(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/rClVA)
Chennai, June 5: When under attack, there are no rules. You can bite, scratch, poke and even aim a kick on the groin — absolutely anything to get away in one piece.
These are the instructions given by experts from the Krav Maga federation to students and young professionals planning to go abroad to study or work, in the wake of the panic created by the alleged racial attacks on Indians in Australia.
The no-fuss combat technique adopted by Israeli thugs and lawmakers alike blends the best moves from other martial art forms — karate, judo, kung-fu and even boxing and sumo wrestling, to form a gritty, unapologetic and practical self defence form that is now a rage in Chennai.
And for those travelling to infamous Australia and even the UK, from where over 6,000 racial attacks were reported in the past year alone, a 40-day intensive training course in Krav Maga is on offer in the city with a price tag of Rs 9,000 for students and Rs 10,000 for professionals.
During a demonstration for the press here, the burly instructors — an IT professional turned martial arts expert, a broad shouldered ex-policeman and an agile dental surgeon — showed off their prowess in getting out of sticky situations, with minimum damage.
Playing on ‘body mechanics’ and targeting the assailant’s ‘weak points’, they demonstrated getting out of ‘hair holds’, ‘shirt holds’, ‘hugs’ and chokes, and even disarming people who attack with guns and knives.
“We do not want to teach students to stand and fight, but to survive and flee,” said Mr S. Sreeram, an instructor with the Chennai chapter of the International Krav Maga Federation.
Watching the woman instructor, a slender graphic designer, deftly get out of the most painful-looking hair-holds and choke-holds, this reporter agreed to volunteer for the ‘hand hold’ combat demonstration.
With a quick twist of the body and easy flick of the wrist, she was able to throw off the ‘attacker’s’ iron grip.
However, when this reporter misguidedly tried it on an oversized colleague, her hand was nearly wrenched out of its socket. As a result, this report had to be typed out ‘single handedly’.
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