Krav Maga’s Offensively Defensive Strategy: Attack the Attacker
By David KahnBecause of Israel’s small geography and condensed population centers, the Israeli defensive mind-set is to preclude any fight from happening on Israeli soil. In other words, don’t absorb an attack. The doctrine of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) is to take the fight to the enemy outside of Israel’s borders. Violence in the Middle East has historically been curbed by one inalterable fact: fear of greater counter-violence. The same unfortunate suspect logic holds true of street violence: if someone doesn’t think he can win, he won’t attack.Accordingly, the IDF’s policy is to initiate action against an imminent threat or attacking enemy—on his turf whenever possible. Israeli krav maga is an extension of this doctrine: attack the attacker. Avoid absorbing damage and use counter-violence to preempt an attack or, if necessary, utilize a combined defense and attack. A preemptive self-defense strategy (attacking the attacker during his preparation to assault you) is vital. No example in modern warfare is perhaps more illustrative than the 1967 Israeli air assault on the Egyptian, Jordanian, Iraqi, and Syrian airfields.As Egypt continued to mobilize its armed forces against Israel and blocked the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, this crippling aerial preemptive strike deprived Egypt and its allies from taking the initiative for their planned aggression by destroying approximately 90 percent of their air forces. The maxim “the best defense is a superior offense” applies perfectly here. If you cannot preempt a threat and are caught in an ambush or “-5” difficult situation, orchestrate simultaneous defense and attack. Combine your defense and offense into one complete strategy.American war strategy, as articulated by the renowned historian Russel F. Weigley, also dovetails in part with the aforementioned military logic: [T]he whole history of American strategy since U.S. Grant confirmed that the enemy can be hit with advantage at several places and thus forced to accentuate his weakness through dissipation—as long as the strategy aims at decisive objectives and does not waste itself in sideshows. Translated from the macrocosm of war to the microcosm of hand-to-hand combat, the principle of attacking the opponent with all synchronized facets of your combat arsenal (all of your limbs) interchangeably without pause and rules, focusing on deliberate anatomical targeting (not ineffective sideshows against hardened anatomy) is designed to overwhelm an adversary and not give him firm footing to fight back.Tactically, especially when ambushed, you may not always be able to attack the attacker. In other words, you may not be able to preempt and prevent an initial violent onslaught. Rather, you may have to stop an attack as close as you can to its inception from the position you find yourself in and then overwhelm the attacker with your own superior counter-violence.Alternatively, if you recognize an imminent threat such as someone spoiling for a fight, you may wish not to initiate but rather wait strategically in maximum preparedness. If you cannot escape or de-escalate the situation to avoid violence, this strategy allows you to bait him advantageously into committing to an attack.An attacker will always present anatomical vulnerabilities. By waiting for him to initiate the attack, his actual physical committed movement provides you with an opening to administer a devastating counterattack. (Note: once again, this might not be the wisest strategy [rather preemptive counter-attack would] if you are facing multiple assailants.) Of course, always bear in mind that defending rather than attacking often has a clear legal advantage: any witnesses are likely to confirm that you were not the aggressor.In short, if you are caught unaware or recognize the incoming attack late or are simply in a defensive position poised to counterattack, you must capitalize on the advantageous small window of opportunity that defending any attack affords. To repeat, this counterattack window is dependent on your recognition and timing as presented by the attacker as he commits to his attack. I believe in addition to possessing the ability to effectively wield preemptive counter-violence, the ability to surgically counterattack using recognition, timing, and distance coupled with optimized counter-combatives distinguishes accomplished professional fighters and warriors. Certainly, this is what I have watched Grandmaster Gidon and his top instructors implement over the last few decades when challenged. I strive to do the same.In summary, an attacker, by closing the distance or extending a limb, will present a vulnerable anatomical target for you to immediately damage. You need to pounce on it. If you must redirect an attack using your limbs, you will fleetingly expose a vulnerable anatomical target. Damage it and continue to damage the original and subsequent anatomical targets as much as objectively necessary.Regarding anatomical vulnerabilities, of course, both the attacker and defender have them. What makes Grandmaster Gidon’s krav maga different and superior is that he teaches retzev continuous combat motion. Haim points out that the best MMA fighters and hand-to-hand combat warriors use retzev concepts. Haim’s retzev method teaches combat movement that minimizes (and with the best practitioners nearly eliminates) any anatomical vulnerabilities the kravist presents an opponent to counterattack. Analogously, retzev may be further thought of as a sniper rifle capable, after the first precise shot, of fully automatic, aimed fire and operated by a highly trained and skilled professional. In other words, once your first combative reaches its target, the rest of your successive combatives go into full-automatic mode.Israeli Krav Maga’s brutal, highly-effective approach to using counter-violence is now legendary. Krav maga’s periodic developments are grounded in both street- and battle-proven tactics. Importantly, when taught correctly, krav maga recognizes that the attacker will resist and try to overwhelm you without conceding defeat. Should a tactic fail to be effective in an actual encounter or at full speed and power in simulated training, the system removes or modifies it.The English translation of krav maga, “contact combat,” helps us to understand the required mind-set for any true self-defense situation. Combat is a life-and-death struggle devoid of any rules or fight etiquette. This fact undergirds krav maga’s methods and philosophy. Unwaveringly realistic in its approach, krav maga takes into account restrictions that may limit a defender’s size, strength, movements, and flexibility. In a street setting, the tactics that a pliable, extensively trained martial arts fighter may be capable of using are usually markedly different from the average person’s capabilities. Nevertheless, krav maga can greatly improve the skills of both the average person and the trained fighter, making it possible to prevail against an ambush or skilled adversary. David Kahn is the US Chief Instructor for the Israeli Krav Maga Association under GM Haim Gidon. He has taught all 5 branches of the US Military as well as many foreign militaries and law enforcement agencies. David has been featured regularly in mainstream media including the New York Times, Men’s Fitness, GQ, USA Today, New Yorker, Penthouse and Fitness. He is also on the Board of Directors for FIMA and the Director of the Israeli Combatives Tactics Association (ICTA). You can find out more at:www.davidkahnkravmaga.com and www.masteringkravmaga.com