My personal experience with Krav Maga

[Brandt]

Thanks for posting this. I've been taking krav for a little over a year myself and fortunately, have not had to use it other than practice. The self confidence and knowledge gained are worth 100X what I pay for lessons.

QFT

I don't know how many situations I have been in where I know I could stop an attack and feel 1000 times better being in that situation. It must show on my face or in my stance or something because 99% of conflicts I have talked down and they back up/leave.

The other 1% I have won and stopped the fight in less then 15 seconds. Confidence boost for sure.

[Devilnuts]

Most violent criminals are wired like a predator in the wild: they aren't looking for a challenge, they want the easy kill. The old, sick or injured.

Thus, if you exude an aura of confidence, alertness and situational awareness, you are more likely to be left alone. They don't necessarily have to put their finger on it, but the way you carry yourself will tip them off as to whether or not you can handle yourself in a fight. That kind of body language is not taught or learned... it is mostly instinctive.

[T-Boon]

Reminds me of a line in one of the Borne movies, might be the first one?

something like" I cant remember who I am, but I can tell you the numberplates of the 4 cars outside, and the cook can handle himself in a fight" /Paraphrase.

[Afromonk]

Cool, been thinking of taking Krav Maga up recently at my local Martial arts place.
Seeing this has spurred me to go join up, thanks.

[Afromonk]

Just registered for an induction workshop in Krav Maga
YAYAYAY

[KentsOkay]

I haven't ever taken KM classes (just kung fu), but I've done a good deal of reading and practicing. Definitely would like to train in it properly, as well as Filipino techniques and parkour.

I work at a Best Buy, I can imagine from the employee's perspective how all this shit went down. Chances are good you where also on camera, so if the guy had really tried to push assault charges, woot 1 for Big Brother surveillance.

Living in Texas rocks, seems Oklahoma ain't to bad either. 'Cept for the ice storms

[mough]

I know this thread is old, but I wanted to add.

I don't claim to be a martial artist by any stretch of the imagination, but Ive done isshin-ryu karate in my youth, and trained one on one in escrima with a old former philipino military guy. I've had two, almost three situations in my life where I've had to defend myself.

In both situations, all experience that I've had with either marial art went out the window. In one situation a guy came at me with a knife, right after I withdrew a large sum from an ATM. By the time he said "give me your wal" I creamed him with a right hook and took off running. It was the most terrifying 3 seconds of my life. Even thinking about it gives me an adrenaline rush.

The second was mostly a scuffle between me and two teenagers half my size, not much to write about.

The third I was walking from the strip district to downtown pittsburgh and I noticed a guy following me. He approached me and kept asking if I had any papers and wouldn't leave me alone. Then out of nowhere there was a second much burlier guy holding a beer bottle by the neck, as if he were going to use it as a weapon. The first guy asked me why I looked nervous. I told him I just shot some asshole in the strip and that the cops were looking for me. They backed right off.

I've recently found a krav maga/muai thai dojo somewhat near me, and plan to start taking classes in a few weeks.

Hopefully I won't need it anymore since I've moved out of the city.

[kf5ntj]

In Oklahoma and Texas (where I live and go to school), If someone pulls a gun on me, I can legally disarm them and shoot them with their own gun.

This is not even remotely true - I can't speak for Oklahoma, but in Texas, shooting an unarmed attacker would definitely have repercussions. Once you have disarmed your opponent, I am imagining that a jury would find it very difficult to believe that you had a necessity to use deadly force in that situation.
From the Texas Penal Code:

(Chapter 9)
"Deadly force" means force that is intended or known by the actor to cause, or in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing, death or serious bodily injury.
and
Sec. 9.21. PUBLIC DUTY. (a) Except as qualified by Subsections (b) and (c), conduct is justified if the actor reasonably believes the conduct is required or authorized by law, by the judgment or order of a competent court or other governmental tribunal, or in the execution of legal process.(b) The other sections of this chapter control when force is used against a person to protect persons (Subchapter C), to protect property (Subchapter D), for law enforcement (Subchapter E), or by virtue of a special relationship (Subchapter F).(c) The use of deadly force is not justified under this section unless the actor reasonably believes the deadly force is specifically required by statute or unless it occurs in the lawful conduct of war. If deadly force is so justified, there is no duty to retreat before using it.(d) The justification afforded by this section is available if the actor reasonably believes:(1) the court or governmental tribunal has jurisdiction or the process is lawful, even though the court or governmental tribunal lacks jurisdiction or the process is unlawful; or(2) his conduct is required or authorized to assist a public servant in the performance of his official duty, even though the servant exceeds his lawful authority.
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.

Sec. 9.22. NECESSITY. Conduct is justified if:(1) the actor reasonably believes the conduct is immediately necessary to avoid imminent harm;(2) the desirability and urgency of avoiding the harm clearly outweigh, according to ordinary standards of reasonableness, the harm sought to be prevented by the law proscribing the conduct; and(3) a legislative purpose to exclude the justification claimed for the conduct does not otherwise plainly appear.

There's also reams and reams of case law wherein persons WERE found guilty of using deadly force against someone whom they had disarmed, all over the United States. Part of an affirmative defense to prosecution for (insert charge or lesser included offense here) is that you felt an immediate threat of Death or Serious Bodily Injury. Which, while perhaps true, would be exceedingly difficult to prove in court.
I suggest a serious look at the laws in whatever state you habituate, and gain an in-depth understanding of those laws and how they pertain to you and your safety. This is especially noteworthy given recent events.

Just my 2 cents. Otherwise, nice write-up on Krav Maga, I think I'll check it out.

<edited to add: Wow, I didn't see how old the original post was, my bad>

[AKFTW]

Wish I could find a place even within the state that did Krav Maga, I took an into class and was impressed, I'd like to learn more as it seemed to be very practical and simple.

[Supraman762]

Same in ok

[TafkanX]

On a lark I checked to see if there are any KM classes in my area and it turns out there is one very close. You guys have me wanting to check it out now.

[TheLastOne]

Do it. I love me some krav. Been going about a year and a half now. Getting to do the advanced stuff.

If you are looking for practical self defense, this is for you. I wanted some training but didn't want to be the guy in his 30s breaking boards with 9 year olds. It is practical and real life oriented. Developed for soldiers who fight A LOT in a place where things getting down to hand to hand isn't unheard of. I like my place because the instructors also tailor lessons/training to what is actually going on here in town. Guys bashing people downtown with bats? Well, guess what we work on! With bats. Knife attacks, gun stick ups, group violence, crowd/mob bullshit, we cover it. I love it.