“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 Bangalore.

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 Bangalore 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.

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 Bangalore 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 Bangalore.”

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.”

Krav Maga is a form of martial arts that is used by some of the top defence agencies around the world. Find out how Bangalore’s taking up this latest fitness fad.

Krav Maga, a form of martial arts from Israel is attracting a lot of attention in the city. With only one centre located in Richmond Town, people from all over the city, irrespective of age and gender are thronging the center to learn Krav Maga .

The techniques used in Krav Maga are derived from street-fighting, and makes the most to enhance one’s reflex action. Frank J, a Krav Maga instructor says the Israeli martial art is different from any other kind of martial art as it involves more real-life situations. “Krav Maga teaches you on how to use your muscles in the most efficient manner, using your own reflexes to fight back. Our body responds to all kinds of external attack, and it’s in our subconscious mind. The right utilization of your own reflexes can save you from a lot of danger.”

Frank feels fear can put one in a lot of danger. “When you have a tight working schedule, all throughout the week, you tend to follow a different lifestyle; it was the same with me when I was working for an I.T. company a few years ago. But then, it was after having met few officers from Indian Air force, who educated me about this free-form martial art, that I decided to work on it, which I thought was more productive than what I had been doing then,” said Frank.

It’s after six years of rigorous practice and hard work today Frank masters the art, and has been avidly working as a trainer at his institute in Bangalore for almost two years now. He says, “I am really grateful to the officers from the Indian Air Force who made me acquainted with Krav Maga. I also thank Vicky Kapoor, Chief Instructor from International Krav Maga Federation, India, who had helped me to understand about this art of fighting.

Krav Maga Israeli Self Defense in Bangalore

Krav Maga Israeli Self Defense in Bangalore

Source : http://mybangalore.com/article/1009/fighting-fit-with-karv-maga.html