Add that the defender must securely hold onto the attacker's hand(s). Squeeze them into the hollows of the upper chest where the collarbone and shoulder come together. Do NOT pull the attacker's hands laterally away from your neck; he will easily recover them and resume the attack. Hold on until you choose to release.
Thanks for the comment Rickvid!
Couple of things to say in response...
1 - Great to keep in mind that in real life, when you block or defend someone, they're probably going to keep coming at you. Be prepared to keep defending yourself.
2 - This tactic, to keep hold of the attackers hand (wrist), is better used in the second type of defense mentioned, where you're breaking the choke with one hand.
3 - If I were to do the defense with both hands, I'd quickly break the choke while kneeing with my right knee, for example, and immediately block my face with my left hand and lay a devastating punch or palm strike to the attackers chin.
This situation is when someone is choking you from the front, while standing still. Not a good situation, but one that is easily remedied.
I'll break this down into steps, but when done in real life, it should be done in one fluid motion.
1 - The most important thing in this situation is to get the hands off your neck, and allow yourself to breathe again
2 - You want to use your hands as hooks, meaning put your thumbs and first finger together
3 - You'll want to attack the spot on the assailants arm where the wrist and thumb meet
4 - To pull the choke off, make an exaggerated motion across your collar bones, from the inside of your chest outward
5 - As I said in the previous post, you'll want to attack as you defend, so while you are breaking this choke away, extent a leg and kick your assailant square in the groin
6 - The Beauty of this last motion is that it helps exaggerate the motion...as you're pulling your back and neck away from the attack, it helps get your leg up to the groin kick
For example:
Other things to keep in mind:
1 - After you kick/knee this person in the groin, a punch or elbow in the face perfectly presents itself - nail them
2 - Look around for this persons friends or other attackers
3 - As soon as you can, run away
Another option you have to defend yourself from this choke is to use one hand.
The motion here is the same, but performed with one hand. Use the other hand, and your bodies movements, to use a palm strike (base of the palm), to go under the choking arm and hit your assailant right below the nose. Once here, the same mindset applies...that is, knee them in the groin, look for other attackers, and run run run.
Krav Maga is more than just defensive moves and combatives, its about having the right mindset.
If someone were to swing a bat at you, your first reaction would probably be to back up. This would actually get you into the worst part of the weapon! Krav Maga teaches you to burst in to hit the arm swinging the bat and simultaneously punch your attacker in the face.
Doing this does three things for you:
1 - stuns your attacker, giving you a chance to turn and run
2 - changes the dynamics of the fight by making your attacker say to themselves, "hey, this person is fighting back, what do I do?"
3 - like said in the video, bursting forward will give your punch, and block, extra force
When bursting, remember that you're not jumping in the air to block the punch, you're sliding your feet forward. It's a slight shuffle.
To get a better idea of what I mean by mindset, check out this video of a Krav studio in Houston showing what it looks like in real life:
Next time, choke defenses from the front - static.
Before you start learning about defenses and combatives, the first order of business is to understand Krav Maga.
Krav Maga is the hand to hand combat system utilized by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Translated into English, it means "contact combat."
This system of hand to hand combat was created to defend the people of the Palestinian mandate, which would later become the state of Israel. At this time, Jews were not allowed to have weapons, so a system of self defense needed to be created for citizens to defend themselves against fists, knives, other weapons, and the possibility of multiple attackers.
The creator of Krav Maga, Imi Lichtenfeld, was a Czechoslovakian-born son of a police officer. Imi was a highly skilled boxer, an expert in Ju-Jitsu, and accomplished Judo practitioner. When fascist thugs began terrorizing the local Jewish population (this was the run up to World War II), Imi and a few friends began helping keep the neighborhood safe.
Years later, when Imi moved to the Palestinian Mandate (again, which became Israel), he was enlisted as the individual that would help put together the system of hand to hand combat that the armed forces would use. In order to do so, and keeping in mind that this system had to be fit for anyone (men and women of all ages), Imi created Krav Maga. This system utilizes the most effective, efficient, and frankly, painful, moves from a variety of fighting styles. Basically, Imi took out any fancy moves, any move that requires a high degree of athleticism or flexibility, and gave individuals a core set of moves, concepts, and the mindset to defend themselves. Therefore, Krav Maga is a very easy to learn, very hard to forget, system that is more than just "moves" to use...it's a mindset.
If someone shows that they are aggressive and are out to hurt you, your best defense is a much better offense. Hurt them, and hurt them bad. Remember, this person just proved to you in some way they want to hurt you. Your number one concern is to get home to your loved ones, not this schmuck.
Don't believe for a moment that being submissive is the way out. Statistics show (I'll try and find this link and get it to you soon) that the longer a victim is in front of an assailant the more likely they are to get hurt. This is because the longer the assailant is in front of you, the higher the likelihood they'll start to think you've already seen what they look like and may be able to pick them up out of a lineup.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, if you ever, and I mean EVER, have the opportunity to run, RUN. The motto Krav Maga uses in America is "It's a matter of life." Read this again, it's a matter of life. I did not say, life or death...you must do everything possible, utilizing everything at your disposal, to stay alive and get home.
There my friends, that is my brief introduction to Krav Maga and the mindset with which you must go forward.
Explanations of basic combatives, choke defenses, and the general mindset you'll need to perform under pressure. This will all be things that are learned in Level 1 Krav Maga.
Suggestions as to the things you can do at home to learn and practice Krav Maga. Anything I'll list here will need some form of equipment and a partner.
Lastly, I'll post general information, tips, and research on exercise and fitness.
I am a 24 year old male Krav Maga practitioner in New York City. I've been learning Krav Maga for a few years now and generally interested in exercise, fitness, and nutrition for over ten years.
I'll be writing my thoughts, ideas, tips, and Krav Maga lessons on this blog.
Please let me know what you like, don't like, and want to see more of!
Thanks and enjoy,
The Krav Man
