MASTERCLASS PRO is a feature which gives you a brief insight into highly effective and natural striking combinations used in Krav Maga self defence.
Scenario: Bursting in preemptively or in-fight with two (jab and cross) style hand strikes (with open palm to protect hands) aimed at the attacker’s nose to break it, followed immediately up with a kick to outside of the leg to remove or disturb the base of the attacker, finished with a circular open palm strike to the ear to further disorientate or floor the them.
DOUBLE FORWARD OPEN PALM HAND STRIKE
With hands up and in front of your face, send first open palm forward and aimed at least around a foot behind the opponent’s nose by moving your shoulder forward with a low elbow.
Aim to recoil at least as fast as you send your hand forward. They key is to use the shoulder into the strike, not leaning or stepping forward. The less mass you move, the faster you accelerate. Acceleration and a quick recoil are the the main ingredients in transferring energy quickly into the target.
As you recoil the first hand, send the other hand forward in the same fashion, repeating the process. Exhale once through the double strike.
As you purposely move the opponent’s head and body backwards by the extended strikes and if you lose balance forward, aim to land forward with the same foot matching the first hand strike. Bring the back leg with you by making a small step, leaving you in a good balanced position, with a shoulder-width foot stance.
DIAGONAL KICK TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE LEG
If the attacker responds to the strike by moving backwards, somewhat losing their balance, your next natural kick could be to ‘cut their legs in two’ with a diagonal kick to the exposed outside of the leg. The diagonal kick (see our Masterclass on it by searching for ‘MASTERCLASS’ on the home page) is a more direct style of round-house style kick, just more versatile in enclosed spaces and less observable as it travels less distance.
Make a step suitable to close the required distance to reach the opponent’s leg (with the shin of your back leg) by pushing off with your back leg, but land with your forward leg placing your toes facing the direction of your kick to come. This is important, as the toe position enables your pelvis to be more flexible and faster with the diagonal kick.
With the base leg toes moved into the kicking direction, kick diagonally and directly towards the aggressor’s leg with a locked-leg frame (at knee, ankle and toes; to create a hard, robust striking entity). Connect with your shin travelling upwards against the outer thigh (c. 5-10cm above knee) to ‘cut the opponent’s leg in half’ by squeezing your shin bone into the thinner muscles on the outside of the upper leg into the aggressor’s thigh bone on impact . Dig the shin in on impact for extra pain. Recoil and bring leg back to a position sideways to the standing leg. Repeat if necessary.
CIRCULAR OPEN PALM HAND STRIKE TO EAR
As you move your kicking leg back towards the standing leg, move the opposite hand forward with the palm facing the opponent’s ear in a locked-frame at the elbow and with the thumb at the top of the hand/fingers pointing forward.
Use the momentum of shifting your body back from the diagonal kick to generate then power as you aim the connection of the open palm strike towards the ear of the aggressor. Don’t move the striking arm far backwards to create more power (it delays the strike), simply use your body movement and shoulder-into-the strike to optimise the impact.
The aggressor should already be leaning towards the direction of the strike if the diagonal kick was effective (but didn’t floor them) and the circular hand strike is aimed to ‘help’ them further on the journey towards the ground.
Land back in line with the base leg, ready for more action if needed.