934th SFS Airmen add another weapon to toolbox

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Josh Moshier
  • 934th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

In an ever-changing world where traditional sports like football and basketball are now competing for popularity with combat sports such as mixed martial arts, military members are finding that these combat sports are effective training tools as well as entertainment venues. 

Long gone are the days where officers of the law could be relatively certain the techniques they were taught in academies will be sufficient in defending themselves against any aggressor they encounter. Now, law enforcement officers are faced with information which causes them more concern over current training programs. 

The 934th Security Forces Squadron answered that concern by recently offering its members training in the self-defense discipline known as Krav Maga. The method emphasizes improvised, intuitive strikes in realistic scenarios one would encounter while being attacked. The brain-child of Imi Lichtenfeld, a soldier who fought to create the independent state of Israel during the World War II era, and refined over years of real-life practice on real-life battlefields, Krav Maga is the official art of self-defense for the Israeli government and has developed a niche in the culture of United States law enforcement over the past 20 years. 

"You just never know what skills someone is going to have when you have to defend yourself," said Staff Sgt. Paul Keyes, 934 SFS security forces officer. "Krav Maga is just one more thing we can use to protect ourselves in those situations."
Eleven 934 SFS members took part in an extensive seven-hour seminar at the fitness center Feb. 27. Avi Moyal, one of only four expert level Krav Maga trainers in the world, lectured and demonstrated self-defense practices to the group covering situations ranging from crowd control to facing an aggressor who has a weapon. The training proved to be eye-opening and educational for those in attendance. 

"These aren't exact techniques," said Master Sgt. Michael Bier, 934 SFS quality control. "It was more about how to react to certain situations you may encounter and to help us understand different ways to do things so we're more able to react to those situations."
Master Sgt. Michael Ross, 934 SFS training manager, said the origins of Krav Maga gave that type of training and lecture more credibility than other defense and martial arts many officers may have tried or considered. 

"These are techniques that were developed from real-life experiences on the battlefield," Sergeant Ross said. "Israel has been in an almost constant state of war, and as their soldiers would react to situations differently on the battlefield, they would report their effectiveness when they returned." 

Armed with that knowledge, Sergeant Ross said that's what makes Krav Maga so compatible with the responsibilities asked of Air Force security forces members.
"Whether you're sitting on gate duty here or dealing with any of the stuff going on over in Iraq, you might find yourself in a situation you've never encountered where you're going to have to be able to react quickly to defend yourself," he said. "If someone at the gate gets angry and wants to hurt you, the first thing you need to do is protect yourself. Krav Maga is a practice of what's worked in similar situations in the past." 

Moving forward, Sergeant Ross said that though funding such training is an issue, he'll continue to look for more like opportunities to train the 934 SFS to make them a more complete, and safe, defense force for the 934th Airlift Wing. For those who attended the Krav Maga training, future opportunities are welcomed and anticipated.
"I'd never heard of Krav Maga, and I didn't even sign up for the training until I got some friendly peer pressure," Sergeant Bier said. "I didn't know what to expect, but I learned a lot, and I'm looking forward to more training."