Deepa Balakrishnan, CNN-IBN

Bengaluru: Three IT companies in Bengaluru recieved e-mail threats of attacks last week. Following this Bengaluruans 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 Bengaluru, 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 Bengaluru.

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/

MUMBAI: In the aftermath of the recent terror attacks in Mumbai, security has been beefed up across the city, and alert citizens are now taking the onus of protecting themselves.

Self-defence classes across the city have seen an increasing number of enquiries and enrolments over the last two weeks. Whether it is karate, kickboxing, judo or krav maga (the Israeli martial arts form) more people today want to learn some form of self-defence techniques.

“In self-defence classes, you learn to protect yourself in different circumstances. It teaches you to deal with real-life situations,” says Kavita Pai, a chartered accountant who recently joined a self-defence class.

Ajit Verma, an instructor at the International Krav Maga Foundation, admits that there has been a quantum leap in the number of inquiries for joining classes post 26/11. “We started in Bandra three months ago, and in the last 10 days, we have received about 80 to 85 inquiries,” he says. According to him it is not just the young crowd that wants to learn the art, but also middle-aged people.

Self-defense has always been considered important, especially for females to protect themselves, but today many young men are opting for it as well. Many parents also send their children to such classes in fear of an attack at school. “There is a fear among parents that schools may be captured. They are therefore sending their children to such classes, as well as enrolling themselves,” says Mehul Vora, president, of Japanese Martial Arts Society of India, who gets 10 to 15 enquiries a day.

“There has been an attack in Mumbai almost every month and the city has been a sitting duck. Mumbaikars have lost faith in the government,” he adds.

Satish Nair, a 32-year-old software engineer who has been taking self-defence classes for two years, agrees. “Instead of expecting the government to protect you, you must take care of yourself. If more people are now enrolling for such classes, I think it’s a good sign,” he says.

Mehul is unhappy that people are joining such classes out of a sense of helplessness. “Today, people are in a position where they would want to keep a weapon if they could,” he maintains.

DNA India

Sanghita Singh

Wednesday, May 31, 2006 22:49 IST

NEW DELHI: Watched the movie Enough, where Jennifer Lopez learns the self-defence technique Krav-Maga to take on a bully of a husband? Well, you can learn the deadly martial arts right here in Delhi from Vicky Kapoor. Kapoor, who moved from Mumbai to Delhi, has been in the Capital for the last five years doing what he does best. Teaching Krav-Maga, that is.

After training the likes of politician Omar Abdullah, actor Sunjay Kapur and socialites Nikhil and Shewta Nanda in Delhi, he is now conducting classes for the special security forces in the Capital in the Israeli martial arts that have been officially adopted for training armies in 25 countries including Australia and Sweden.

“I have just returned from Hungary where I was the first Indian civilian to be trained by the former Israeli army personnel in SWAT or Special Weapons and Tactics. This helps me to teach the Special Forces here.”

Krav-Maga, a form of martial arts, has caught up with fitness freaks in the last one and a half years in the Capital and Kapoor is now involved in training about 400 young students.

“In self-defence for civilians, there are important techniques that help one not only to gain physical fitness, but also covers aspects like tackling everyday crime situations such as mugging, car jacking, rape and weapon threats. These are problems of metro life that can affect everyone. And I am teaching young people to be ready to combat these threats any time any where,” says Kapoor. Kapoor’s expertise also lies in VIP protection and law enforcement, apart from training special forces and military outfits.

“One thing that Krav-Maga does is that it helps one be in control of situations even when one is unarmed. It uses simple techniques that are part of natural body movements and reflexes,” explains Vicky. Kapoor feels that the forces, be it the police or the special forces, need to cut down on their reliability on weapons.

“Often I have noticed that a person feels helpless without a weapon. But through martial arts, even an empty gun or pistol can be utilised to conquer the enemy.”

Source: DNA

Posted on 23 Apr 2006 # IANS

New Delhi: An Israeli martial arts system, Krav-Maga, which includes special anti-rape and anti-assault techniques for women, was demonstrated in the capital in an effort to pass the self-protection tools to civilians.

The system used by Israeli forces is practised in 45 countries all over the world, including the US, Britain, France, Japan and Thailand.

“The basic instinct is to survive, be it on a battlefield or street, and that is what Krav-Maga is dedicated to,” said chief of Israel-based International Krav-Maga Federation (IKMF) Eyal Yanilov at a seminar here Saturday.

Based on human reflexes and mental alertness, the art can be learnt quickly by people of all age groups, he said.

An IKMF instructor in Delhi, Vicky Kapoor, said: “What prompted me to bring the system to India was its simplicity and sophistication.”

“While oriental arts like karate, judo and kickboxing follow rigid rules, this one is more sophisticated and in tune with modern times,” he added.

Apart from tailor-made techniques for women, it also has anti-carjacking tactics in any area be it a car parking lot or a staircase. Women are trained in jabs, kicks, floor exercises, ground wrestling and games.

Women are also trained to sharpen natural reflexes and use purse, pen, comb or even shoes as weapons.

“Our biggest weapons are the punches and kicks,” said Avi Moyal, a former law-enforcement commander and director at IKMF, Israel.

At higher levels, the training of military-based fitness is given, including cardio kickboxing and heavy bag work, which can burn up to 800 calories in one session.

Krav-Maga was developed by a Czech, Imi Lichtenfield, who learnt the fighting tricks to survive street fights with gangsters in 1930s. Later he became a self-defence instructor in the Israeli army.

Krav-Maga is also taught to sky marshals and commercial airline crew to combat plane hijacking. In India it is being taught to Tihar jail’s police force, Tamil Nadu Special Police and NGOs like Nari Niketan and Ritanjali.

Source: Only Punjab.com
http://onlypunjab.com/fullstory2k5-insight-news-status-5-newsID-97148.html