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| Krav Maga: How to Defend Yourself Against Armed Assault | 
 enlarge | Authors: Imi Sde-or, Eyal Yanilov
Publisher: Frog Books
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
Buy Used: $4.10
You Save: $17.85 (81%)
New (27) Used (23) from $4.10
Avg. Customer Rating:  48 reviews
Sales Rank: 37327
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.6 x 0.7
ISBN: 1583940081
Dewey Decimal Number: 613.66095694
EAN: 9781583940082
ASIN: 1583940081
Publication Date: July 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Nearly perfect copy, Never Read!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Practical Self-Defense April 12, 2007
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
These martial arts techniques will truly work in real-life self-defense situations. You'll actually be able to learn Krav Maga from this well-organized book.
 Excellent presentation but probably not applicable to *you* March 1, 2007
17 out of 21 found this review helpful
Before you Krav Maga fans downvote this review just because it is critical, I would be grateful if you'd hear me out. I think that no matter how heavily invested you are in this system, you'll probably agree with me, and if not, please leave a comment, and I'll be glad to reconsider.
I'd be glad to give this book five stars if it had a different title. But the title states that this book will show *you* how to defend *yourself* against armed assault. The fact is that the vast majority of persons whose eyes fall upon this book-- and perhaps this review-- should not try to do what it depicts. For the vast majority of us, these techniques are suicidal, period. The only reason the book is presented as a manual of defending *yourself* against armed assault is that the market absolutely dictates it. A book on how experts and professionals might defend themselves would not sell enough copies to cover costs, and so you would probably never hear of it, and you certainly wouldn't see it on the Sports shelf of your local mega book chain, which is where I found it.
As the book states, Krav Maga was devised by a champion boxer and wrestler living in a violent place and time. It is taught to Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and other top-notch professionals. Knowing this, you need to ask yourself a question: "am I a champion (or even competitive) wrestler or boxer or a top-notch professional soldier or policeman?" If the answer is "yes," then by all means, try the techniques shown here. If "no," then you might want to reconsider.
The book provides many excellent examples of what I mean. For instance, look at the frontispiece illustration for the section on knife defenses. It shows the Krav Maga practitioner countering a knife attack with a punch to the jaw. Now, if Grandmaster Imi Sde-Or punches a guy square in the jaw, the guy is probably going down. But if you or I punch a guy square in the jaw-- that is, if we lesser-trained couch potatoes and desk jockeys are lucky enough to land such a punch on a determined attacker-- it might just hurt him enough to make him mad. A boxer's punch is a devastating weapon, but very, very few of us are boxers.
Furthermore, the jaw is a much bigger, heavier bone than most people think, and many people who succeed in punching it wind up with broken bones in their hands. This is a huge problem even among police, whose level of training and readiness is generally far above the average person's.
Don't get me wrong. If you are a good amateur boxer, chances are that you can hit a moving attacker with enough force to shatter the bones in his face. But if not, and you try what this book depicts, then you are putting yourself in the position of trading licks with a guy who is stabbing, not punching. In short, unless your punch is a lethal weapon, you are choosing to engage in a fight at an extreme disadvantage, where your life depends on the outcome. It is Bambi versus Godzilla, and you are Bambi. Does that sound like a good decision?
As I look at the pictures, I want to ask the defender some questions. "If you didn't notice that the attacker had a knife until he got close, then how is it that you are not already stabbed and dying? And if you did see the knife attack coming from a distance, then why on Earth did you not maintain that distance?" Put yourself in the defender's shoes and try to answer this interrogation. All the answers I can think of sound pretty lame.
Also bear in mind that no matter how much this is touted as self-defense for civilians, it is a basic fact that police and soldiers have completely different priorities than most of us when it comes to confronting armed and homicidal persons. No amount of verbiage and logic and argument will ever change this fact. It follows that what is best for the IDF is not necessarily best for Joe Commuter. No "system" can simultaneously address the needs of both. As far as I'm concerned, that is a thing that speaks for itself.
So if I were to evaluate this book solely on its ability to teach self-defense to the average person, as its title implies, then I would give it one star, and that only because there are no zeros. Teaching people like me to grapple with knife-wielding maniacs can only get us killed, and for what? Nothing.
On the other hand, as many others have pointed out, the book serves very well as a manual for someone who is devoting himself to Krav Maga classes-- and indeed is not at all practical otherwise. It's also a valuable source for those of us who like to look at various fighting systems as spectators and students. For these purposes, the book is perfect, and so I can't very well give it a big fat zero. The best I can do is average the two ratings and say that it's a fine book, but you should only try putting it into practice if you meet certain very special qualifications.
Again, if I've said anything inaccurate or upsetting here, I'd be glad to hear about it and reconsider.
Great Overview On Defending Against an Armed Attacker November 2, 2006
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
Being the author of several books on the martial arts and fighting, I am always looking for books of exceptional quality to add to my library. If I have a book in my library, it's definitely worth owning. One such book is Imi Sde-Or and Eyal Yanilov's, "Krav Maga: How to Defend Yourself Against Armed Assault."
This book starts out with a basic definition of Krav Maga and the basic principles behind the self-defense system and the techniques in which it encompasses. I am a firm believer in the underlying principles being far more important to a particular technique than the technique itself, and I am glad to see that the authors of this book feel the same way. Throughout the entire book, each section begins with the basic principles on which the techniques are based and how they are to be applied. This is a true sign of an excellent martial arts/self-defense book.
The next chapter takes a look at various ways of holding a knife during an attack. As well as, a few defenses that can be used against an imminent knife attack. These defenses are primarily against stabbing attacks. One negative comment that I must make concerning this book is the authors' use of high section kicks to the head as a counter to a knife attack. Although I will be the first to admit that it is possible, it is not something that I personally would recommend that anyone try, even if you are extremely adept at high section kicks. It would only take one small mistake for you to end up a hen instead of a rooster, if you know what I mean.
The following chapter goes over several various techniques that can be used when you are threatened by someone with a knife. This is quite a bit different than being attacked by someone with a knife, and is some cases, is a lot more dangerous. This is followed by a chapter on various defensive techniques that can be used if you are attacked by someone yielding a stick.
The next couple of chapters really bring out the meat and potatoes of Krav Maga. That is the sections dealing with defenses against an opponent armed with a firearm. The first section briefly explains the difference between a revolver and an automatic pistol. It then jumps right in on how to deal with threats from an attacker yielding a handgun, and how to disarm them. The second section deals with how to defend against attacks with a rifle, shotgun, and submachine gun. Although these things may seem a rarity in American society, they are all too real in Israel where Krav Maga was born. Therefore, I tend to believe that these can be effective. However, in my opinion, you should only try them as a last resort.
I found the next chapter to be quite unique, especially the section on how to deal with a hand grenade. I surely hope that I never am faced with a situation where this becomes an issue, but if it does; this book shows some very practical ways to deal with it. After the hand grenade portion, this section goes into a detailed look at how to handle a situation where you aren't the person directly threatened, but a third party is. For example; say a friend or loved one. Now I have numerous books in my personal library and have read even more, and I don't recall ever having read a book that dealt with this particular subject. Even though it was a brief section, I still found it very insightful and worthy of an entire volume on its own.
The authors also include a small section on the use of common everyday items that you can use as weapons to defend yourself against an attacker. The items mentioned in this chapter include the following: pens, forks, mops, pencils, keys, coins, etc.
The next two chapters go over some basic defensive uses of the stick against an attacker with a knife, and also against an attacker with a stick. As with all the technique chapters in this book, the very first thing that is discussed by the authors is the principles behind the techniques. This is followed by some basic defensive maneuvers that you can do with a stick to defend yourself against an armed attacker.
This next chapter, like the previous one on dealing with a third party being attacked instead of you, was very unique in that it deals with how to defend yourself against an attack by not one, but two armed attackers. Even though it was a brief section, I still found it very insightful and worthy of an entire volume on its own.
Now I have to admit to a bit of confusion concerning these next two chapters, "Principles Behind the Defensive Techniques" and "Dealing with a Violent Incident" would, in my opinion, been more effective right at the beginning, rather than at the end. But that's just me.
The book finishes off with separate sections devoted to various training methods, safety issues in training, and a brief history of Krav Maga. This system is one of the few newer systems to come around that was actually born and developed on the modern day battlefield. This was done by taking various components from other fighting arts and incorporating it into their own unique fighting system. This makes it a very effective means of self-defense, not only on the battlefield, but also on the street.
Great defensive techniques and philosophy, but greater force may be needed January 3, 2006
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Krav Maga: How to Defend Yourself Against Armed Assault is straight from the horse's mouth. Krav Maga is a "combatives" system of hand-to-hand combat. I refer to fighting systems as "idiot systems" and "expert systems"-not very flattering, I know. The idiot systems are quick to learn and easy to retain and effective when used ruthlessly. The expert systems take a long time to learn and consistently dedicated refresher training to retain, but when mastered are more effective than the idiot systems. I prefer the idiot systems, myself. These idiot systems include combatives such as Krav Maga, Russian Sambo, and the various hand-to-hand combat systems used by the world's militaries. I must explain that my background is military-hand-to-hand combat includes both unarmed fighting and weapons used in close quarter combat.
NOTE: this is a book about self defense-"don't get hurt" and "act correctly" are two of its principles. My initial hand-to-hand combat training in the Marines had a different purpose-kill the other guy first because I was in a desperate situation and unarmed against an enemy who was duty-bound to kill me. This book doesn't specifically teach you how to kill-the emphasis is defensively removing the threat long enough to escape. The target audience of this book isn't the police officer charged with apprehending a violent criminal or the soldier confronted with an enemy who must be killed or disabled immediately (if not sooner)-this book is aimed at the private citizen who counters the assailant's attack. While I like the counters, and feel that they will work, a determined attacker will not be dissuaded simply because his pet technique fizzled the first time. Sometimes, as the text says, "if someone comes to kill you, kill him first." Krav Maga is a defensive art (Sambo is much more offensive) and the goal of "Defend Yourself Against Armed Assault" is "Become proficient, so that you will not have to kill."
Sorry. I won't be proficient enough to both avoid getting killed by multiple armed assailants and to stop deadly force assaults without really hurting them. I am not Superman. The techniques in this book do give me lesser force options because not every assault is a deadly force situation.
"How to Defend Yourself Against Armed Assault" covers counters to knives, guns, sticks, and hand grenades. Several "real-life stories" testify to the effectiveness of Krav Maga as a combatives system. The Page 93 and Page 108 stories of self-defense are compelling because they cover people foolishly misusing handguns and successfully disarming them without injury to either defender or careless person. Many self-defense problems do not require that the defender kill the attacker. Police use the force necessary to subdue and apprehend. Private citizens use the force needed to stop the assault-not always a "deadly force" assault, but will you stand still while someone pounds on you? In the two cases mentioned in the sidebars on pages 93 and 108 people were fooling around with loaded guns, not intending to hurt anybody.
Other sidebar antecedents: an armed soldier attacked at close range--and using hand-to-hand combat techniques to gain enough time and space to charge his rifle (military people usually have "unloaded weapons" when on sentry duty to limit accidental discharges, a practice that is often ignored in high-threat areas) and shoot his knife-armed attacker; a chess master who loses several chess matches to a "nobody" (the moral: "never underestimate your opponent"); Diane's use of a fire extinguisher beccause tear gas wasn't available; other Krav Maga success stories.
There is a chapter on expedient improvised weaponry and two chapters on using the stick as a defensive tool.
The illustrations are clear and concise. Each step in the technique is detailed. I could train from this book, given a training partner and a referee. The text gives instructions on training without an instructor, but I recommend an impartial referee both for safety and to improve training effectiveness. There is a chapter devoted to setting up a training program and training site. Safety is emphasized, though perhaps not as "safe" as litigation-conscious American commercial training centers and their legal advice would feel comfort with.
The history of Krav Maga is there for us amateur historians, too.
Many other books on hand-to-hand combat exist. I can train with this one. I would like an index, but I can use this as a defensive training textbook. My sole reservation is that I may need to move up the force spectrum when purely defensive techniques prove inadequate.
Good companion to the class August 2, 2005
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I picked this book up a couple months into my Krav Maga training, and it has helped me to learn some of the more advanced techniques. True to the book's title, there is really nothing on defeating an unarmed adversary, but that probably wouldn't have sold as well.
I'm a year and a half into my training, and I flip through the book about once a week and still find it very useful. I do not think it would be practical for someone who is not in a Krav Maga class. While the moves are "simple", there are subtleties in the moves that only a qualified instructor can teach.
For instance, a reviewer claimed that the defense for a gun held to the head would result with the gun pointed at the defender's groin. Not true! The defense is based specifically on keeping the business end of the gun away from one's body. The issue of endangering innocent bystanders is true and depends on the defender's skill.
I recommend Krav Maga training (this book alone is not enough)to people that don't have the patience to learn "sportfighting" or ritualized martial arts, and want an effective system for the street.
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