the chain of defense™
Protecting Yourself is an essential life skill.
The Chain of Defense™ self defense principles and Pure Krav Maga (PKM), founded by Boaz Aviram, build your self worth to physically and non-physically protect yourself.
the chain of defense™ / Pure krav maga
Our 16 Foundational Principles of Self Defense
- Learn in progression to instill a chain of reaction and learned intuitive behavior.
- Always attack and defend simultaneously.
- Conserve body movement. Less equals greater efficiency.
- In order to prevail, you must be effective AND efficient.
- Linear movement is faster than circular.
- Never look where you strike. Your Line of Vision is always at center of opponent’s body.
- Never use your voice unless opponent is out of your personal territory.
- Never get in a fighting stance – never let your opponent know what you know.
- Always defend and attack according to the danger level and the opponent’s body position.
- Gauge your distance. Never allow the opponent in your personal territory.
- Know your pressure points. Engage the closest pressure point with the closest part of your body.
- Never be complacent. Have a heightened awareness in every situation.
- Walk with confidence. Head up – shoulders back – hands ready.
- Attack preemptively – defend intuitively.
- Listen and TRUST your gut instinct – it’s always correct.
- Use your mind as your best defense. Defending yourself is not about physical strength. It is about your intelligence and knowing how to use your body as a weapon.
Photo copyright KickPics LLC
the chain of defense™ / PURE KRAV MAGA
History
History
History
- Pure Krav Maga is the original pre-1983 Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Krav Maga, which is the official hand-to-hand self defense training system of the Israeli military.
- The name comes from the Hebrew words KRAV meaning fight and MAGA meaning contact.
- It was originally developed by Immi Lichtenfeld in 1942 for the underground organizations defending Israeli interests whilst under British Rule of Palestine; and in 1948 became the first Krav Maga Instructor of the IDF.
- When Imi retired from the IDF, he passed the reins to Eli Avikzar who then became the Chief Instructor of the IDF Fighting Fitness Academy. After Eli retired in 1981, he passed the reins to Boaz Aviram.
Concept
History
History
- Pure Krav Maga is the result of comprehensive analysis through prioritization of all the dangerous elements that are involved in a confrontation.
- The correct order of learning Pure Krav Maga self defense is designed to instill a chain reaction of body parts to create that instant desired effect that will save your life in a sudden threatening scenario.
- The proper technique is the one that conserves body movement.
- Remember, if you do less, you are quicker. MYTH: It’s okay to learn the proper technique over the course of time. TRUTH: If you apply repetition prior to applying proper technique, you are wasting your time. We apply repetition only AFTER the proper technique is achieved.
- Pure Krav Maga practitioners close the gap by pushing their toes and shifting their weight forward. They are trained to pivot their torso for greater reach. In a Pure Krav Maga Hand Strike, the only tightened muscles are those of the forearm and fist. Remember, protect yourself always.
The Essence of Self Defense
The Essence of Self Defense
The Essence of Self Defense
- To master your control over such a confrontation, you need to identify the situation, identify the most immediate threat, and instantly overcome the threat by using your body.
- The objective is to control your opponent the second he is in range – this is vital.
- Remember, Identify the threat level. Plan the strategy to eliminate the threat level. Execute the strategy to prevail.
Danger Analysis
The Essence of Self Defense
The Essence of Self Defense
- Danger Analysis involves a self-assessment of the risk you are willing to take to confront a dangerous situation. It also equally involves the need to control your opponent once he steps into your territory. How do you know if you are in immediate danger? Listen, TRUST and use your intuition (aka, your gut) to make a judgment in relation to how to eliminate the threat.
- You can yell at the attacker to stop coming near you, but if he doesn’t stop and crosses into your personal territory, you must react and protect yourself. Your chances are 50-50 if you let an attacker get into your territory. There is a 50% chance you may or may not live – that 50% chance is in HIS hands as opposed to yours.
- If you stand away at least a hand and a shoulder from your opponent, you will be able to defend and attack simultaneously, and if you are closer than that, you will not. You want to avoid situations where you can be totally surprised. Assessing the dangers in each environment ahead of time can easily become your second nature. [Photo copyright KickPics LLC.]
the chain of defense™ / PURE KRAV MAGA
Reaction Time
Line of Vision
Line of Vision
- Reaction Time is the time it takes your brain to recognize a dangerous motion [1 sec] and send a command to your body to move [1 sec], or to one of your limbs to move the danger away from you so you can protect yourself. Pure Krav Maga self defense considers the reaction time of the brain crucial in the ability to effectively block an attack. In Pure Krav Maga, you execute both defense and attack at the same time, moving forward to close the gap, and limiting the attacker’s further attempts to attack.
- If an attacker has his hands around your throat, do not punch him – rather remove his thumbs from your windpipe. It takes 2 seconds to break the windpipe with a chokehold.
- If you find yourself in an unplanned grappling situation, take comfort in knowing that his hands are on your body and not striking or stabbing you – which means, you have 2 seconds to your advantage to react to his available pressure points.
- Photo copyright KickPics LLC
Line of Vision
Line of Vision
Line of Vision
- Concentrate your vision to the center of the attacker [sternum area]. As you notice your opponent, you should immediately look to the center of his body to assess the danger. From here you can see his arms, legs and any sudden body movements.
- As you move to protect yourself, always look to the center; never to where you’ll be striking.
Motion
Situational Awareness, Gut Instinct and Body Language
Situational Awareness, Gut Instinct and Body Language
- You should be able to strike within maximum range, maximum speed, and minimum motion required and needed to obtain/hit the target [attacker]. Once in motion, the balance needs to be continuously kept by coordinating the shifting of the body parts to facilitate lifting of one leg or the other.
- ALWAYS DEFEND ACCORDING TO THE POSITION OF YOUR OPPONENT & TO THE LEVEL OF DANGER
- Photo copyright KickPics LLC
Situational Awareness, Gut Instinct and Body Language
Situational Awareness, Gut Instinct and Body Language
Situational Awareness, Gut Instinct and Body Language
- Always be aware of your surroundings and have a heightened awareness to the situation, environment and persons nearby. There is no room for complacency at any time. Listen to what your gut is telling you about a situation or person. Think before doing. Know where you’re going, who you’re going with and the environment you’ll be walking into.
- Our bodies talk to others without us ever opening our mouths. It is crucial to carry one’s self in a confident manner and to always look up when walking, to keep shoulders and head held upright, and to have your hands available in a non-confrontational way in case you need to defend and attack against an assault. The way you walk, to the way you stand stationary, is all part of confident body language, self defense, and a great way to protect yourself.
- Photo copyright KickPics LLC
THE CHAIN OF DEFENSE™
Everyday Objects as Weapons
We consider self defense an opportunity to provide a much-needed educational service. One way is by looking at some objects that can be used as weapons to protect yourself which include:
- Keys, Laser Pens, Ballpoint Pens & Pencils. Easily and readily available either around the house or in a purse, these simple, everyday objects can be held in the hand and used to defend and attack against.
- Garden and Kitchen Tools. These can be used as handheld striking tools.
- Club, Walking Stick. A club can easily be made from a tree branch. You can also look for a walking stick around your house. Either tool can be used when walking alone at night or early morning in case you need to defend and/or attack against.
- Blunter. A blunter is an object that can be easily handmade from readily available material.
- Salt & Pepper. Throwing salt and/or pepper at someone’s eyes will cause them to burn, become watery, blurry and painful. This gives you just a couple of seconds to either attack the opponent or get yourself to a safe place.
THE CHAIN OF DEFENSE™ / PURE KRAV MAGA
Pressure Points
Your body is full of pressure points; those selected for self defense are accessible in a split-second, which is your WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY to protect yourself. Pressure points are used to control your opponent in a way that he would not be able to harm you. Prioritize which to use with the thought of the desired result and at the same time, easiest to reach in an instant. Consider the distance of the pressure point from our striking limb and its accessibility. You must have room for acceleration to develop sufficient force.
Use leverage on the joints to inflict pain and to manipulate attacker’s body. Your body is made up of 60% water. The engagement of pressure points chosen are dependent on the level of danger.
OUTER MECHANISM: Instinctive reaction to move our bodies out of harm’s way.
INNER MECHANISM: This is an internal mechanism that’s been activated AFTER harm was inflicted to body – there is a chain reaction designed to stop harm. For instance, when you break a windpipe, it stop’s the attacker in his tracks, but can also then lead to death in not treated immediately. These are as follows:
- HAIR – gripping, pulling, leverage (front/back causing concussion, KO)
- TOP OF HEAD – grab, pull down causing concussion, KO
- EDGE OF EYE CAVITY – strike to cut skin causing bleeding and blurriness
- EYES – both hands on face cheeks, insert thumbs into eye cavity causing pressure and release
- TEMPLES – artery and nerves are close to skin surface, strike to cause pain, concussion, unconsciousness, death
- EARS – strike with cupped hands causing rupture to eardrum and immense pain; scream into ear; bite ear
- NOSE – strike causing extreme pain, watering of eyes, difficulty breathing (buying more time)
- NASAL BRIDGE – place thumb/index finder under nose at 45 degrees in upward motion moving attacker’s body away, then strike your own thumb/index finger breaking nasal bridge bone causing pain and disorientation
- TEETH – strike or kick to break teeth causing pain, headache (buying more time)
- CHIN – strike to cause concussion
- MOUTH – bite lips and/or tongue causing severe pain and bleeding
- JAW – a strike or kick when closed causes concussion; a strike or kick when opened causes dislocation, possibly biting of the tongue causing severe pain and/or concussion
- THROAT – strike to windpipe with breaking it causes immediate fainting and/or death unless trached; strike or finger push to cavity just below windpipe causes extreme discomfort
- CAROTID ARTERY – strike causes faintness, disorientation; knife slash causes severe bleeding and/or death; strangulation causes faintness
- VAGUS NERVE – strike slows heartrate causing dizziness
- CLAVICLE HOLLOW – knife stab causes puncture in carotid artery, severe bleeding and/or death
- COLLAR BONE – strike can fracture bone causing severe pain, lack of mobility in arm
- BACK OF HEAD – strike causes pain, concussion, broken neck, permanent paralysis, and/or death
- NECK – holding head with both hands in spinning motion in direction of globe results in neck breaking or trauma to vertebrae causing possible death
- ARMPIT – front kick causes severe pain and possible paralysis due to nerve endings located here
- STERNUM – kick will stun attacker so another pressure point can be engaged
- CHEST PECTORALS, THIGHS (large muscle groups) – kick to large muscle group causes pain due to lactic acid with stunning (buying more time)
- NIPPLES – biting causes extreme pain, temporary stunning (buying more time)
- CELIAC (SOLAR) PLEXUS – located behind the stomach, just under the diaphragm with cluster of nerve cells, it’s the largest nerve center in abdominal area, controlling vital functions – a blow here causes temporary functioning of internal organs, pain, knocking air out of lungs, and possible unconsciousness
- FALSE & FLOATING RIBS – there are five false ribs with the weakest ones (floating ribs) located at bottom and attached to ribcage at spine, a strike or kick easily fractures them causing possible puncture or collapse of a lung; fractured ribs on the right cause internal injury to liver
- KIDNEYS – located underneath the floating ribs in back of body, a strike or kick results in shock with possible internal injury causing pain, infection and possible death if left untreated; knife strike to kidney causes internal bleeding with possible death
- STOMACH – a direct blow to intestines if abdominal muscles are not contracted causes immediate shock and vomiting with possible internal bleeding
- WAIST & HIPS – kick results in stopping attacker at his center of gravity
- GROIN – strike, grab or kick causes stunning, severe pain, trauma, neurogenic shock (insufficient blood flow), unconsciousness
- KNEES – strike or kick to side of knee results in ligaments stretching with possibly tearing along with cartilage also tearing, causing pain and immobility
- COXIC BONE – the last bone in the spine in middle of butt cheeks, a kick causes attacker to fall, trauma, possible broken bone resulting in pain and immobility
- HAMSTRING – kick causes muscle spasms (slowing down attacker’s mobility)
- CALVES – roundhouse kick diagonally upwards causes attacker to fall or a muscle spasm without fall
- SHIN – kick results in possible breaking of bone causing severe pain
- TOP OF FOOT – easily fractured with stomp kick causing pain and limited mobility
- ACHILLES TENDON – kick will cause severe pain, limited mobility if fractured, possible falling
- JOINTS & ARTICULATIONS (shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, knees, ankles, toes, weak parts of spine, neck area) – used as leverage to create pain to immobilize attacker
Photo copyright Kickpics LLC