Take That! Krav Maga is taking London by force

Terry snarls as he jams both his thumbs into the eyes of his attacker, forcing their head back and slamming his knee repeatedly into the man's groin before hammering punches to his temple. Breathing hard, he steps back from the fallen body at his feet, realising he has made a fatal error: he's forgotten about the knife. The rubber blade of a third attacker stabs him in the back and Terry is politely informed he is "dead".

This is a normal Thursday night at the Institute of Krav Maga UK — a London-based club that teaches a reality-based form of combat used by the Israeli special forces that has been taken up by actors Russell Brand, Matt Damon, Jennifer Lopez and Hilary Swank.

Here in London, men and women wearing bulbous groin guards and protective gear come to learn the kind of moves that would make Jack Bauer blush; the kind that have been banned in nearly all other forms of competitive combat. Eye gouging, headbutting, biting, elbowing and kneeing in the groin, as well as loud swearing, are all on the teaching syllabus, alongside traditional punching and kicking.

If this sounds unsporting, it's because, unlike other martial arts hybrids, Krav Maga is not a sport. It began on the streets of Bratislava, Slovakia, in the Thirties when the Jewish community had to defend themselves against attacks from anti-Semitic gangs, and was developed as a combat system by the Israeli military.

In health clubs dotted around the City, Krav Maga's popularity is booming as its no-holds-barred approach attracts more Londoners. The club, which has just gone international, becoming a part of Krav Maga Global in Netanya, Israel, is the biggest in the UK and is expanding at a pace. Until two weeks ago, the institute held 19 classes in London every week with a further six across the Home Counties. But it has experienced such strong demand that it has just added another three classes a week to its London roster, and, having opened in Hertfordshire in July, it is preparing to move into the well-heeled commuter belt of Cambridge and Kent next year.

So what is the attraction of such a brutal hobby? Kim Mallard, a 37-year-old scientific researcher from north London, started almost a year ago. "I was looking for a martial art to learn and I kept coming back to Krav Maga. It appealed because the moves were simple and it was easy to learn. Most martial arts take years to learn and aren't necessarily effective in a real-life situation."

"Krav Maga just seemed more practical than most martial arts," says Michael Walsh, a 30-year-old investment manager from Shoreditch who has been a member of the club for six months. "Rather than sparring under artificial conditions where your opponent uses the exact same rules as yourself, it's more like when you are in a club or in the street — more natural."

Others, such as Marco Van Bussol, a 38-year-old real estate banker who has been doing Krav Maga for three months, are drawn more to the fitness benefits of the discipline: "I hate going to the gym and I can do Krav Maga every day of the week. You wear protective gear and a lot of facial blows are simulated so you don't really get hurt, but I do come into work with bruises and cut knuckles sometimes."

Neither Walsh nor Van Bussol has been involved in a fight or ever want to be. So why learn such an extreme method of violence?

"Krav Maga is without restriction because some situations need a proportionately severe response," explains Jon Bullock, institute director and expert level 1 instructor. Despite having many classes based in the Square Mile, he maintains that it's not just City workers who are flocking to learn. "It's people of all backgrounds and ages. Many take it up to become more confident and aware, and to learn to better avoid trouble."

Also, Krav Maga is easier to learn than most martial arts because it is adapted from natural common-sense reactions. "In training we slowly introduce the body to what it is like to have to do techniques under stress so that it becomes more instinctive," says Bullock.

One method of doing this is "slow fighting" — a kind of slow-motion sparring. But this also means introducing the element of surprise to training. Pupils often wait with their eyes shut until they are attacked. When it comes, the strike is sometimes with a concealed rubber knife. More often than not, the defensive response will include a simple but effective kick to the crotch. There are also often multiple aggressors because, as Bullock points out, "How many people go to a pub or a club on their own?"

Terry learned this lesson the hard way.

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