Kravology Makes Defenses to Create Offense – Period.
I was teaching inside defense to a group of trainees last week. Their focus was intense. There was a clear process that each student followed. The defenses were getting more effective in real time. An energy ricocheted across the training room. But, people were starting to “get happy.”
I don’t know how many times I’ve yelled, “Don’t get happy!” during my nearly 18 years of Krav Maga training and instructing. When a student “gets happy” he/she begins to celebrate a personal victory DURING a drill. However, the drill often requires substantial focus. The result is usually a catastrophic failure during the drill – a literal breakdown of the skills that create success.
But, on this occasion, I’m more concerned that the trainees seem to think that there is an accomplishment in redirecting a right straight punch. The problem is simple. A redirection without a near simultaneous counterattack simply prolongs (by some fraction of a second) the inevitable thud of the next punch landing on your face. In other words, the most basic goal of an inside defense must include not only a redirection of the punch but also a powerful counterpunch (landed before the attackers second punch can find your face).
In this way, I want to stress these important truths to you about self defense:
- Self defense is not about avoidance or defense per se
- Self defense is about clearing a path to facilitate powerful counterattacks
- Self defense is violent and will require violence of you in an effective defense of your life and quality of life.
Remember these truths as you approach your training, and don’t get happy (until the fight is won).
