Does Krav Maga Really Work for Small Women?

After Krav Class the other night a male student asked if this stuff really works for small women? There was a 16 year old girl in class that probably weighs in around 100 pounds. We were doing the defense for choke from behind with a push. After she left, he asked the question, and quipped, “I could probably pick her up by her neck.” The answer is yes, this stuff does work for small women, but only when done right.

The most important factor is to not put yourself in a bad situation.  If you find yourself in a bad situation, escape if possible. Run, or drive away or hop on a bus or get into a taxi or run into an open business or jump out the window, whatever it takes to escape. If you are still in a bad situation, fight, but only until you can escape.

The mental aspect is very important,  make the decision that if a man tries to rapes me, it will be the hardest thing he ever does. Aggression is very important, it is more important to respond immediately, forcefully and aggressively, than it is to do the moves perfectly. Form often goes out the window in the heat of the moment, but fierce aggression can make up for crappy form. Fight dirty. If you are going to get raped, you have the right to defend yourself. Use your nails, scratch, bite, kick, punch, elbow, scream at the top of your lungs and gouge his eyes out. Stick you thumb into his eye socket and scoop his eyeball out like an avocado pit. Don’t use this move on your boyfriend whom you love and if he is good to you;  save it for the worst day of your life, for use on the worst person you have ever met.

Bellingham boy, 10, defends mom with BB gun

I would say that this qualifies as Krav maga, because he used a found object (the board) as a weapon.  It proves the point that an immediate and forceful response is the best way to thwart and attack. Read it here.

Tips To Avoid Domestic Violence Over The Holidays

I pay a lot of attention to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), checking website hits and search terms frequently. The name of this blog post was a search term that led someone to my website.  I didn’t have any tips posted for avoiding domestic violence over the holidays, so maybe it was my post on Tips For the Surviving the Holiday Table, along with a few posts on Domestic Violence, that brought the searcher here. But it really caught my attention, that someone would be searching such a thing.

The only tip I really have for avoiding domestic violence over the holidays, is don’t be around the abuser. Whoever searched this term knows that they will be abused. They know who their abuser is. It is probably her husband or boyfriend and he probably has a track record of this behavior.  He probably gets drunk, and starts beating her. It’s probably something really stupid and insignificant that sets him off, like burned potatoes. Them WHAM! “That’ll teach you to burn potatoes you bitch!”

The next morning he’ll be all sorry and promise never to do it again, and she will believe him, again, because it’s easier than doing what she probably knows in her heart she must do: leave.

I teach Krav Maga as self-defense for both men and women, but it’s not really for the situation you find yourself in every Friday night. The only solution for that is to not be there. I realize it is easy for me blog this from the comfort of my office chair, and hard for the woman who must leave her significant other, with her kids, and possibly her only means of support, to avoid being used like a punching bag. But that is what she must do, and the sooner the better, because things really aren’t going to get better until she leaves, or he kills her. Krav Maga may save you a few times, but sooner or later it won’t.  Whoever you are, I wish you the best, and I hope someday very soon you come to your senses and leave him.

Free Women’s Self-Defense Seminar & Girl’s Night Out Sat. Nov. 5, 2011 6-9 PM

Please see this link to my event on Facebook.  This event is open to the public and is free.  I am doing this event to raise awareness for violence against women, to give something back to the community, and of course to promote my business in a positive way.  I added the “Girl’s Night Out” part to make it fun for attendees, and to raise awareness for and hopefully create a little business for my partners who are helping me. There will be wine & cheese and hors d’oeuvre, massages, and a jewelry, purse & candle show.  The Self-Defense will last 45 minutes and be all business. The Girl’s Night Out is scheduled to go until 9pm, leave when you want or stay all night. There will be a chance to do a little early Christmas shopping, as all of the show items are for sale.  For address & directions, click here.

Bullyproofing

According to a study done by AC360° in 77% of bullying incidents, no bystanders intervened to help. This reinforces my belief that the only one who can truly help a bullying victim is the victim.  If the incident takes place in an isolated area, parents can’t help, teachers, administrators and even police can’t help, at least not until after the fact.

Again the biased martial arts teacher is going say that studying martial arts can help potential victims help themselves. My oldest child, now 13, started karate at 4 and holds a 1st degree black belt in a traditional Japanese Martial Art, Kyokushin Kai Karate. He says he is not afraid of bullying, and in fact fought one off just yesterday.  It was satisfying to see that the king’s ransom I put into karate lessons over the year were worth it. Also it was satisfying because I personally taught him the krav maga technique that he used only a few weeks ago, and also because he exercised incredible restraint. The finish to move can literally pound the attacker into the ground, and the attacker certainly deserved at a least a little pounding. I have seen my son get stronger and stronger, and when he hits the pads or the heavy bag, (or me) he can hit pretty hard.

I believe so strongly in Self-Defense, that I named my company after it (instead of say the karate style I teach). I also mix Krav Maga techniques and drills into kid’s karate classes, because kid’s need self-defense & they need it now. They can get it from karate, but the traditional approach is in no hurry. I enjoy and believe in the traditional approach and the values that come with it, but I want kids to be prepared to defend themselves within weeks of joining, not years.

When I was a kid, I took Judo lessons, and I loved it. I was good at it. But Judo is more of a sport, and we did very little self-defense there. When we competed, there were weight classes. Judo doesn’t really contemplate fighting off a larger opponent in a self-defense situation. Consequently, when I tried to use it against a larger bully, I ended up flat on my back, pinned, with the bully taunting me and smacking my face. Krav Maga has a technique to escape from that position, and it’s the first style I learned that addresses that and many other attacks and positions.  If you want to bully proof your kid, Krav Maga is it.

Krav Smacka!

My 13 year old son, who is a black belt in Kyokushin Kai Karate, has been learning Krav Maga. He reported that today in school, some kids were messing around in the hallway. He tried to pass saying, “Excuse me,” and one of the kids put him in a headlock. Since we have been drilling the counter to the headlock, he got right out of it, but did not beat the kid up. Good to have some confirmation from time to time that this stuff works!

Women’s Self-Defense Groin Kick

I keep getting traffic to my website from Google searches Related to Women’s Self-Defense Groin Kick. So perhaps this is keyword spamming, but I thought I’d share this photo for those who are searching. Besides it is inspiring, isn’t it?

Only Women’s Self Defense?

Someone asked me yesterday if I only do Women’s self-Defense.  I suppose I could understand the question since I am promoting a Free Women’s Self-Defense Seminar on Nov. 5th, and I do talk and blog about the subject as well.  The answer is no, Krav Maga, and Karate for that matter,  are for Men, Women & Children.  A lot of men are naturally attracted to Martial Arts and Krav Maga,  women, not so much.  Often women need to either be attacked, or have a close call before they start thinking about self-defense. I wish it weren’t true, but that’s just the way it is.  I do these seminars to create awareness and to give back to the community.

I read that 80% of rape victims are between the ages of 16 and 24. That being the case, girls need to get prepared early in life, if they want to avoid becoming a victim. What’s a good age? I just signed up a six year old girl for karate, and she obviously doesn’t have the strength and coordination to do a lot of moves effectively. But if I can keep her interested through her teen years, when she will be strong and coordinated, then she will have a great foundation for self-defense.  So I think as young as possible,  including six, is a great time to start.

But the bottom line is, we teach the same things to men & women, but I feel like women need it more and are less interested; maybe it’s a calling…I want to help women learn to defend themselves against the scum of the earth.

Krav Maga Class

We worked on combos, punching only, followed by punching & kicking. Then we reviewed and drilled choke defenses to make them more instinctive.

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