Modern Self Defense

We do not teach beginner students to disarm and even when we do teach it to more advanced and experienced students, we only encourage it if it is necessary in the circumstances.

The reasons for this are simple, it may look cool and provide fun training sessions but it can be very dangerous and it is not always necessary. There is also no sense in teaching an advanced technique before learning how to strike effectively. It is pointless and even dangerous to do so. We often see self defense schools using tag lines to sell their courses that promise to teach you how to ‘disarm anyone’ but the fact is that disarming can be dangerous as many attempts to disarm lead to a struggle which in turn leads to accidents that can cost you your life. Krav Maga is a form of self defense, it is not competitive or a martial art, the purpose of the training is to get away safely.  Why attempt to disarm unless it is necessary to your safety or to the safety of close friends and family?

Sometimes you do have to disarm to get away safely. For instance, if you are in close proximity to your attacker (such as in a bar) and you cannot get away easily, or, if you are dealing with a weapon that has a lot of range, or, you may have friends and family close by that could get hurt if you don’t disarm. On occasions like this, disarming the attacker can be a effective way of neutralizing an attack but be careful because disarming is not an easy thing to do without the right self defense training.

In the scenario, the attacker uses a bottle to attack and the close proximity of the attack and surroundings.  The victim disarms before trying to get away.

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It may look like a lot of fun (it is) but there is a serious point underneath this video.  The Master Class occurred in a bar in New York a few summers ago.  The emphasis on disarming here is relevant because of the close space and risk of a repeated attack but also because the attack occurs in a crowded bar where there are a lot of other people present making it difficult to get away.