Aggression in Krav Maga
Krav Maga is described by many as a “highly effective hand to hand combat style that is used by civilians, law enforcement, military and security agencies for self protection and protection of others. The style emphasizes immediate and aggressive counter attacks intended to overwhelm and quickly neutralize any critical threat(s) facing you on the street, the battlefield or any other environment”. Although this description is accurate, a person practicing this system needs to understand and be able to properly utilize one key component of this definition: aggression.
Aggression is defined by Merriam-Webster as: 1. A forceful action or procedure especially when intended to dominate or master. 2. The practice of making attacks or encroachments; especially: unprovoked violation by one country of the territorial integrity of another. 3. Hostile, injurious, or destructive behavior or outlook especially when caused by frustration.
Unfortunately, these definitions have a negative connotation and therefore can cause the public to perceive Krav Maga as a belligerent, violent style where the line between the good guy and the attacker is often blurred. And although some Krav Maga organizations may fall into that category, the way we define aggression is different.
We and Krav Maga Global define aggression as decisive, assertive and deliberate actions intended to quickly end a confrontation, eliminating the will and/or the ability of the attacker(s) to pursue their attacks. There is no hostile intent in these actions, nor is there any malice or any feelings of anger, hate, frustration or anything else for that matter directed towards the attacker(s). We simply have a mission to accomplish – protect ourselves and loved ones; therefore remaining focused and decisive throughout this mission is critical to our success. Furthermore, the level of our aggression should be proportional to the threats we face. We should not just punch someone in the throat when they ask us for change, but neither should we try to negotiate with a person intent on stabbing us with a knife in a dark alley. Therefore we must be able to not just turn this aggression on and off when needed, but also have a dial to adjust it to a desired level.
Of course this skill requires practice and properly orchestrated drills that your instructors can provide in class. But it also requires self control and proper training habits. The most important step is to leave your ego out of training. You are not there to show off your skills and to try to hurt or intimidate your training partner. Your mission is to help each other learn, improve and develop as Krav Maga practitioners. When your partner cannot keep up with your pace, simply bring the intensity down. When they are not able to carry out an appropriate attack, teach them how to be better attackers. Whatever you do, try to minimize any outbursts of anger and frustration directed at yourself and your training partner. Getting angry and frustrated will lead to loss of focus and cause mistakes that will carry over to the street. Being able to work with different people and different intensities and deal with different scales of attacks, will help prepare you to better perceive and handle various levels of threats, while remaining calm and assertive. If you develop multiple gears to your training, you will be able to increase and decrease your aggression as needed not only in training, but in the street where it counts the most. But if you have only one gear, you will not only end up hurting yourself and your partner in training, but also develop nothing more than blind rage and tunnel vision when confronted with a real violent altercation. This will result in your inability to calmly perceive threats and deal with them appropriately, resulting in severe repercussions.
