Krav Maga as a system is famed for its effective techniques against threats from firearms. In Israel, the threat is not just limited to knives or sticks but in many occasions guns and even bombs. What makes Krav Maga’s techniques so effective against firearms while other defense systems or traditional martial arts fail to do so? Other martial art or self defense instructors see the firearm threat as the threat itself but fail to recognize and understand the mechanics behind the threat. Many instructors rely on lighting speed to grab pistols out of attackers’ hands. The way they explain their pistol disarming techniques usually go like this: “Barrel points at you, bullet goes this way, avoid it, grab it then you are fine!“ But is it really that simple? How does a pistol slide function? What is the difference between a revolver and a semi-automatic pistol? How many pounds of trigger pull on a Glock 17? Where is the safety located on the gun frame? What are the holding position differences between a trained shooter and an untrained shooter? What do you do with a firearm after you disarm the attacker? Most schools never teach their students any of that knowledge; this is because these martial art instructors still think within the realm of martial arts but Krav Maga includes everything especially firearm training. In order to disarm any weapon, one needs to understand the capability and mechanism of the weapon itself. At Urban Tactics, we strongly encourage those who want to learn firearm disarming techniques to acquire their firearm license and attend shooting lessons with Canadian government trained instructors. With knowledge, students can have a healthy attitude towards firearms; they learn to respect but not fear firearms and God forbid if they are ever standing at the end of a barrel they can calmly react to the threat. At that moment, we would hope that our students would have enough calm and courage to react to the situation based on proper observation and analysis of the gunman, the environment, and the situation. People might ask “what’s the point of learning firearm disarming techniques, it seems silly.” Unfortunately, North America is not immune to gun violence, from famed Columbine to the latest shooting at Connecticut elementary (I am pretty sure some other mass shooting event has already happened by the time this article is published). Canada is not immune to gun violence as well, there was the Dawson College shooting in Montreal in 2006 and the gun related crime rate is pretty high in the Greater Vancouver area. As Krav Maga practitioners should we not train against all type of threats including firearms ?
Written By: Borhan J
Edit By: Adam Y