Krav Maga Training Manual: A Guidebook to Changing Your Life Through the Martial Arts

By Master Tracy Thomas

An internationally renowned wrestler, boxer and gymnast, Imi Lichtenfeld recruited young men who shared his views, but his tactics were no match for armed adversaries. So he focused on creating a form of fighting that combined all the martial arts with a new way of thinking. Tracy Lee Thomas, a master teacher who has been instructing students in the martial arts for more than thirty years, explores how Krav Maga evolved and how to use it to transform your life. He examines its core principles, including: Neutralizing threats: This is the first and foremost objective. Simplicity: The art consists of holds, strikes, and blocks that are simple and efficient. Defense and attack at the same time: By using both techniques in a single move, you can remove the threat as quickly as possible. Constant motion: The objective is to incapacitate the opponent with a continuous series of movements that are aggressively defensive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Jul 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483413747

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Copyright © 2011, 2014 Master Tracy Thomas.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1623-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1374-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014911068

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 08/06/2014

Contents

Krav Maga: Introduction, History, Principles and Benefits

Krav Maga Training Cycle 1

Category 1: Training Cycle Concepts

Category 2: Physical Application of Techniques & Tactics

Category 3: Reality Based Scenario Training

Scenario 1.1: ATM

Scenario 1.2: Home Front Door Scenario

Category 4: Krav Maga Training Workshop / KM Boot Camp

Category 5: Workshop Physical Application of Techniques & Tactics

Krav Maga Training Cycle 2

Cycle 2: Physical Application of Techniques & Tactics

Krav Maga Training Workshop Cycle 2 / KM Boot Camp

Krav Maga Training Cycle 3

Cycle 3: Physical Application of Techniques & Tactics

Krav Maga Training Workshop Cycle 3 / KM Boot Camp

Krav Maga Training Cycle 4

Cycle 4: Physical Application of Techniques & Tactics

Krav Maga Training Workshop Cycle 4 / KM Boot Camp

Krav Maga Training Cycle 5

Cycle 5: Physical Application of Techniques & Tactics

Krav Maga Training Workshop Cycle 5 / KM Boot Camp

Chapter 1: Physical and Mental Aspects of Krav Maga Training

Chapter 2: Muscle Memory through Repetitive Training

Chapter 3: Emotional Battle Scars: What Are They?

Krav Maga: Introduction, History, Principles and Benefits

Krav Maga is a form of contact combat that is truly the progeny of battle and warfare in the 20th century. With its significance growing with the passing of the years it is becoming more prominent with the onset of the 21st century.

The 9/11 attacks and the significance of Krav Maga

The 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States of America is unarguably one of the most malicious suicide attacks orchestrated in the 21st century. This incident proved the necessity to be well prepared for any situation at any given point of time. Violence and madness on the streets of New York City and Washington DC were unleashed on a Tuesday morning, like no other. A morning the American people thought would not be any different from the other days.

The fundamentalist Islamic group al-Qaeda was the organization that was behind this unprecedented kind of attack on the American soil. Osama Bin Laden, the chief of the organization, said that the terrorist attacks on America were a result of the latter’s presence in Saudi Arabia in the military capacity. The reasons stated also included USA’s anti-Iraq sanctions, its support for Israel, to avenge the attacks on Muslims in Somalia, to avenge the oppression of the Muslims in India and to avenge the attacks against Muslims in Chechnya.

19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four America bound passenger airplanes that were rammed into some of the most important buildings in the country. United Airlines Flight 175 and American Airlines Flight 11 were devastatingly flown into the World Trade Center Complex located in New York City, targeting the South and North towers respectively. In a matter of a couple of hours, these towers of the WTC collapsed while causing large scale damage and annihilation, even to the surrounding buildings due to fire and impact.

American Airlines Flight 77, a third in the series was flown into the Pentagon, which is America’s military and defense headquarters, resulting in the collapse of the western part of the building. United Airlines Flight 93, the fourth and the last hijacked plane did not successfully find its target of Washington DC and was made to crash in a field in Pennsylvania, near Shanksville. It was later found out through communications and the Black Box recordings that this happened thanks to the brave passengers who tried to overcome the terrorists and hijackers, laying down their own lives to protect hundreds of others and in honor of the American democracy. With nearly 3000 people dead, 227 of them innocent civilians and the 19 hijackers, this is one of those events that the Americans would like to forget and consider a bad dream.

But the reality is that it happened. Despite America being one of the most well prepared nations in the world, highlighting the message of the need for physical and combative training even for the common man. Had all the people on the four planes been trained in combat, the situation may have looked different. The incident made us realize the importance of combative learning beyond the realm of the defense and police forces, for each and every individual as a tool for the protection of the self and of the fellow being.

The origins and history of Krav Maga

Krav Maga gains spotlight in this context, its birth is the result of similarly hard times, with the necessity for the common man to learn combat and use it when required. Krav Maga as it is known today, has its origins in Czechoslovakia before World War II, when Imi Lichtenfeld decided to put up a fight against anti-Semitic groups that were unleashing terror in the Jewish communities in the 1930s. Lichtenfeld was an internationally renowned wrestler, boxer and gymnast and quite a national figure in those times.

Feeling duty bound to his country and the community at large, he started to recruit young and strong men to keep watch on the streets and protect people from any impending danger. He soon realized that there is a major difference between fighting and combating as a sport versus in real life