Ruck & Roll- Master Class 2017

NOMADIC KRAVVER

Eyal Yanilov, Master Class

January 22nd 2017- Sydney, Australia

Photo courtesy of Sven Midri.

I have been in Australia for just shy of 12 weeks and have to leave by February 2nd in order to keep my visa active (9 months in a year, but individual stays of  no longer than 3 months). Next on my agenda is a visit to New Zealand and I was going to book a flight out on the 19th of January. 

But then some rather splendid news happened. Eyal Yanilov, head of Krav Maga Global was going to be in Sydney on the 22nd January for not one but two seminars. Defending The Knife and 3rd Party Protection.

Not wanting to let such a golden opportunity pass by, I postponed leaving and booked both seminars.

I’ve met Eyal a few times before and to see him teach is a genuine privilege. He is regarded very highly by other instructors, and also the national directors of KMG. Both Jon Bullock (UK) and Adam White (Australia & New Zealand) had nothing but praise for Eyal and my instructor back in England, Bartosz Zukowski of Krav Maga Midlands used to refer to Eyal as “my master”.

The venue was Sydney University Sports & Aquatic Centre, just up the road from where I was staying with a friend. I set off early by bicycle to make certain I got there in plenty of time. A guy named Andy from SGS Krav Maga, who I had trained with during my time in Oz, was already there. As we sat and had a coffee, other practitioners began arriving. By about nine forty five the queue to register was going right back up the stairs and I had a quick chat with Sven Midri, an E2 instructor who owns the club Krav Maga Self Defence and was organising the seminars that day. He said there were about 75 people booked in, mainly from the Sydney clubs and surrounding area. 

Once Eyal arrived we got into a large huddle around him on the basketball court where Sven introduced him and said we were now learning from “your instructors’ instructor”. Eyal then gave us a quick talk on the way this seminar was going to go, with the emphasis on defending knife attacks and evasion. He stressed that one option in Krav Maga is always to flee if possible, something I’ve heard other instructors mention before. He then talked about how those who would resort to using knives will regard a potential victim as nothing more than a “walking wallet” and a process called “othering” will take place during such interactions. This basically means that they regard the person they are robbing or attacking as something ‘other’ than what they are and this objectification results in it being easier to treat them badly and/ or hurt them.

We then moved into a warm up, with some leg and arm movements requiring concentration and co-ordination (legs go in different patterns to the arms) and then we split into pairs for blocking movements. The first was an inside defence, using the forearm to block a knife thrust. The other was an outside or ‘scooping’ defence. We practiced these several times before Eyal stopped us to give us further words of advice. He pointed out that in the short time he had to teach us (just under two hours) he couldn’t show us to the level of even P1 or P2 but instead could “open the door a little” to allow us some experience. 

He then called up one of the local instructors to demonstrate on, and showed us keeping someone at a reasonable distance, using whatever means necessary (including an eye poke). He also said that in some situations it is better to apologise and try to resolve a situation through verbal skills. The scenario he chose to illustrate this was where he imagined that an aggressor had accused him of looking at his girlfriend and he apologised while walking away, yet keeping his hands up and his body at a position where striking would be possible if necessary. 

We moved to defending against knife attacks while lying on the ground with Eyal describing the feet and legs as ‘turrets’ to be used to kick or push an attacker away. This was fun to do, although the ‘getting up’ part requires concentration as you have to keep attacking, even while you raise yourself off the floor.

After this seminar wrapped up, the few who weren’t staying for part two then collected their certificates and left while the rest of us moved to the canteen for a break. 

At just after 1pm we shifted to another sports hall for the 3rd party seminar. Eyal again gave a brief introduction to what we were going to be doing and talked about how it is sometimes necessary to put yourself in the path of another person to defend them from harm. Another warm up to shake off our post-lunch lethargy, this time with someone hanging on to our shoulders while we had to keep moving, imagining that we were giving them a piggy back. and we got into the training. In groups of three, one person held a strike shield while another blocked the third person from attacking it. This was a lot of fun, albeit tiring and we all took turns in the various roles. Moving on to pre-emptive defence (i.e. you see the attack coming and block it before it happens) and then dealing with an attack that is actually occurring. We did this initially with strangle holds and then with knives. 

Something that Eyal pointed out was that it is very important to remove the person you are trying to protect, from the sight of the danger or threat. This could be something as simple as taking their arm and leading them away to grabbing them bodily to make them move. Having worked as a cop in England I can testify that in violent or aggressive situations a lot of people ‘contribute’ by simply yelling and screaming at one or all of the parties involved. So removing them from the scene can be the best of all options. 

At the end we tried a drill where the person with the strike shield then had to point it at one of the other two, while the third person would then join in by ‘attacking the attacker’. 

Photo courtesy of Sven Midri

At around 3pm we wrapped things up, with Eyal giving us a final summary of what we’d covered and saying that he hoped we’d found the day useful and that we took the skills we’d covered with us into training and daily life.

After the certificates of attendance were awarded we moved off and I managed to get a few words with Eyal.

He said:

“ It went very well. I gave all the things I wanted to give, in a short time. Four hours together, two and two. I managed to give an overall view of some of the sections of the system.There was a lot of people here, we are getting bigger in Australia, improving ourselves. In the beginning, at the seminars we had very small numbers of people attending. Especially England where I met you, it was very much like this. Giving seminars to five or ten people. Know we have about 100 instructors there so things have changed. Over 60 countries now have Krav Maga with KMG.”

I also managed to get a few words with Sven who said:

“It was pretty good of Eyal to come up here today as he’s right in the middle of a Combat Fighters instructors course in Melbourne. We managed to snatch him up for the day. Today went good. The timing’s always difficult due to admin and people lining up. If you’re not 15 minutes early you’re late. We had over 75 people. We run this when we’re lucky enough to have him. Which is why it’s imperative that we get our students and instructors out here. Like I said in the introduction. He’s the instructor of everyone else’s instructors. You have to make it. He likes coming here but it’s a long way.”

A good day and a privilege to not only train in Sydney but also catch Eyal before I left. 

The Park, The Practioners and the Pisshead Who Wanted to Play

Krav Maga Midlands

Night Outdoor Park/ 3rd Party Protection seminar

Friday 19th July 2013

RSC Park, Stratford-upon-Avon

Having attended the Armed Attacker Seminar last February I was hyped up for attending this one too. Bartosz had promised 3 hours of training in how to protect “loved ones” (or in my case “some girl I might pull in a bar one night”) from attack in open spaces such as parks or woodland.

I arrived about 6.30pm and found a lot of guys already there, chatting near the river while Bartosz waited at the gate to shepherd people over. It was mainly club members, with one or two “civilians” thrown in, brought as the hypothetical 3rd parties in need of protection. In all there were about 40 of us.

At around 7pm Bartosz and Russell l got us warmed up and then we split into pairs for the initial “protection” training. This consisted of numbering ourselves 1 or 2, then jogging around the lawn. Bartosz would intermittently bellow “ONE!” or “TWO!” and whoever’s number was called had to find their significant other, and run to stand as a shield in front of them.

Then we had the always enjoyable “slap other people on the head” addition. This meant that while jogging around you could hit anyone within reach. A couple of the civvies didn’t seem to like this too much but it broke the ice and meant we were nicely warmed up for the main session.

After some stretching we split into groups of 3 and worked on protecting someone from perceived or actual attack from ne’er do wells. My partners were a fairly muscley guy and a very small woman. While she was totally gung ho with regard to getting stuck in, her technique needed a little work as she was unable to push either me or the other guy out the way. 

Eventually she cracked it and we had a lovely time shoving each other around. The Educational Block is something I’d forgotten about but a quick reminder session had me coughing and spluttering. It consists of pushing someone away with the palm of your hand and then pushing your fingers into the soft bit just above the top of their rib cage. Not nice!

Later on we had some amusing themes to work with, one of which was shoving your VIP out the way of an oncoming cyclist or skateboarder careening towards you. Very Indiana Jones.

Then it was “protect the VIP” from actual attack. We had to take it in turns to be Attacker, VIP or Defender. Punishment for letting the Attacker actually reach the VIP was 5 push ups. We couldn’t stop until Bartosz shouted, “Switch!” so a lot of grunting, shoving and headlocks were on display as people tired each other out on the grass.

An interesting variant on this was the “VIP Acting Like An Idiot” scenario. In real life, those who are attacked will usually run or stand still but some get lippy and either try to fight as well, shout and scream or wander around like a headless chicken. The most difficult situation was dealing with the oncoming Attacker while simultaneously trying to keep a protective eye on your VIP who was now strolling round like a loose cannon.

Stranglehold techniques were gone through, which aren’t as hard to break as I’d imagined, albeit somewhat complicated with regard to what arm goes where. Imagine a Chinese puzzle but with human limbs instead of wood or string.

After a 5 minute break we then moved on to knife and gun attacks and how to disarm an attacker. Golden rule of training for pistol disarm is NEVER put your finger in the trigger guard…unless you want it broken when your partner twists it out of your hand. Funniest thing was that 4 police officers wandered through the park just as Bartosz was demonstrating by pointing the fake gun at Russell l. Luckily it’s bright yellow (as are 90% of the training pistols) so they didn’t take cover behind trees and push the panic alarms on their Airwave radios for an Armed Response unit to attend.

We then had another quick break and got stuck in to VIP protection against knife, gun or strangling techniques on a pressure drill. This was hard as you had to walk to the left of your partner and attempt to disarm or avoid anyone who was “armed” coming at you. As all 40 of us were in one small area it was very intense but a lot of fun.

As we were getting ready a drunken Chav with a rather flabby belly wandered up and stood near to me watching what was going on. His breath reeked of beer and I was starting to get drunk off the passives when Bartosz asked him, “You OK?” He smiled and went, “Yeah, just interested that’s all” which was fine until he picked up a fake knife and swung it around saying, “So what would you do if I attacked you with this?” Bartosz snatched the knife off him and shoved him away growling, “Just stay away, go!!!” He mooched away with his tail between his legs looking very embarrassed.

This beautiful moment was also caught on film.

As it got dark we then had the “surprise” that we’d been promised. Near the river was a bit of pathway with lots of overhanging trees and dense bushes. Bartosz asked, “Who wants to go first?” and I volunteered. He sent me to stand out of sight while he got 4 or 5 other guys to hide along the path. When he called me back he grinned and went , “Right Lance. Just walk down that path until you come out the other end, OK?”

It was very dark by this point and hard to see. As I set off I saw Charlie Hale come bursting out of the bush to my left, I was about to kick him when he shouted, “Alright mate! You got the time?” I relaxed a little, realising this was the Red Herring and said, “Sorry mate no. You gave me a fright jumping out like that!”

Then a female student came at me with a fake knife. I booted her in the groin and took the knife off her, spinning round to find someone crouching in the bushes. I was about to give a pre-emptive kick when I realised it was Bartosz’s girlfriend Iwona, who was taking photos. Two more lads then came hurtling towards me shouting threats and swearing. I kicked one of them and pushed the other away, warning them with the fake knife I still had and yelled, “JUST FUCK OFF OK!!!”

Bartosz said to back away but that I’d done well and to return to the main group round the other side.

As other guys went through one at a time a group of four elderly people wandered up to see what we were doing. They all had baseball caps on with “STREET PASTOR” printed across the front and were working for the local church, offering spiritual advice to people. To my utter delight they came up just as a student went through the “tunnel” who misunderstood Charlie Hale’s role in the scenario. It went a bit like this:

Street Pastor: “So what are you doing here then?”

Me: “We’re with Krav Maga Midlands, we’re learning about how to protect against attacks in the dark. The guys over there are…”

Charlie: “Excuse me mate, you got the time?”

Student: “F**K OFF YOU C**T!!!”

(GRUNTING. STRUGGLING. SOUNDS OF PUNCHES & KICKS. SOMEONE FALLING DOWN. SWEARING. etc.)

The Street Pastors looked horrified until I reassured them that this was just a scenario and Bartosz was walking behind the student to make sure no one got hurt. It then turned out that one of them was a guy I work with (hey, it was dark!) and we shook hands and had a laugh. I’ll no doubt be ribbed remorselessly over this on Monday morning.**

Then I had a go as a “bad guy” in the bushes and Bartosz said, “Just abuse and push them.”
First guy through was OK, pushing me back and then facing my neighbour who simply stood in his way being a nuisance. The third lad through was a big, Indian bloke and when I shouted, “Think you’re f**king hard do you?!! Come on then!!!” and shoved him, he dropped me with a push kick that sent me on my arse into the bushes.

The last-but-one bloke is a former kickboxer and wanted to have a stand up fight with everyone who tried to “mug” him. This isn’t the principle of Krav Maga but was fun to see as he wouldn’t back down no matter what was thrown at him.

Finally everyone was done and we gathered with the “civilians” and Russell . Bartosz decided to give one last piece of advice and pulled Charlie Hale over and put a fake knife in his hand. He then said:

“A lot of you are trying to take the knife when you see it. If it is only being held, you should do this instead.”

He then slapped Charlie’s knife hand away and booted him in the crotch. Charlie immediately groaned in pain and fell to his knees. Turned out he’d already taken his groin guard off. Bartosz was very apologetic and said, “Sorry I thought you were still wearing it!” while Charlie staggered to one side to recover.

A brilliant night’s training and I really hope to do this again soon.


**(Addendum: I later found out that Ron Ball, Warwickshire county's Police & Crime Commissioner was with them. Christ knows what he thought of it all).

KMM Armed Attacker Seminar

Sticks & Knives & Guns & Bottles Will Break My Bones

Armed Attacker Seminar

Saturday, 16th February 2013

Saturday 16th of February was the Armed Attacker seminar. UK Krav is not predominantly based on guns, due to the lack of them in general street crime. As a result we focus mainly on knife attacks in classes. After all, the average Chav mugger has free and easy access to his mother’s cutlery drawer, but finds it harder to get hold of something that fires bullets.

Knowing this seminar had sold out a week or two in advance (with Bartosz booking “the other half of the sports hall” to allow for extra people) I was keen to attend and try a different side of Krav Maga.

First of all, it was great to see people from other clubs. I chatted to a couple of guys who had come from the south of England, one from London and the other Bristol. I also got to meet members of the other Krav Maga Midlands groups, which was cool as we rarely interact apart from the occasional social event or when people borrow another group, either due to missing their regular session or taking Option 2 on the payments scheme (the right to attend any and all classes that KMG Midlands holds in a week).

Have to say that the warm-up brought the kid out in me. So much fun chasing some bloke around a huge sports hall along with 50 other people, playing Tig. After that brief burst of cardio, we cracked straight on with knife attacks.

This was something we’d covered in classes but it was good as it put some shine on the rust and meant we slid straight into it. The much larger space to train in was appreciated. While Krav teaches you to fight and defend in ANY space, be it confined or vast, it’s good to know you won’t be smacking the back of your head into the pair training behind you (although I’ve no doubt that would be blamed on me neglecting to scan after attacking!)

After that we moved to 4 feet-long sticks. Thankfully the wooden sticks we used had foam sheathing but still gave a whack if you got them across the head or forearms. This was my favourite part of the seminar, as there is something immensely satisfying about taking a big stick off someone. My partner was annoyed that I wouldn’t let the stick go unless he actually made me and mimed kicking my knee cap, saying “if I kicked you there, you’d let it go!

I replied “yes, but you’re NOT kicking me there. Adapt!”

The best one of this whole section of training was the move that meant you forced your assailant’s arm up behind his back by twisting the stick, and put him on his knees. It is quite fiddly to do properly, but brutally effective if done right.

Finally we did gun disarm training. Personally I’m hesitant about this, as I believe you have to be VERY calm and sure of your abilities to even dream of thinking about taking a pistol off someone, let alone one being pointed in your face. However, Bartosz partially covered some of this, saying that some guy pointing a gun at you in the street is probably assuming you will do what he wants just because he is holding the pistol and won’t expect an unarmed “victim” to attack.

My other phobia on this one was the fact that the dummy guns were pistols with slides on the top. The disarm move taught us to grab the top of the gun and twist it away while stepping clear. I had evocative images of a real pistol in a real situation, accidentally firing in the struggle and breaking at least one of my fingers as the slide activated. Bartosz again covered this aspect, without anyone asking him, by saying that if you grip the top of the gun and the trigger is pulled, then the gun will jam and then have to be cleared and reloaded before it can be used.

Nicest part of the whole thing was finding out that if you take a pistol off someone properly, there’s a fair chance you will break their index finger as it’s going to be trapped in the guard.

Needless to say we threatened each other with fingers WELL clear of the dummy pistol’s trigger guard.

To round up, we had a pressure drill of one guy attacking a punch bag held by another student….while 3 or 4 guys came at him with a gun, a knife, a stick or a bottle (as the bottle moves are the same as for sticks or knives). I was in a group of 6 where me and a couple of other guys made a point of throwing the weapons away from us once we got them off the attacker. Made me smile when one or two people handed them back politely, then carried on punching the bag waiting for the next attack.

One thing I didn’t expect was the attendance certificates being awarded one at a time. We lined up against the wall and the names were called out with guys walking up and getting a round of applause from us, and a handshake off Bartosz and Russell. A nice touch and the perfect way to end this.

Really good day and the best fun I’ve had at Krav apart from my P1 grading. Just wish my forearms didn’t look like someone’s been at them with a steak tenderiser.