Rules And Discipline In Training

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 29th May 2023

When you teach a reality-based self-defense system such as Krav Maga, there is often an expectation, and to a lesser extent a “demand”, that the way you train is chaotic and unstructured, in order for you to replicate, the messy and confused nature of real-life violence e.g., sparring should involve groin attacks, unfettered aggression, and wild strikes etc., because these are some of the components of actual violence, and to leave them out would be disingenuous. I have seen video clips of Krav Maga “sparring” that basically resemble (with protective headgear), UK military “milling”. Though I’m not sure milling is...Click To Read More

Choke Holds And Self-Defense

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 22nd May 2023

I remember when the policy of “Care in the Community” started to be rolled out in London and the UK. It began with the 1983 Mental Health Act, that attempted to better recognize the rights and autonomy of those who had mental health problems. One of its goals was to try to provide treatment, care, and support in the least restrictive type of environment. The idea was to move many of those who used to live in large institutions into residential houses, in the community, and provide support for them there. It was a noble idea, however many individuals who...Click To Read More

Successful Violence Prevention Programs

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 15th May 2023

Unfortunately, thoughts about security and safety tend to occur after an event has happened, as a reaction/response, rather than in anticipation of one e.g., a person buys a burglar alarm because their house was broken into. This is often the case with the implementation of violence prevention programs in corporations, enterprises, and educational facilities; only after a serious violent incident occurs do members of an organization question their safety. This is because most organizations have a focus that takes up most of their time and energy. A business is trying to sell more of its products and/or services, whilst an...Click To Read More

The Ineffectiveness of Various School Policies in Preventing Active Shooter Incidents

Gershon Ben Keren

Tue 9th May 2023

Last week, I wrote about some of the differences between active shooter incidents that take place at K-12 schools, and those that occur at colleges and universities. In this article I want to look at the effectiveness of certain policies in preventing and dealing with active shooter incidents, primarily at K-12 schools, however some of these policies and procedures are practiced, enacted, and enforced in colleges and universities.

The Ineffectiveness of Zero Tolerance Policies

Zero-tolerance policies often seem attractive ways to deal with violent offending, because they appear to deal with thoughts of violence before they occur. However, zero-tolerance policies often involve...Click To Read More

Similarities Between University & Workplace Shootings

Gershon Ben Keren

Thu 4th May 2023

I have written before about the need to differentiate between active shooter incidents that happen in workplaces, public spaces/settings, and educational institutions. There is a tendency to think of them as all being extremely similar or the same, such as all events having the same root cause. This way of thinking, often leads people to conclude that there is a single and universal solution to all of these incidents, such as a greater investment in mental health services; although what these exact services are, and look like are rarely specified, along with how they would be applied etc. In this...Click To Read More