Krav Maga: How to Defend Yourself Against Armed Assault [Paperback]

Imi Sde-Or (Author), Eyal Yanilov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 25, 2001

Krav Maga is today's cutting edge self-defense and hand to hand combat system. Initially developed by Grandmaster Imi Sde-Or (Lichtenfeld) for the Israel Defense Forces and other national security services, Krav Maga has been thoroughly adapted to meet civilan needs. The method was designed so that ordinary citizens, young and old, men and women alike, can successfully use it, regardless of their physical strength. This is the first and only authorized comprehensive manual on the Krav Maga discipline, written by its founder, Imi Sde-Or, and his senior disciple and follower, Eyal Yanilove. This volume especially focuses on the various facets of dealing with an assailant armed with a sharp-edged weapon, a blunt object, or a firearm.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Imi Sde-Or, of blessed memory, developed a strategy for Krav Maga that makes self-defense possible for the individual too, whether or not in uniform, such that even when alone, the battle will not necessarily be lost."—Shimon Peres, formerly Israel's Prime Minister

About the Author

Imi Sde-Or (Imrich Lichtenfeld, 1910-1998) was the creator of the acclaimed school of Krav Maga. Imi and his senior disciple and follower, Iyal Yanilov, spent more than a decade writing this book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Frog Books (June 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583940081
• ISBN-13: 978-1583940082
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.6 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Safety & First Aid

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read the book; TAKE A CLASS, February 3, 2002

By 

rickvid (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Krav Maga: How to Defend Yourself Against Armed Assault (Paperback)

The first rule of KM is "Don't get hurt!" What do you do when you see the knife in the fight - 1. RUN! (No macho last-man-standing...) 2. Get a longer weapon. 3. As a last ditch, life or death resort, go hand-to-hand, then RUN! KM will teach you things you can effectively use after your first class going to your car in the parking lot. It does not take years of study, complex choreographed jumping and hand swirling and theatrics. If you can't learn a technique to some degree of usefulness in five or ten minutes, it won't help you in a street attack.

This book is, unfortunately, fairly advanced, being aimed at weapons defense. The basics of punch, kick, elbow, knee are essential to weapons defense. Is KM "nothing new?" Depends on what you mean by "new." Krav Maga was developed for the Israeli Defense Forces with the aim of training large numbers of ordinary citizens (remember, mandatory conscription in Israel) in a very short time to defend themselves successfully. KM is based on boxing, street fighting, grappling and, being an open system, changes its techniques and incorporates from other systems. In my four plus years of KM study in nice safe Seattle, we have changed some of our moves, studied techniques from Ju Jitsu, Capoeira, Safta, Marine Corps CQB, Muay Thai kickboxing, joint manipulation, Tae Kwon Do and other systems. We have instructors come in, occasionally, to show us other systems.

KM is for the ordinary person as well as police and military. An attacker is not likely to be a trained weapons fighter, just a loser out to get cash or valuables. Knife attacks are up as penalties for gun use become more severe. Sometimes, the loser just hurts you for kicks - not much else happening in his miserable little life, maybe.

Is KM worth learning? Yep. The very best in every situation? Often, maybe. The be all and end all? Nope. But it has been very useful for some classmates in tough circumstances. Put this one on your list, read it, then take a class. You will be glad you did.

96 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars UPGRADED REVIEW, August 18, 2001

By 

Oavde "oavde" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Krav Maga: How to Defend Yourself Against Armed Assault (Paperback)

I have upgraded my review to 4 stars - I did not think I would create such controversy.

I have to apologise if I seemed overly critical in the last review because I have over 15 years experience in specific anti-gun and anti-knife techniques so when I looked at Krav Maga I didnt think wow something that really works! I thought mistake, bad foot work, wrong position elbow, what if attacker does this, telegraphed movement, approach from wrong side etc..

However after thinking about it, compared to what other books are out there it is quite good. Certainly what I have learnt in my training I have NEVER seen in any book. For me KM was nothing new. It was a good read and interesting and gave me an insight into the psychology and social history behind its development. Maybe I should write a book  seriously, maybe I will.

Kjetil Moland you asked what techniques I advocate against guns, knives and sticks  I recommend techniques similar to Krav Maga  but when I saw the KM techniques I picked them apart, I forget that what I know is not widely practised. I made specific points in my other review. THERE ARE SHORTCOMINGS IN THE TECHNIQUES IN THE KRAV MAGA BOOK. If you cant pick up on them then you need more experience. Coat your practise knife in paint and see where you get cut. Karate, Taekwondo, Ju Jitsu, Judo, kickboxing, thaiboxing are inferior to KM for real world self defense (although Ju Jitsu should not have been too bad) they all have their own strengths but in all that I have seen of those you mentioned I have never seen adequate real world techniques taught. 4 of those you mentioned are purely sport and the other 2 are a combination of sport / traditions and none of them strictly taught without any pure real-world self defense practise are adequate for the real world  you should know that.

p24 Stab to the Stomach from the Side, Oriental Hold, Forearm defense. Anyone skilled with a knife will immediately twist with the knife and slash the veins along your forearm, retreating and driving the blade down into your throat. Even if the attacker has no knife skills and just lunges at your stomach, you would be lucky if the knife was short enough to not hit you regardless. Either way you have put yourself in the path of the blade. Do you honestly believe that after blocking with your right forearm you are able to then move your right arm and grab the same position on the attackers wrist with your left hand while he stands there not moving? He has a huge knife, any movement he makes with his arm is leveraged with the length of the blade. Slash your forearm, hook it up into your armpit or bicep, not to mention your throat, the knife wielding attacker has the advantage of reach speed and leverage (not to mention the sharp edge) and the KM guy is basically saying dont stab my gut, stab my throat instead.

You would be far better off initially trapping the arm by deflecting it to your right, leaving you on the outside of the attacker (on his right hand side past his arm) and able to break his arm at the elbow or drive him down.

However after criticising that technique I will say this: what they show IS instinctive, simple, easy to apply even in for example a really crowded place with people all around, easy to learn, and most importantly could well save you especially if the person attacking you is just some ordinary guy with a knife trying to stab you, and not a trained killer (with a cool head, knife skills and a deliberate intent). More likely than not, if you practise these KM skills, then in that situation your trained reflexes will save you and give you the edge over the attacker (the last thing he would expect is a competant counter attack).

Also I would point out that many martial arts, if you had learnt them instead of KM, you would have the reflexes to block the initial stab but you probably would not instinctively grab the knife etc... like KM would teach you. The traditional martial arts generally do not give adequate training for real world events. KM does fill the gap quite a bit. I am sorry if I seemed overly critical before but remember I didnt look at KM and think gee I never saw this before

If you do not think you can defend yourself against knives, guns, sticks (or grenades  something I hope I never encounter) then you would probably learn a great deal from this book  and then you must practise it a lot as realistically as you can. Get it, get a friend, practise practise practise  experience is the real key. Practise until it is second nature and then practise some more but with chaotic unpredictable opponents (not just rehearsing) (like the reviewer who mentioned going all-out with pads). Tell your partner: "Take this knife and kill me or die."

Dip the practice knife in paint. Use a water pistol with food dye in it. Make no excuses. And dont go thinking KM is the be all end all just because youve never seen techniques like these before. Everyone loves to think their martial art is the best and to pretend to themselves that because their technique is superior they will be OK  dont fall in that trap, practise, learn what is useful and what works.

Good luck and may you never have to use these skills.

I also recommend Bouncers Guide to Barroom Brawling - an accurate account of street fighting, however it does not have many illustration or specific techniques like Krav Maga does.

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Material seems poorly presented, April 20, 2002

By 

Michael Dees (West Linn, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Krav Maga: How to Defend Yourself Against Armed Assault (Paperback)

Having studied the 5 part Krav Maga video series,which was excellent, and then comparing that information presented with this book, I was disappointed. This book is supposed to be the only authorized written guide for a fighting system developed over a plus 30 year period. This fighting system is widely respected and adopted by many institutions, yet the book does not address in any significant detail, the basic building blocks upon which the rather advanced techniques which are shown must be based. The book addressed defense against knife, handgun, long gun, multiple bad guys, and hand grenade (I'm not joking). Yet basic stances, blocks, strikes, and training methods are barely discussed. As a manual or reference guide, this book is very poorly written. Purhaps I missed the point and the purpose of the book was not to instruct by rather to foster interest in people with regard to this self defense system by showing its capabilities.