 "Krav Maga: Israeli martial art packs a punch for self-defence in India")
Sixty-five-year-old Eyal Yanilov has been drawn to the ghats at Banaras every year for the past two decades. The Israeli sexagenarian is back in the temple town this year to command his control over breath and mental discipline through yoga.
Days later, at the Kanara Catholic Association in Bandra, Yanilov is powering punches and kicks alongside 42 others who have come here to master close combat manoeuvres and self-defence techniques.
At present, Yanilov serves as the president and chief instructor of Krav Maga Global, where he trains students in the Israeli martial art that shares its name.
Krav Maga, which loosely translates to ‘contact combat’, is an integrated system rooted in combat and fighting techniques along with self-defence.
Harmless yoga finds itself in the combat equation to chisel mental models of martial arts based on two major virtues: focus and posture, he explains over breakfast, which is low on dairy and meat.
“I have avoided meat and dairy for the longest period due to moral challenges. Focus and concentration are required for Krav Maga’s combat mindset, which we can achieve through yoga and breathing exercises,” he added.
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The Israeli practice has been gaining traction in the country over the past few years, expanding to places such as Mumbai, Goa, Pune, Bengaluru, Mangaluru, and Chennai, among others. In India, 13 instructors are entrusted with training across categories such as women's self-defence, civilian training, and corporate segments.
Globally, the martial art form has expanded to over 60 countries since the early 1980s, when Yanilov was a young trainee learning the craft under the supervision of Hungarian-born Israeli martial artist Imrich ‘Imi’ Lichtenfeld.
Yanilov went on to develop the curriculum for the combat technique in his mid-twenties, dividing the progress of candidates into different levels, simplifying manoeuvres, and absorbing fighting techniques and third-party protection systems in the backdrop of a sustained conflict back home.
Growing up in a city 30 kilometres north of Tel Aviv, a coastal city on the brink of the Mediterranean, he recalls how the life of an ordinary civilian was rooted in clashes. This was a time when the country was confronted with the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
“Israel back then was definitely under threat of survival. Life was about life and death, and I saw it as an eight-year-old kid,” he recalls.
Later, he went on to serve in the Israel Defense Forces in Tel Aviv in the communication and training department, which gave him a ringside view of how conflicts are tackled, de-escalated, and eventually contained.
Despite rigorous training in defence and offence, including punches, kicks, grabs, chokes, headlocks, and weapon handling, he believes the de-escalation of violent conflicts should always begin verbally.
“We are teaching physically, technically, tactically, and mentally how to deal with violent confrontation. But first of all, it is important to prevent violent confrontations. Only if you cannot do that should you physically deal with opponents,” he explains.
However, one question remains.
Despite the presence of martial arts training in India that focuses on Japanese techniques such as karate, ju-jitsu, and sumo, self-defence has still been a challenge for many.
“Most of these martial arts may not be suitable for self-defence since today the training is geared towards sports. They are not simulated in an environment that triggers a natural response to a crisis,” he said.
As he explains this, Yanilov begins to rush back to the hall accommodating 42 students in Bandra.
On the first floor of the hall, he has simulated conditions to replicate a stage for a bar fight. Red cups simulating whisky glasses and water bottles are present on more than 10 tables. The room is packed.
“The simulation is to ensure there is also enough on-field distraction for everybody, similar to how a fight may break out in real life. In such situations, the ability to focus is low. You need to get comfortable with your surroundings and arm yourself with whatever is close to you if anything escalates,” he tells his students who are getting ready for a drill.