Incredibly Effective Krav Maga Gun Defenses

One of the things Krav Maga prides itself on is its effectiveness against armed assailants. The self-defense system was originally created to help Jews defend themselves during Nazi occupations and invasions, and today is used by several top military forces in operations all over the world. Since this is a modern fighting system, it incorporates modern scenarios into its training. Knife and gun defenses are taught in beginner classes to varying complexities. Eventually, one learns how to defend themselves against multiple armed attackers. Below are a few key points of the most effective Krav Maga gun defenses practiced by elite combat forces around the world, which you can also learn in Krav Maga gyms in cities near you.

Never put your hands up.
Regardless of the situation, if you are confronted with a gun, do not put your hands up immediately. If you are asked for your wallet, keys, watch, etc-give them up. It's not worth dying over. If however, you've done all they've asked, and now they want you to come with them, they may not be after your possessions at this point, and you'll have to act if you want to save your life. If they ask you to put your hands up, that is your opportunity to act, don't put them up automatically. Once they ask, they are expecting your hands to move-then you can respond to the immediate threat (the gun is pointed at you) and counter-attack. Moving your hands too early or when not provoked can spook an assailant and telegraph your defense. Krav Maga uses the element of surprise in most of its defenses.

Be aware of your surroundings
If confronted with a gun, and you know you will have to respond with an attack, it is important to analyze your surroundings. If there are people nearby, you don't want your counter-attack to get anyone else nearby possibly shot. Certain Krav Maga techniques that would work in an abandoned alleyway may not work at the subway/metro station where crowds of people are. If you've got space, you can pull the attacker off balance and simply worry about getting the gun to not be pointed at you. If there are people nearby, it may be best to force the gun's barrel to point downward, preventing anyone else from getting in the line of fire.

Krav Maga is currently the fighting system of the Israeli Defense Forces and is used in counter-terrorism missions and urban warfare. Now, all around the world you can find civilian Krav Maga centers willing to teach students a modified version of military-grade Krav that is still extremely powerful at disarming attackers, armed or not.