Understanding Krav Maga Gun Defense

This article lists the main steps involved in the Krav Maga gun defense. It goes on to list them in more detail.

Krav Maga, self defense, martial arts

Krav Maga cannot guarantee your safety against an assailant who’s armed with a gun. However, the Krav Maga gun defense is one of the most highly regarded in the mixed martial arts world.

Most Asian martial arts predate the widespread use of firearms. Oftentimes, Asian martial arts like karate or kung fu, taekwondo, and other variety of martial arts, don't offer a reasonable, realistic gun defense that has been repeatedly tried and proven to be effective.

The Krav Maga gun defense can ultimately be broken down into five basic steps. They are:

Directing the gun out of line with your body
Controlling the gun
Counter-attacking your assailant
Disarming your assailant
Restrain the assailant when possible

Gun defense in Krav Maga is meant to be simple and direct. Unlike other gun defenses found in other martial arts, the Krav Maga gun defense utilizes the torso and not just the wrist. Employing the powerful torso muscles in the first step allows you to put your opponent off-balance while simultaneously directing the gun out of line with your body.

Krav Maga gun defense requires serious training and the ability to utilize all parts of your body. A determined assailant is unlikely to let go of his weapon easily. The body and its many parts become a lethal weapon when trained correctly.

The counterattack should be delivered simultaneously to controlling the weapon. Ideally, you want to redirect and control the weapon as you are launching your counterattack. Keep the counterattack simple and direct; a stomp to the instep or knee or an elbow to the groin or solar plexus.

Once you have controlled the weapon and inflicted pain to your opponent, a twisting motion must be employed to strip the gun from your assailant's grasp. Many times using one hand to control the gun holding wrist and another to twist the gun away from your opponent’s grasp by going at an angle against the direction their fingers naturally bend, should allow you to pry it away from them. Of course, all of this is not easy to read and should be seen in a live training scenario.

Once you have successfully disarmed the attacker, you should ideally use the gun to cover them while you summon the authorities.

The Krav Maga gun defense is not to be taken lightly. This primer is in no way meant to be definitive. It's impossible to really learn the Krav Maga gun defense by sitting home reading about it online.

Changing Lives ATA Martial Arts is a school that offers training in Krav Maga, Taekwondo Karate for Kids, and Kung Fu. It is the only school in the Chesapeake and Virginia Beach areas that is officially sanctioned to teach Krav Maga by Krav Maga Worldwide.

If you would like to learn more about the gun defense and other techniques, call 757-471-9002 or visit: www.atakick.com or www.kravmagaworldwide.com