Sniper Option

A trained fighter is driven by values and principles that come from training and tactics rather than feelings. This is not to imply that a fighter ignores his gut instincts and intuition but rather he is able to recognize the surge of adrenaline and respond accordingly. This takes willpower and training to develop the right attitude and muscle memory.

I will never forget the first time I did a bungy jump; my adrenaline was at threshold level, every instinct was screaming; telling me that this was plain wrong. However when I heard the command “five..four..three..two..one..BUNGY!” I launched myself forward knowing that if I had waited even a split second my subconscious would come up with a million and one reasons not to jump.

In Krav Maga it is precisely this instinct that we are trying to hone; to develop the courage to express feelings, standards, demands, expectations and vision rather than falling into the victim mentality; the go ahead have your way with me syndrome. I drill my students to strike suddenly, explosively and with very bad intentions using a given trigger; a word or some other signal in the environment.

My experience in martial arts and in the security industry taught me that passively anticipating someone to attack is a dangerous game. When an attack occurs it is often fast, violent and unexpected. Even if the initial attack does not take you out you will be on the back foot and in survival mode.

Krav Maga philosophy is to be proactive and use pre-emptive strikes if other soft skills such as verbal dissuasion or just walking away fail. I teach to use a word or a phrase as a trigger to launch an explosive attack following up with at least three of four combatives. Geoff Thompson, a leading British self-defence authority whose work I admire calls this approach the “Sniper Option”.

Even if surprised by an attack we train to burst in closing the distance and attacking and blocking simultaneously whilst striking vital and vulnerable targets. That way we go from a victim to an aggressor state in a split second. This is a fundamental principle of Krav Maga which exemplifies it military nature.

IKI Krav Maga has a leave no man behind attitude. We want our students to be able to apply our knowledge and skills in any situation. This is a different ball game and takes a different level of commitment than simply training for sport. To learn, to train to master the skills all begins with the fundamentals which we drill time and time again.