Israeli self-defence

The setting is somewhat similar at Ultimate Tactical and Combat studio in Saket. It offers Krav Maga – an Israeli form of self-defence and combat tactics – training, engaging young women, clad in black, in hand-to-hand combats.

In Saket, portraits of the famed Israeli Krav Maga trainers and a poster that reads ‘personal protection is not an option, it’s a responsibility’, serve as sources of inspiration.

Another poster, of Jennifer Lopez in Enough – a film in which Lopez learns Krav Maga to take on her abusive husband – is also another motivator.

“Recently, we trained a woman who was struggling to tackle her abusive live-in partner,” says Vicky Kapoor, director, Ultimate Tactical, and the best known trainer of Krav Maga in the country.

“She finally managed to drive him out with the help of Krav Maga. We have trained 200 women as per their requirements in the last two years.”

Unsafe city

Not surprising, considering the level of danger a woman faces in the national capital. Among 35 major cities in India, Delhi accounted for 31.2 per cent of total rape cases and 34.7 per cent cases of kidnapping and abduction of women in 2007.

Numbers don’t lie. Most women who practice at these studios have stories to share.

“Last year at a bus-stand near Gargi College, I was groped by a middle-aged man,” says Minakshi Bhardwaj, 22, a student of St Stephen’s College. “I cried for help, but no one came to my rescue. Today, I feel more confident on the streets.”

Mary Kurkalang, 31, who works in a publishing firm said, “Men have grabbed me from behind so many times on the streets. The training has really helped,” she says.

Street fights

The studio lessons are also practiced on the streets. “The idea is to give practical lessons in dealing with various situations that they might face in real life,” says Kapoor, who normally receives 10 inquiries in a day from women who want to know how Krav Maga can help them defend themselves.

Women also get tips on how to use things like mobile phones, hand bags, pens, and even duppttas as weapons.

“Physical drill teaches women to use quick reflexes to attack assailants’ soft spots like throat, groin and nose,” says Shihan Nawal Datta, a martial arts trainer. This new breed of laptop-wielding trainers say many parents are encouraging daughters to join classes.

“My daughters are learning martial arts. One is even building muscles. Martial arts training has instilled discipline and confidence in them,” says Manjari Sharma, a teacher.

Self Defense classes to stay safe.

It’s 10.30pm. You have just come out from a late show at the multiplex and you have no husband, brother or boyfriend as a chaperone. As you walk through the parking lot, you are a little nervous to see the group of boys lounging near your car…

A few self-defence skills couldn’t hurt anyone in this day and age. Enter, Krav Maga. A Hebrew word that means “contact combat”, the martial art is the latest fad to hit town.

Krav Maga was developed in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s by Imi Lichtenfeld. “In India, it was introduced by Vikram Kapoor four years ago after he trained in it himself. At present, Krav Maga is taught in Vikram’s Vicky’s School of Oriental Arts at Delhi and at workshops across India,” explains Komal Issar, responsible for bringing Krav Maga to Calcutta. Classes are now being held at Solace, the wellness centre in Sunny Park, twice a week and on Sundays for children.

“Krav Maga involves cardio, abs with strength and endurance training for total body conditioning. It firms and tones muscles even when you are in the learning stage. Plus, there are proper warm-up and cool-down sessions. You burn up to 800 calories in an hour of Krav Maga,” points out Komal. But it is not advisable for those with osteoporosis, she adds.

But while Krav Maga is a good way to burn calories and stay fit, exponents prefer to promote it for self-defence purposes.

Komal takes a personal interest in Krav Maga. “In Calcutta, all the martial arts centres are such holes… Then on a visit to Delhi, I got to know of Krav Maga and tried it out. After that I simply had to bring it to Calcutta,” she smiles.

Where Krav Maga differs from other martial arts is that it helps students tackle real-life situations. Krav Maga is built around natural human reflexes and uses everything possible for the purpose of self-defence. It is a hybrid of various martial arts techniques like boxing, karate, judo, ju-jitsu, Muay Thai and other lesser-known techniques. Because it is less formal, it is easier to learn, and students learn to be alert and on their guard from day one.

“Krav Maga contains techniques that enable the trainee to defend against armed and unarmed attackers in potentially dangerous situations. It is practiced in different situations as in the dark, outdoors and other situations that restrict the victim’s movement,” explains Komal. The sessions make one physically agile and aware of her surroundings.

The style has found favour with many Hollywood stars. Jennifer Lopez in Enough, Sandra Bullock and Regina King in Miss Congeniality, Angelina Jolie for Tomb Raider 2 and Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz for Charlies’s Angels are some of the celebs who have tried Krav Maga.

Depending on the interest level, Komal intends to open more centres to widen her reach. “Like every locality has its gym, I would want every area to have a Krav Maga training centre, because it is what women need today to protect themselves,” she signs off.

Recently, contestants of the reality show Fear Factor – Khatron ke Khiladi were spotted at the launch of Krav Mega Federation (IKMF, India), in Mumbai. Krav Maga is the Israeli system of “Contact Combat” and it was launched in Mumbai with a seminar – cum – workshop last week.

Aditi Govitrikar, Tupur and Tapur Chatterjee, Nethra Raghuraman and Tulip Joshi, along with their army men teammates, were present to cheer Capt. Ajit Varma, Aditi’s Fear Factor partner and a certified instructor of Krav Maga. The khiladis were at their usual best and tried their hands at learning a few techniques like release from chokes, knife threats, bear hugs, pistol attack etc. Krav Maga learners worldwide include celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Sandra Bullock etc. to name a few.

Source: http://www.screenindia.com/news/

April 2nd, 2008

The Israeli Defence Forces have a gift for the world. Sanjeev Bery takes a closer look at the spread of Krav Maga martial arts in India

Israeli’s Arms sales may capture the headlines, but they aren’t the nation’s only export to India. In south Delhi’s upscale Saket neighborhood, a small but growing number of residents are learning Krav Maga, the hand-to-hand combat system of the Israeli Defence Forces.

A big man with a gruff demeanor, Vicky Kapoor is the one responsible for bringing Krav Maga to India. He describes the martial art in clipped phrases: “Combat fighting — a system which is quick — easily retained.” Kapoor himself came to Krav Maga after decades of experience in karate, judo, and other martial arts. “What I saw was that Krav Maga is the most practical self-defence system,” he says.

Since Krav Maga’s arrival in 2004 in India, some 600 students have undergone Kapoor’s training. New programs have started in Gurgaon and Bangalore. And classes will soon begin in Mumbai, Kolkata, and other cities. “Krav Maga makes you more aware of the threats around you,” says south Delhi resident, Nitin Bhasin, one of Kapoor’s students. “You are better prepared to handle situations that might arise.”

At Kapoor’s Delhi studio, a sign quotes Krav Maga’s founder Imi Lichtenfeld: “If you want peace, prepare for war.” Another shows a stylised graphic of soldiers, presumably Israeli, descending from military helicopters. According to Krav Maga’s promoters, what sets it apart from other martial arts is its focus on immediate self-defence. Absent are the yoga-like movements found in East Asian martial arts. Also missing are any rules against striking the groin, eyes, or other vulnerable parts of the body. In class, though, steps are taken to keep people safe.

Krav Maga began in the 1930s, when Lichtenfeld organised European Jews to defend themselves against Nazi militias. Israeli military trainers further developed the martial art into something they could quickly teach new troops. In Hebrew, the name literally means “close combat.”

It is definitely not a pursuit for the common man. In Bangalore, a two-and-a half week course with 10 hours of instruction costs Rs 2,800. In Delhi, the monthly fee is Rs 3,000, plus Rs 2,250 in startup costs.

In the Delhi studio, the military images compete for attention with pop star Jennifer Lopez throwing a punch. Most women, however, attend the studio’s kickboxing cardio classes, not the martial arts sessions. “They are more concerned about weight loss than their safety,” Kapoor says.

The low turnout of women is true of the Bangalore studio as well. “Mr. ,” as the instructor calls himself, blames Indian gender roles. “Women are always told from childhood to be nice to men,” he says. “They should not talk back or fight back. Suddenly, they find themselves confronted by a sexual predator, and it is difficult to erase the years of training they have received.” But he points to a new attitude in his female students. “They can do something to protect themselves. They don’t have to rely on boyfriends or brothers to protect them all the time,” he says.

CURIOUSLY, CIVILIAN Krav Maga is still affected by Israeli military concerns. “We are restricted not to teach the Palestinians or the Iranians,” Kapoor says. No individual is turned away at the door, but Krav Maga does seem to have official friends and enemies.

Even so, promoters are reticent to discuss Krav Maga’s potential role in the controversies of actual Israeli military practice. “We don’t mix those things with politics,” says Eli Ben-Ami, Co-Director of the International Krav Maga Federation, based in Israel. “It has nothing to do with the occupation or what is happening in the Occupied Territories.”

Ben-Ami, a former Israeli soldier, stressed that he was speaking as an individual. “Those soldiers who are dealing with the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories mostly don’t use hands,” he said, implying the use of a firearm. But they do use Krav Maga to “catch or bring someone into custody.”

Kapoor himself studied under Krav Maga experts in Israel, and his sympathies are clear. “War is in Israeli blood. War is not in Indian blood,” he said. “We are more peace-loving. If we had war in our blood, no one could enter Parliament and do the shooting.” He later added, “Nobody dares to mess with Israel.”

From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 5, Issue 13, Dated April 5, 2008

Source:: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main38.asp?filename=hub050408Tel_Aviv.asp

Source:: http://sanjeevstravels.wordpress.com/2008/03/30/tehelka-1-tel-aviv-tango/

MYCATPRESS

February 23rd, 2008

Why would an anti-Nazi combat technique be relevant to our times? The answer, in the Garden City, is Krav Maga. Make no mistake. Traditional martial arts techniques don’t prepare you for the real world. Krav maga—the Israeli hand-to-hand combat technique made famous by Hollywood actors Jennifer Lopez and Angelina Jolie and, more recently, by Matt Damon in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)—does. When you see Damon battle armed and unarmed attackers with lightning-fast hand movements, you see the most advanced form of krav maga in action.Now, we Bangaloreans can aspire to be Jason Bourne too.

The International Krav Maga Federation (IKMF) opened its Bangalore chapter in December. And already it has 30 members on its rolls, more than half of whom are IT professionals. Encouraged by the initial enthusiasm, the institution is conducting a special workshop on Sunday. There’s also another reason why the experts were in a hurry to announce the workshop—a reason unique to the city. “After reading about road rage attacks in the Bangalore newspapers, we have decided to conduct a basic road rage combat workshop,” says instructor and centre in-charge , who uses only one name. The experts will offer participants real-life experiences inside the confined space of a bike or car so that they can witness the effectiveness of krav maga for themselves. Each training session will start at the federation’s Richmond Town centre and shift, after a couple of hours, to a vacant spot on Old Madras Road. “Since krav maga is meant to be of use in real-life scenarios, we will enact sudden violent attacks on bike and car drivers and demonstrate how krav maga can help combat such attacks.”

The history of krav maga goes back to the early 20th century, and the technique is now being employed by many Western special forces such as the Swedish and Polish armies and the French National Gendarmes Intervention Group, or GIGN. After 9/11, even a CIA team was sent to Israel to learn krav maga.

The father of this art was Imi Lichtenfeld, who taught self-defence and combat techniques to Jews so they could protect themselves from armed German Nazi soldiers. After Israel was formed, Lichtenfeld became chief instructor to the Israeli defence force. About 20 years after his retirement from that post, IKMF came into being in 1996 with Lichtenfeld’s consent and support, and a bunch of martial arts enthusiasts. Now, the federation has expanded all over the world.

So how is a combat technique meant to be a protective tool against armed Nazi soldiers relevant to our lives and times? “Krav maga is not martial arts, but more of street fighting. It’s something you need in real life,” says advertising professional Abinanth Potri, who has been training for the last two months. “In karate, you practise a punch for some 16,000 times to strengthen just the punch. In krav maga, you take the best parts of all the martial arts and use what is needed in a normal life situation. You don’t need a flying kick or a boxing glove on the street. All you need is to sharpen your natural reflexes.”

Experts will tell you that karate, tae kwon do, ju-jitsu, judo, kick-boxing and Thai boxing are inferior to krav maga as far as day-to-day self-defence is concerned. Other forms of martial arts focus on improving reflexes so you can block the initial stab, not to instinctively grab the knife after the stab, as krav maga teaches. “It is instinctive, simple and easy to apply, even in a really crowded place,” explains . Its holistic approach isn’t just effective, it’s also simple and easy to learn.

“Krav maga increases your flexibility, concentration and presence of mind, your body language becomes more agile, and muscular as well as cardiovascular stamina and mental endurance improves,” says Vicky Kapoor, chief instructor at IKMF (India) in New Delhi. Since physical fitness is closely interwoven into the system, the workout includes a number of cardiovascular and strength-building exercises, as well as stretching to increase flexibility.

The emphasis is on speed, endurance, strength, accuracy and coordination, especially in intensive krav maga training. “I find it very easy to learn, and effective at the same time,” says software engineer Pramoda Vyasarao, who has been training for the past three months. “It’s not like any other art that takes years together to learn just the different postures. This is purely based on reflex actions. On the first day itself, we were actually fighting—learning what to do when someone tries to choke you.”

Practitioners at the Bangalore centre vouch for the fact that even though it is one of the most energetic forms of self-defence techniques, krav maga doesn’t make a person overtly aggressive or violent. “In fact, you tend to respect life and humans a lot better because you see the kind of damage you inflict on the pads you practise with. You become more responsible and try and stay out of trouble most of the time,” says Potri. So before you dial to enrol for the workshop, be assured that krav maga is really meant to be practiced with a smile.

Right now, the Bangalore chapter of IKMF is terribly male-centric, with the male-female ratio at 10:1. Of the 30 who have enrolled so far, 16 are from the IT sector, one is from the defence forces, six are businessmen, three are corporate executives, two are from advertising and one is a medical student. “Only four out of the 30 have some form of martial arts experience. The rest are complete novices,” says .

Classes at The Doodle Den are another great incentive for Bangaloreans to learn krav maga. It is an activity store for children and adults to unwind through creative work. They can sprawl on the large open floor area to watch a movie on the Panchatantra tales, sharpen multiplication skills by watching a fun session on math or read a Tenali Rama story. Adjacent to it is The Colour Factory, where one can splatter, spray or paint one’s own art. Adding krav maga to the surroundings has only added zing to the otherwise quiet neighborhood of Richmond Town dotted with elegant Victorian bungalows.

Source: http://www.livemint.com/

MYCATPRESS