name changed), a 24-year-old executive, is thrilled about a session organised by her employer where she discovered the technique of how to kick, strike a blow and get out of an attacker’s grip.

Crimes against women, including sexual harassment and rape, have gone up 93% and 40%, respectively, in 2007 compared to 1996, according to National Crime Records Bureau and Home Ministry. A significant number of women are employed in the services sector — IT-BPO, airlines, hospitality, hospitals and retail.

Over 35% women comprise the workforce of the $60 billion IT BPO sector. A few years ago, the rape and murder of a call centre executive had rocked the industry, underscoring the lapses and loopholes in corporate security practices. To safeguard women’s interests, companies are conducting self-defence workshops on the campus.

A power-to-telecom corporate has arranged a post-lunch 90-minute session for its women employees to practise fist-to-face moves. Such initiatives help in promoting women empowerment and gender inclusiveness, said industry observers. At these  workshops, women are not only given training in the physical aspects of warding off an attack but are also taught to be mentally alert.

Mr. Vicky Kapoor, Chief Instructor of Krav Maga in India, visited Krav Maga Kolkata chapter and conducted test for all students of the local Krav Maga India instructor Mr. Ashish Roy.

Mr. Ashish Roy was one of the first Krav Maga instructor under Mr. Vicky Kapoor in his Delhi studio which later migrated to Kolkata to handle the Krav Maga Kolkata Chapter. Mr. Vicky Kapoor was very happy to see the skills sets of the students trained by Mr. Ashish Roy and wished them luck for the future.

Eyal Yanilov (born in 1959) studied Krav-Maga under the personal tutelage of its founder, Imi Sde-Or (Lichtenfeld), and has served as the Grand master’s closest assistant and foremost disciple since the early 1980s. Active in this field since 1973, he is now its most senior instructor. Mr. Yanilov is the only individual who carries the highest grade ever given by Imi (Master level 3/Expert level and holds the unique “Founder’s Diploma of Excellence” (This diploma was given only to two persons, the other – one of Eyal’s top students, Mr. Darren Levine, Expert level 6, of the United States).

Eyal Yanilov started his Krav-Maga training with Mr. Eli Avikzar (one of Imi’s top students at the time) and soon after- wards began to study directly with the founder himself. At an early age, Eyal was instructing at the training studio that Imi had entrusted to Eli Avikzar, and on many occasions assisted and substituted for the Grandmaster in lessons and preparations with students who were to be tested for grades of expert level. At a later stage, when Imi appointed him Head of the Krav-Maga Professional Committee, Eyal was responsible for preparing and updating the Krav-Maga curriculum. In this capacity Eyal had the task of imparting the new developments and accumulated knowledge, changes in techniques, and the latest training methods to the other senior instructors.

In 1984 Grandmaster Imi Sde-Or placed Eyal in charge of preparing the complete and comprehensive series on the Krav-Maga discipline (of which this book is a part). Since then, and until the system’s founder passed away in January 1998, the two were deeply engrossed in the task of writing down the principles of Krav-Maga and clarifying its various techniques.

Since directing the first self-defense instructors course for American citizens, in 1981, Eyal Yanilov has been teaching a large number of Krav-Maga and self-defense instructors courses in many countries around the world, under the auspices of the Israeli Ministry of Education and the International Krav-Maga Federation (IKMF). Eyal, together with his most advanced students who serve as local directors or chief instructors in their countries, are the key force in spreading Krav-Maga teaching throughout the world. Mr. Yanilov is currently serving as Chairman and Chief Instructor of the IKMF, and heads the International School of Krav-Maga. In this capacity, he is in charge of the development, definition, and dissemination of the system.

Mr. Yanilov is a graduate of the School for Trainers and Instructors at the Wingate Institute for Sport and Physical Education, and also holds a degree in Electrical Engineering. He has spent years training fighters of elite units and members of special anti terrorist squads, while teaching at colleges for physical education instructors.

Since the early eighties Eyal has been training different groups, in various seminars and courses: ordinary civilians coming to learn self-defense, military units, police units, executive protection personnel, special units, SWAT teams, and other security-oriented groups in Israel, Europe, South America, and the United States. Within this context, he specializes in improving the fighting skills and general abilities of members of these groups.

Mr. Yanilov’s main objective now is to educate future Krav-Maga instructors around the world, and he always enjoys promoting any such initiative in this direction.

The police say the number of attacks is declining, but there are still hundreds of cases every year.

New Delhi has long been considered India’s crime capital. Over 1,000 rape and assault cases were reported there last year. Not surprisingly, many parents are encouraging their daughters to join self-defense classes.

“Every single day you read the paper – you pick up the paper and you’re reading about rape here, rape there, 18-year old raped by two taxi guys,” says Anuradha Patni, mother of a young girl herself. “Every day! So I’m not saying that it will happen, but I’m saying that I need to be sure that we’re prepared for it, that’s all.”

Combat studios offer women self-defence training for $50 a month. With classes three times a week, Ultimate Tactical and Combat studio offers Krav Maga, an Israeli martial art which specializes in hand-to-hand combat.

“It gives people confidence to deal with threats. They’re educating themselves, because the police or people or parents cannot be with the girl, or child or women all the time,” says Vicky Kapoor, the Chief instructor of Krav Maga India.

The 22-year-old fashion merchandiser Avantika Chandra has been training for over a month. Now she finds her reflexes have improved, along with her confidence. Knowing that she can take care of herself allows her to live life without having to constantly look over her shoulder.

“It does build a lot of confidence to deal with the most common attacks,” says Avantika Chandra, “They teach you a lot of simple stuff. You just work on your reflexes and that will help anyone.”

More and more women in Delhi are choosing to protect themselves with self-defense training. With many young women now working long shifts and finishing at all hours, such classes will go a long way in making them feel secure in their own city.