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SEPTEMBER 2009 / www.blackbeltmag.com BLACK BELT 95

BOOT CAMLessons from BY HENRY KOU

Imagine that you’re preparing fora marathon. Every time you train,your goal is to ready your mindand body to cover 26.2 miles.The day of the race comes, andyou’re feeling up to the task. Yourun nearly the full distance overseveral hours and endure all thestresses and strains. You nallyglimpse the nish line and begin

squeezing the last few ounces of energyfrom your muscles to make it. As soon asyou cross the line, the organizers announcethat the race isn’t over. You now have torun all the way back to where you started.For the average marathoner, being hit withthat kind of pressure at that moment in timewould be too much. It would be the break-ing point.

Being able to handle that kind of pres-sure can be the key to surviving a violentattack. It requires the willpower, physicalstrength and mental fortitude you cultivate

photography by Rick Hustead

through experiences in which you’re forcedto overcome unexpected obstacles.

Don’t believe it? Consider what wouldhappen if, after a hard week of work, youwent out with your family to unwind. At theend of the evening, you’re walking backto your car when a thug jumps out of no-where and pulls a gun. He demands yourmoney and starts getting physical with youand your wife. Deciding that things will onlyget worse, you take action. In the ensuingstruggle, the gun goes off and the bullet hitsyou in the leg. Is it your breaking point, orare you tough enough to stay in the ght?

You’re probably thinking, Of course I’dkeep ghting! That’s easier said than done,however. Unless they’ve been throughstressful situations, people tend to freezeup. They quickly nd that harnessing men-tal toughness is more difcult than theythought. That’s why more and more peopleare signing up for the Commando KravMaga Intensive Boot Camp, now in its fth

ANTI-PUNCH: The adversary closes thegap and uncorks a right haymaker, caus- ing Moni Aizik to raise his left arm andcup his hand over the back of his neck asprotection (1). He immediately follows upwith a palm strike to the chin, a techniquethat’s intended to injure as much as toknock the man backward and to theground (2). Aizik’s next move could be toexecute a stomping kick or disengage andseek safety.

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year. Presented below are a few of the les-

sons martial artists learn during the hard-core self-defense course.• Because CKM was founded by Moni

Aizik, a former commando in the Israeli spe-cial forces and a seven-time national judoand jiu-jitsu champion, it’s based on his vastknowledge of ghting and extensive expe-rience on the battleeld. In other words, itteaches only what works in life-or-deathsituations.

• To prepare a person for real self-de-fense, a system must use a scientic ap-proach that incorporates what-if scenarios.That’s why Aizik’s Boot Camp adopts a phi-

losophy that real attacks are never static. Itforces you to create dynamic solutions thatrequire you to adapt to the circumstances.

• A reality-based self-defense systemmust prepare you to handle the unexpected.Boot Camp does that by teaching you tomanage stress while you deploy techniquesthat will bring immediate results in the formof incapacitation of the enemy.

• In Boot Camp, you’re immersed in tac-tics, techniques, concepts and philosophiesduring 35 to 40 hours of intensive training.It takes place over three to four days, whichgives you little time to relax. The intensity isintentional: It forties your being, both men-tally and physically, by showing you that

ANTI-GRAPPLING: The opponent is about to break Moni Aizik’s arm with a cross-bodyarmbar (1). Aizik attempts to lift the man’s left leg over his head to begin his escape (2).If he’s unable to move it, he can bite his calf to distract him (3). Once he succeeds ingetting the leg off his face (4), Aizik relocates the other leg (5). As he scrambles to hishands and knees, he ips the opponent onto his stomach (6). From his superior position, Aizik attacks his groin (7) before disengaging.

you’re capable of far more than you thought.• For maximum versatility, you focus onconcepts and principles over tactics and

techniques. That helps you think outside thebox, Aizik teaches.

• Street ghts are unpredictable be-cause you never know whom you’ll be fac-ing, Aizik says. There are no weight classesor referees. Furthermore, you don’t knowwhen your foe will attack. You may be in themiddle of a pleasant stroll with your spousewhen you nd yourself looking down thebarrel of a gun. What started as a one-on-one ght may turn into a mass attack.

• Consequently, it’s impractical to try to

learn a technique to deal with each situa-tion. It’s better to master concepts that canbe used in a variety of altercations. That ap-proach requires less thought before you act.

• Boot Camp avoids teaching the unre-alistic choke defenses that other styles ad-vocate. If your defensive methods revolve

around punching your attacker or choppingdown on his arms while he chokes you, youmay be setting yourself up for failure, Aiziksays. Such moves often work only whenyour partner is gentle or if he’s choking youwith straight arms.

• On the street, chokes come explo-sively—hard and fast with no warning, oftenwith the attacker’s arms bent for maximumpower. You can be rendered unconsciousin seconds. It’s crucial to immediately es-tablish balance while loosening the chokeso you can breathe. After that, you mustdisable your enemy. At Boot Camp, youlearn how to respond that way against an

ANTI-KNIFE: As soon as the assailant (right) makes his move, Moni Aizik positionshis body defensively and readies his arms as a barrier (1). The backhand slash is

stopped by Aizik’s block (2), after which he wraps his left arm around the knife armand uses his right hand to control the weapon hand (3) . The Commando Krav Maga

expert executes a gure-4 lock on the limb (4), angling the blade so he can use itagainst the attacker (5).

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SEPTEMBER 2009 / www.blackbeltmag.com BLACK BELT 97

The Seven-Minute MythIs seven minutes a short time or an arduously long time? One week ago, I would have

said that it’s not very long at all. You can soft-boil an egg or prepare a pot of coffee in aboutve minutes. So in the grand scheme of things, seven minutes seemed relatively quick. Orso I thought.

Last week, I found out that even in the same day, seven minutes can be blink-your-eyesquick or as long as a root-canal treatment. To understand what I mean, indulge me while I goback in history a few months.

First, a little about me: I’m a 51-year-old nancial-services executive with a black belt inkarate and experience in kung fu and kickboxing. I try to stay in shape but still manage toenjoy a full life with family and work.

In the early spring, I was looking for a martial arts retreat I could attend to get a workoutand learn some new skills. I did some research and came across the Web site for CommandoKrav Maga. CKM is a reality-based self-defense and survival system that was developed forthe Israeli military. The founder and chief instructor is Moni Aizik, a former Israeli soldier andspecial-forces operative. He’s perhaps the scariest and toughest man I’ve ever met.

Anyway, CKM offers a weeklong boot camp for men and women who wish to learn practi-cal survival strategies for personal gain or so they can instruct others. I was interested inboth, so I applied. One of the prerequisites was a telephone interview with Aizik. I was a littlesurprised and impressed when he called me from a training session he was conducting inLondon. He grilled me on my martial arts background, teaching experience, health and life-style before nally telling me that I could register.

A month before the course began, I sent an e-mail to Linda, the organizational wizard be-hind CKM, and asked if lunch was provided. She wrote that students are encouraged to bring“several light snacks, lots of water and several T-shirts.” There was, she said, no scheduledlunch, just a seven-minute break once an hour throughout the day. Was she kidding? As itturned out, she wasn’t kidding. She was exaggerating.

On the rst day, I met my fellow attendees, a group of guys with varied martial arts back-grounds. We were introduced to the assistant instructors, and then Aizik arrived. After a fewminutes, they set us to work. And work we did—nonstop drilling in tactics Aizik developed toenable us to prevail against punches, chokes, kicks, knives and guns.

After a couple of hours, it occurred to me that he’d forgotten to give us a break. Many ofthe guys just brought their water bottles into the dojo. Nobody wanted to be the one to askhim if we could stop for a moment.

The rst seven-minute break came after four and a half hours of training. Apparently, thatwas intended to be lunch, as well. It turned out to be the only break we got the rst day. I wenthome as stiff and sore as I’d ever been, but I was exhilarated by what I’d done.

The second day was another endurance fest. Aizik allowed us three breaks—for seven

minutes, ve minutes and two minutes. The day ended with some more pain, way more skilland one less student—one of our comrades decided he couldn’t nish the week.

I can’t even remember the third day, although my notes tell me that we had two seven-minute breaks. That was also the rst day I didn’t have to soak in Epsom salts when the funwas done. My condence in the learning was growing. One of the instructors told us thatAizik had been going lighter than usual on the tness training and that we could expect himto make it up the next day. He did.

At this point, it probably makes sense to talk about the types of training involved. The rstis skills training: learning deects, disarms, stances and takedowns and practicing them overand over with a partner. The second is surprise attacks: You work with two or three partnerswho test your skills by trying to kill you in real time. As soon as you dispatch the rst one, thesecond is on you immediately, delivering a punch, kick, knife thrust, choke, head lock or gunattack. The third is tness training: push-ups, burpees, squats, wind sprints and so on. Break-falls are an important part of CKM because you never know when you might be knocked

down, so attendees spend a lot of time falling.The last day was for grading. We worked out for a couple of hours, then were invited tohave a two-minute drink break before getting called up to prove ourselves. The rst part ofthe grading was demonstrating, with an uke, every single tactic we’d learned. Then came thereal fun—ghting off three attackers, nonstop, in real time, for seven minutes. Each minutefelt like three as we were repeatedly stabbed at, knocked down, held up by a gun, punchedand kicked until, mercifully, Aizik yelled, “Time!”

Here’s what I learned about seven minutes:• Hourly seven-minute breaks don’t happen every hour.• Seven minutes is a very short time when you’re eating, drinking or resting.• Seven minutes is an eternity when you’re being continuously attacked and have to

defend yourself.Having said that, let me also say that Commando Krav Maga really works and that the rst

students I intend to take in as a level-two instructor will be my own family. In the meantime, Ineed to start training again—the level-three course is only a year away. —M. Lyon

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uncoop erative partner.• Some of CKM’s best choke defenses

are aggressive counterstrikes. One is calledthe “wave strike”—you forcefully deliveryour palm to your opponent’s nose, thenrake downward to take out his eyes.

• Other effective counterstrikes includegroin and throat shots, grabbing the Adam’sapple and biting. Just about any sensitivepart of the human body can be targeted.

• In some systems, the focus is on out-ghting your opponent by being a betterstriker or a better grappler. You learn to useyour hands and feet as weapons to punishthe other guy until the referee intervenes. Onthe street, that mentality can send you to themorgue, Aizik says.

• Anything can happen in a real ght,he continues. Your attacker might sense

that you’re a better striker and pull out agun to compensate. You might be chokinghim when he grabs his knife and stabs you.That’s why Boot Camp trains you to engageand disengage as quickly as possible. Nev-er stay in the ght to punish your attacker.Debilitate him with “illegal” moves such asgroins strikes, eye gouges and head twists.

• It’s a fact that most ghts end up onthe ground. If you’re a skilled grappler andplan to take your attacker down, know thatit’s risky business, Aizik says. On the street,things are too unpredictable. Imagine tryingto perform a triangle choke when your at-

tacker’s friends show up and begin stompingon your head.• At Boot Camp, you’re taken to the

ground over and over, and each time, yourmission is to inict damage and get to yourfeet as quickly as possible. Enter the Five-Second Rule: You must get up in less thanve seconds, or you may nd yourself onthe receiving end of some good-natured “at-tacks” from your classmates. It can be a rudeawakening from your comfort zone.

• Forget what you see in the movies.You won’t be snatching a knife out of an at-tacker’s hand and walking away unscathed.Thinking that’s possible can cost you your

ANTI-GUN: The criminal approaches Moni Aizik and places the muzzle of his weaponin the small of Aizik’s back (1). As soon as he detects the position of the gun, Aizik spinsclockwise and uses his right forearm to point the barrel away from his torso (2). Circlinghis right hand up and around the gunman’s arms, Aizik traps the weapon (3) . He grabsthe slide with his left hand (4), leverages the rearm out of his grip and nishes with apalm strike to the face (5). Afterward, he steps backward in case he has to shoot.

life. Expect to be cut or stabbed.• Of course, the best tactic against a

knife is to run, Aizik says. Don’t let your egokeep you from doing that.

• If you absolutely need to stand andght—if the attacker is between you andthe exit or if you’re with a loved one—nd aweapon. It can be a stick, a chair or a belt.Go empty-hand-against-steel only if youhave no alternative.

• Never try to block a knife while simul-taneously striking the attacker. If you’re awoman who weighs 120 pounds and youradversary weighs 220 pounds, your strikeswill only enrage him. Also, if he’s pumpedwith adrenaline and charges at you with anoverhand stab, blocking will be impossible.Focus on getting the knife rather than deliv-ering punishment.

• Boot Camp also covers gun defense.Aizik teaches that if someone threatensyou with a rearm, he wants something—money, information or maybe a chance totake you hostage. Although that’s terrifying,it means that you have time to react. If hewanted to kill you, he would have already.

• Gun disarms must be straightforwardand fast and work regardless of where thegun is held. Again, the goal is not to pun-ish the gunman; it’s to get control of theweapon.

• For realism in drills, the attackershould be verbally aggressive while mak-

ing his demands. You should practice beingsubmissive until you get your hands on thegun. Once you have control of it, order theattacker to get down.

• Never try a disarm when your enemy isout of reach. Do it and you’ll get shot. If he’sthat far away, comply until you can closethe distance. Or, if the situation permits, runaway in a zigzag pattern.

• After running through hundreds of drillsfor a variety of attacks, you endure a BootCamp pressure test. You learn that disori-entation is a component of real ghts, andto beat it, you need to train accordingly. Thepressure comes from being attacked with

knives, guns, kicks, punches, chokes andtakedowns—everything you’ve learned how

to deal with so far. It pushes you beyondyour limits and tests your will to survive.

• In a recent Boot Camp, an instructorwho was in great shape lasted a full 30 sec-onds before nearly collapsing.

• To up the intensity of a pressure test,introduce objects into the training environ-ment to simulate debris or an uneven sur-face. Make sure the objects are safe so thatif someone falls on one, he won’t be hurt.

• As Boot Camp progresses, a lack ofsleep and a nonstop regimen of trainingcombine to push your body beyond its limits.The second day is often the breaking point

for the unprepared.• By the time the course ends, you havea newfound condence in yourself. It’s aboutmore than having learned a few tactics andtechniques. It’s about more than getting intoshape. It comes from having dug deep andawakened your inner warrior. It’s about shat-tering the limits you thought you had.

About the author: Henry Kou is a Vaughan,

Ontario, Canada-based freelancewriter who’s trained under Moni Aizikfor ve years. For more information,

visit www.commandokravmaga.com.

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