Principles of Krav Maga (Pt.III): Post-Fight Behavior.

In this month’s feature we will be concluding our three part discussion of the three stages of any self- defense situation: how to act prior to any conflict, what to do during the fight, and the actions you must take after the conflict has been resolved.  Two months ago we released the first article titled: ­­­Pre-Fight Behavior, examining the type of things you must do to avoid most conflicts before violence becomes the only feasible solution.  The month after we examined the actions you must take when violence becomes unavoidable.  This article was titled The Fight.  To revisit any of the previous articles please follow the links above.

This month our attention will turn to the last stage of a self-defense situation: post-fight behavior.  This topic focuses on the course of actions you must take after you successfully defended yourselves and/or loved ones from a violent encounter.  This is a largely overlooked topic, and one that is often difficult to practice in a gym setting.  But it is crucial to your overall self-defense education and definitely requires our detailed attention.

1. Scan your surroundings to ensure that the fight is truly over. (This point was discussed in detail in the last month’s article, but it has relevance to this section as well, and we will briefly revisit it again here)
   • Don’t let your guard down immediately after overcoming your attacker in order to not get blindsided by another enemy.
   • Remember your training: defend, disengage to a safe distance, and scan your surroundings for any other threats and dangers.

2. Assess any damage inflicted by the attacker(s) to you or loved ones and get the appropriate medical attention.
   • During the struggle, with the rush of adrenaline, pain can become less noticeable. Although this is an advantage to keep you focused on fighting during the conflict; after, the lack of pain may cause you to often overlook severe injury that may require immediate medical attention.
   • A stab to the back may feel like a punch, and often victims of stabbings didn’t know they were stabbed until much later after the incident. By then severe loss of blood may have caused them to collapse, lose consciousness and even die.
   • After the incident, it is crucial to assess all the areas on your body that are in proximity to the major arteries. You can quickly feel around the neck area, under the armpits and chest, and around the groin area to ensure you are not bleeding.
   • Obviously the same must be done for your loved ones that too were involved in the attack. Here one can quickly assess the injuries of the other to see if there are any areas on the body outside of the reach of the victim that may require medical attention.
   • If there is some bleeding, do your best to evaluate the extent of the injury. If the injury is minor, it may not require any medical attention.  If it does require medical help, the decision needs to be made quickly as to whether you can get to the hospital through your own means or you need assistance.  The worst thing you can do is decide to drive yourself to the hospital, and on the way pass out due to loss of blood, leading to even more serious injuries to yourself and others.

3. Escape the area and if needed evacuate any loved ones that may have been involved in the incident.
   • Wherever the attack has happened, and whatever you were doing at that moment, it is best to leave immediately once you have successfully defended yourself. The last thing you want to do is have the attackers regroup, bring more friends and weapons and make you pay for their initial failure.
   • If you have loved ones with you that have not been trained or never been in a violent encounter, they may be in shock and may need assistance leaving. This means that you will have to direct them using clear verbal commands as to what to do, where to go, etc.  Also you may often need to assist them physically to lead them in the right direction to facilitate the escape.  Both of these actions we often practice in class during our third party protection lessons.

4. Be prepared to talk to the police in detail about the incident.
   • When communicating with the authorities, be clear in your explanation of the type of threat you faced, the actions you took to deal with the attacker(s), the location of the incident, and any other details the police may ask for.
   • If you disarmed the attacker and now have their weapon, it is best to present it to the police, as the same weapon may have been used by the assailant in other crimes and may be of great benefit to the law enforcement agencies in piecing crimes together.
   • Remember you have the right to defend yourself and those around you when facing eminent danger. As long as your actions were within the justifiable realm of self-defense, authorities should be understanding of your situation and will appreciate your cooperation and communication in regard to the incident.

5. Be proud of your actions but stay humble and avoid boasting about the event.
   • Being able to defend yourself and loved ones during a violent encounter is a proud moment and the reason most of us have started training Krav Maga in the first place.
   • But boasting about the event and your actions goes against the “pre-fight” behavior principles we discussed in the first of this three part series.
   • Arrogance often leads to escalation of further conflicts and is against the basic self-defense principles.

6. Keep up with your training!
   • The more routinely you train, the better equipped you become at handling yourself if you were to face another violent incident.
   • Like with any other skill, Krav Maga is the same; the less you practice the less proficient you become. So make your safety a priority and make your training a regular thing this year.

Happy 2016! See you in class!