If I say Urban Tactics Krav Maga is one of the most diversified and dynamic Krav Maga schools in North America, I think there would be very little dispute. Other than having been certified under 4 International Krav Maga Federations, one of our specialties is firearm training and Krav Maga techniques related to firearms, from firearm disarms, tactical shooting to military Krav Maga. We are privileged to have extensive knowledge from our military background as combat arms soldiers and shooting instructors in the Defense Industry.
However, sometimes when we ask our civilian students at our Krav Maga school here in Vancouver if they would like to participate in some of Krav Maga seminars related to firearms or Firearm Possession Course, some of them ask “Why? What’s the point to learn about guns ? I will never use it.“ ” what’s the point of using guns as cold steel weapon? I will just shoot the guy. ” Many Vancouverites do not own firearms nor have an interest in it. I was amazed with these students’ response that they do not want to participate because they think any form of firearm training is not useful in a real life threat.
Let us be clear about something:
- Armed robbers or other bad guys do not attack their targets with their bare hands. They always want to achieve superiority by having either a knife or a gun; only honorable people fight in equal amount of forces and let their skill determine who the winner is. Bad guys are not looking for a fair fight; they are looking for an easy pay day. If, unfortunately, you end up at the end of barrel and you faint at the first sight of a gun, the chance of you acting calmly is pretty slim. Knowledge is key to calmness and being collective under pressure. To know what type of firearm and the condition of the firearm is vital to survival in dealing with an armed assailant.
- If you disarm someone‘s firearm you need to know how to use it, even if you want to disable the gun to prevent the bad guy from using it again. You need to know how to do so fluidly and accurately under stress. Over and over again I see Krav Maga schools or other Krav Maga instructors teach people how to disarm attackers with a gun, but their immediate actions after the disarm makes my heart skip a beat. Most of them clearly do not know how a real firearm functions, different functionality between a revolver and semi-automatic pistol, nor how to point the gun at the person if they chose to take lethal action. Just because you point a gun at an attacker does not magically make this person stop from taking the gun back or to attack you again. Do you have the will and skill to fire a gun if you chose to and, if you can hit accurately the bad guy, without hurting the bystanders or yourself? If you do not wish to shoot someone, how do you use guns as cold steel weapon and combine with Krav Maga moves ?
- Since almost most Israelis have served in the IDF; firearms have always been part of general Krav Maga curriculum from Day One in Israel. After all, almost every 18, 19 old Israeli youth can take apart, put it back a M-16 and be confident with it on the range. Most North American Krav Maga students and instructors cannot rival Israeli Krav Maga student and instructors’ firearm experience. Nonetheless, In order to learn the full system of Krav Maga, you better be good at firearms. You need to learn how to shoot it, disassemble it, then finally disarm it if you have to. Firearm training is a serious issue and takes lots of training time; more so than any other aspects in Krav Maga. People generally need lots of range time with guns to eliminate the fear of the “Boom Stick“, but also be confident that guns are merely tools and be comfortable with them as extension of their limbs.
Last but not least, we do Krav Maga for a reason. We do it not for fitness or completion but to protect our lives. My friend, you want to ask yourself: Is there ever enough training when it comes to protecting your lives, especially about the most efficient killing tool created by man?
Written By: Borki Yony
Edited By: Warren C
Makes Sense now!
Yes. There are so many scenarios that it would be almost negligent not to include some form of firearms training in a North American syllabus. We have the sheer number of guns in circulation for starters, the frequency of drug gang firefights in urban environments, and the occasional nutter who goes on a rampage in a mall/university/school/Canadian government building. Even if you plan to keep your head down during any active shooter scenario there is still the possibility that you end up being the person who can pick up a discarded weapon and render it safe. If you don’t know how it works then you’ve just placed yourself and other people at considerable risk. (Leaving the firearm on the street for someone else to deal with hasn’t mitigated the risk. What if one of the drug gang decides he wants his pistol back?)
So I wholeheartedly concur. I took my first pistol class in May this year, done three more since and another one next weekend. I now have a level of knowledge and confidence around firearms of all sorts (I shot an AR last time out, and I’ve done defense against long guns in seminars) that I am confident I won’t make a bad situation worse if I ever have to deal with a gun threat for real. I should also mention that I’ve enjoyed the experience, and I’m not going to apologize for having fun with it. I’m not about to join the NRA or carry a pistol in my car, but I am no longer afraid of something that, quite frankly, I didn’t understand. Onward and upward!
I totally forgot about the active shooter situation. Thanks ! just by knowing the sound of gun fire ( at different distance you can tell how far or type of weapon shooter is using ) you can be more calm and steady. For example if you hear it is a shotgun and you are 200 yard away. You can be a lot more relaxed.