We aim to be explosive in all of our movements, and there’s something about choke and grab defenses that lend them particularly well to demonstrating this. Since we’re in the choke and grab defense section of the Level 1 rotation, I will focus on those techniques. Know, however, that what follows can also be applied more generally.
It might be a forgone conclusion that bigger-stronger-faster is better, but there are some very legitimate reasons for why we should be explosive:
- “Techniques must be accessible to the average person, not just athletes.” — principle of Krav Maga
A choke is a show of power, a strength-based attack used by someone who is (or at least believes him- or herself to be) bigger and stronger than you. Thus, trying to pry some brute’s paws from around your larynx while your brain is rapidly losing oxygen is not an effective defense. Alternatively, our defense against a choke is predicated on turning our natural reaction to being grabbed around the neck into an explosive pluck at the immediate threat of the attack—the attacker’s thumbs. Among other reasons (including those below), this pluck must be explosive so that more force can be generated by a smaller person.
Let’s use some simple math to prove this. Force is equal to mass multiplied by acceleration. So as not to get too geeked out, let’s disregard units of measure and just deal with hypothetical natural numbers.
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