With Amazon listing more than 400 books about the health benefits of martial arts, more people are turning to self-defense schools as an alternative to the treadmill.
One form growing in popularity, Krav Maga, is the self-defense system created to protect Israeli Defense Forces soldiers. It transitioned from a military to a rigorous civilian pursuit in the United States in the late 1990s.
Krav Maga practitioners avoid a fighting stance and diffuse a situation with their wits if possible.
“It?s not just punching and throwing elbows. It?s understanding how to be safe,” said Bryan Inagaki, chief instructor at the Krav Maga Maryland in Columbia.
Students learn to protect themselves physically and psychologically from would-be attackers ? building confidence and a toolbox of skills they can unleash at a moments notice.
Instructors pushed students to keep going during an intense punching drill in a recent class. “If you?re so tired that you need to pick up one arm with the other to throw it at someone, keep doing it. That?s the point,” Inagaki said.
“It doesn?t get easier, and you aren?t less tired over time, because you?re punching harder and faster as you learn more,” said student Phaygi Chin, 25, of Pikesville.
Training to become an instructor, Chin took up Krav Maga after her brother ? trained in the Israeli army ? boasted he could kill her with one hand in five seconds.
“I?m a dancer, not afighter,” she said. “But it gets really exciting when someone grabs you or pokes you and you can immediately defend yourself.”
“The overall message of Krav Maga is, don?t be a victim,” said Tzviel “BK” Blankchtein, chief instructor of the Owings Mills location. He learned the art while serving in the Israeli army. “The type of Krav I did in the military is not the same as what we teach civilians.”
Students are also not privy to the defense techniques taught to law enforcement officers by the Krav Maga Maryland Tactical Division, he said.
“The mindset is the same; we?re teaching them to be safe. But you will never see any of the differences between the two classes,” Inagaki said. “That?s because criminals cross-train, and we want to keep our officers safe.”
