The Importance Of Breathing

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 28th Nov 2016

One of the most neglected areas of reality-based self-defense training (including Krav Maga) is breathing. It is something the combat sports and traditional martial arts emphasize a lot, but is somehow seen as irrelevant or a low priority when it comes to dealing with real-life violence. I have heard more than one Krav Maga instructor state that because real-life confrontations only last a few seconds there is little reason to spend any time training breathing – unfortunately this idea that real-life fights only last a few seconds, fails to take into account all the time spent in the pre-conflict phase,...Click To Read More

Intervening On Another Persons Behalf (Part 2)

Gershon Ben Keren

Tue 22nd Nov 2016

Most of us, when we see an injustice, want to speak out or do something about it. For practicing martial artists and self-defense practitioners, when we see or hear about somebody being bullied, attacked or assaulted, we want to intervene – or at the least wish we could. I have spent a good number of years working bar/pub security, where I’ve had to intervene in violent altercations, where the violence/aggression was primarily directed at others, rather than myself. For those who believe they would/should defend others who are being assaulted, I would like to share some of my thoughts and...Click To Read More

Intervening On Another Persons Behalf (Part 1)

Gershon Ben Keren

Sun 20th Nov 2016

This is the first of a two-part blog looking at bystander intervention and verbal confrontations i.e. what and what not to do when you see somebody being verbally harassed/abused and feel compelled to intervene. The second article will look at when and how to intervene on behalf of somebody who is being physically assaulted. I understand good intentions; I understand people wanting to encourage others etc. however we do have to check whether the people giving us advice – however sensible it may seem – are qualified and experienced to do so. When the Fukushima nuclear reactors overheated after the Tsunami...Click To Read More

How To Get Guns Into A Government Building

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 14th Nov 2016

I have always believed in the power of politeness and a good smile, however a few days ago I got to see just how powerful these tools can be in disarming someone from following basic security protocols, and potentially putting themselves and others at harm. I’d been booked to do some security training for some local government officials at a government building in the US; part of this training was an active shooter component, so myself and my associate who were conducting the training had brought along some Rings Blue Guns (training guns), that included both short and long barrel weapons,...Click To Read More

Tai Sabaki & Body Defense

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 7th Nov 2016

One of the principles that I was first taught in my Krav Maga training, was the idea of every defense having a hand-defense and a body-defense. This was explained to me through the concept of a 200% defense i.e. if you did the hand-defense correctly, it alone would be a 100% defense, and if you did the body-defense correctly, it would also give you a 100% defense. This meant, if you only managed to do each 50% correctly/well, then you would still have a 100% defense. From my own experiences, I appreciated the understanding that when put under stress and...Click To Read More