Toastmasters Speech #5 (Your Body Speaks) - Krav Maga

Toastmaster: Speaker - Krav Maga, Krav Maga - Speaker
Audience: [claps]
Speaker: [walks to Toastmaster to shake their hand]
Toastmaster: [swiftly pulls out fake gun and aims it at Speaker] Give me your money!

Speaker: Here, take it, take my watch, take my wallet, take my cellphone, I don't want any trouble, just leave me alone
Toastmaster: Give me everything or I'm gonna shoot your head off!
Speaker: This is all I've got man, I swear, I gave you everything! Look, I don't want any trouble, just let me go
Toastmaster: Put your hands up!!
Speaker: [RCAT - Redirects weapon, Controls weapon, Attacks, Takes away weapon]

Speaker: [pointing the gun at Toastmaster] Mister Toastmaster, fellow Toastmasters, dear guests,

What you've just witnessed is something that I hope will never happen to you. Normally, if you are at point blank in front of a real gun, your heart rate will instantly jump to 160, you will panic, lose control and probably need a change of underwear. However, you've just witnessed a defense against this potentially lethal gun attack. The technique is simple and can be learned relatively quickly. It tends to work for most people, even if the attacker is much larger than you.

This technique is part of a close-combat self-defense system without any hard-and-fast rules, which makes no difference in training between men and women, is not a sport, has no specific uniforms or competitions but is focused on maximum efficiency in real-life conditions. The name of this system is Krav Maga.

Krav Maga means "close combat" in Hebrew. It is a combat system developed by Imi Lichtenfeld, a Jewish boxer and wrestler who lived in Bratislava, Slovakia. In the late 1930s, the Jewish population in Bratislava was threatened by anti-Semitic riots. Together with other Jewish fighters, Imi helped defend his neighborhood against fascist gangs. He quickly realized that sports such as boxing or wrestling had little in common with real street fights, and developed a system of techniques for practical self-defense in real life-threatening situations. In the 40s, Imi fled the Nazi occupation of his homeland and moved to Israel, where he became the Chief Instructor of Physical Training in the Israeli Defense Forces.

Today, Krav Maga is the official self defense and unarmed combat system of the Israeli Defense Forces, the Israeli Police and all Israeli Intelligence and security agencies. In the US, Krav Maga began to spread in the early 80s and is now used by many law enforcement agencies and the FBI.

Krav Maga teaches a variety of techniques, from bare-handed self-defense against attackers armed with knives, bats or guns, to using any objects around you as weapons. There are four main principles to Krav Maga:

1. Do as much damage as quickly as possible.
2. Change from defending to attacking as quickly as possible (including simultaneously).
3. Use items around you as weapons.
4. Be aware of everything that is happening around you.

With the help of our Toastmaster, I will briefly demonstrate these principles by going in slow motion through the attack in the beginning of this speech. In this case, we will apply what is called "RCAT": Redirect the weapon, Control the weapon, Attack, Take away the weapon.

Mister Toastmaster.

Toastmaster: Give me your money!
Speaker: When an attacker tries to get something from you and has a gun, give them whatever they want. Your life is much more precious. [to Toastmaster] Here, take my wallet, take my cellphone, here's my watch. Just leave me alone, I don't want to fight. [to audience] It's important to say "I don't want to fight", especially if there are any witnesses. If you end up in court, the witnesses will be able to testify that you tried to avoid the fight. If the attacker lower the gun after you give them your wallet, apply the Nike defense [runs away]. If, however, they go on:
Toastmaster: Put your hands up!!
Speaker [to audience]: At this stage, it's pretty clear that the attacker wants to shoot you. They may drunk, or on drugs or whatnot. When the attacker says "Put your hands up", that is a critical moment. If you simply put your hands up, you have paralyzed yourself - any later attempt to Redirect the weapon will be very visible and the attacker will shoot [demonstration]. This is why you have to seize the moment: when the attacker says "Put your hands up", you do lift your hands, because the attacker expects this. But as you put your hands up, swiftly grab the barrel of the gun and point it away from you, at the same time moving sideways from it [demonstration].

Next, bring the gun down to the attacker's hip, making sure it points away at all times. Your hand must be glued to their hip, and you must move in sync to the attacker if they retreat. This step is the Control of the weapon. Now, change from defending to attacking ASAP - simultaneously punch the attacker. Be aware, that this will be the most important punch in your life. Aim for their throat. It's a very sensitive area and if you can hit the windpipe, you'll have incapacitated the attacker. Remember, do as much damage as quickly as possible. This person has just tried to kill you; you are justified to apply equally dangerous techniques.

Next, Take away the weapon: put your hand under the gun, grab the upper part, and turn it 180 degrees. If the attacker's finger was on the trigger, turning the weapon will cause the trigger guard to break their finger. Make sure to take the gun away along their finger. Finally, aim the gun at the attacker, check your surroundings, and have 911 called.

Mister Toastmaster, thank you. Fellow Toastmasters, this concludes today's demonstration.