Krav Maga Stick Defense

Krav Maga is a modern practical system, as such we deal only with weapons that you or your enemies are likely to have access to. We do not have time to learn the Tai Chi Chuan sword form; we are unlikely to have a sword, or be attacked with one. A stick, baton, or lead pipe, on the other hand are ready accessible, to both us and our potential enemies, as such, it is part of our training.

We keep it simple; the simpler the technique the more likely you are to remember it and the more likely you will be able to use it effectively. Our stick defense techniques employ the same principles as our knife techniques; bursting, striking the arm and the body, shutting down the assailants nervous system.

We will go either inside his attack or outside his attack, depending on the angle of attack. i.e. either step back and try to get behind his elbow, or move in to the 'eye of the storm' and intercept his attack. The moves are simple but do require a lot of practice in order to become an automatic response.

On my black belt test I had a guy, IDF combat veteran, come after me with a hard rubber stick and just attack me from all angles; relentlessly. I had to respond instinctively to all the attacks, not easy. In these drills we see how difficult it is to stop an attack. It rarely comes off nice and clean like in the movies.

The point of our Krav Maga training, as Itay Gil says, is to block the arm, get a piece of it, don't get hit in the head, and keep on fighting. Most people who get hit go into shock or something. In our training we learn to get hit and keep on fighting. As Itay always shouts at us, "Don't give up or you will die!". This is true.

The best way to train against stick attacks is by wearing full protective gear and going all out.

Unlike with a knife attack, with a stick you can grapple the guy on the ground. With no range of motion he will not be able to get much force into his strikes. A knife is a different story.

For more details I guess you will have to come to a Krav Maga class.