Krav Maga Aggression Drills

Aggression drills are an important part of developing a reality based self defense system. All the techniques in the world will not help you in a moment of truth if you are not able to implement them aggressively in a real life situation.

Aggression training also helps you overcome fear, hesitation and nervousness, all of which are common to our nature.If you are too nervous to react, you will not be able to get the job done.

In the Israeli army, aggression training drills are an integral part of the Krav Maga program. However, sometimes, when Israeli instructors teach outside of Israel, they forget that the seminar participants are not combat soldiers, many factors have to be taken into account.

Aggressiveness training largely depends on your participants, who are there? Martial arts students in for a fun Sunday afternoon lesson? Combat soldiers about to be shipped off to Iraq? University students attending a seminar?

Is it a captive audience of police officers or prison guards who must complete a course or is it a group of intro level students whom you must entertain and 'persuade' them that Krav Maga is fun and safe?

All this must be taken into account.

• Low Level Aggression; University or youth group seminar, "Sunday afternoon family time at the dojo" - Explain the concepts of how aggression is used, demonstrate lightly on a staff member of your martial arts team but without actual violent contact. Don't scare anyone by beating up your staff member. Just go through the motions. Many students are not ready for the real world, and you don't need to shock them into it.

• Medium LevelAggression - Martial arts students who are in regular training - Use pads and punching bags; .

Drills .

Jab, cross, jab, knee kick.

Jab, cross, jab, upper cut.

Jab, cross, jab, low kick.

Jab, cross, upper cut, upper cut.

Jab, low kick, elbow smash.

Front kick, cross, elbow, knee.

There are many drills you can build using these simple combinations. Practice them full speed, full power until the students are dropping like flies and then do it some more as they feel too tired to continue.

• High Level Aggression - Reality self defense training - Wear full padding, head gear, body armor, do the drills on each other, have short bursts of sparring, rest, move on to another partner. Set of push ups, more fighting, set of sit ups, more fighting or kicking the bag. Put on some high intensity combat music or just shout a lot. Make it feel real.

• Top Level Aggression - Combat Troops; No padding. Run for half an hour, then hit the heavy bag for 20 minutes; combinations of jab, cross, elbows and knees. Drill; one person holds a punching shield while another strikes it and moves forward, all during this time other soldiers are hitting the participant, he must learn to focus, tune out the pain and move forward. Drill: push ups until your hands are sore, and then hit the heavy bag, then fight.

Drill: You are lying on the floor, trying to get up while a group of fighters are trying to keep you down, you must get up and fight your way out..