Krav Maga Tactical Survival. Gershon Ben Keren

see the palm-heel strike taught with the hand being a very rigid unit, with the fingers pulled back and the palm exposed as a relatively “flat” striking unit that should be targeted against the chin in order to both deliver concussive force and direct the head back, akin to a closed-fist punch. While this can be an effective way of striking, I prefer to deliver the palm-heel strike with the hand being looser, and in more of a “cupping” fashion that wraps around the face, both obscuring vision (masking the face) and pushing upward against the nose—directing the head back, in preparation for harder, more concussive strikes.

      Delivered in this way, as a “softer” strike against the nose, the fingers and thumb can also be driven into the eyes, making for a more disruptive strike.

      There are many different ways to deliver a palm-heel strike, and all are valid; they simply accomplish different things. A rigid palm-heel strike to the face will not deliver as much concussive force as a punch, but it is less likely to damage the knuckles and bones of the hand.

      By throwing a palm-heel strike against the chin, you are able to move your attacker’s head back, disrupting their balance and thus creating opportunities for further attacks.

      You can also use the palm-heel strike in a less rigid fashion, with the idea of quickly getting a hand/strike into your attacker’s face so that their vision is obscured. Quickly getting a strike or hand into your attacker’s face, whether your thumb hits their eye or not, is an easy way to disrupt an assailant’s attack, and set up your own.

      Cradle-Strike to Throat

      The throat is a target that doesn’t move. An assailant can turn their head away, moving the eyes as a target; however, the throat and neck stay in place, meaning that they are always available to be attacked. Striking the throat causes shock and pain (it’s an unexpected pain), and can result in serious trauma; it can cause the internal cartilage of the trachea to collapse, resulting in difficulty breathing. A hard strike will also cause a degree of swelling around the throat, which will further affect breathing. This is one of the reasons why, in a fight, you should keep your chin tucked down so that the throat is protected (keeping your chin down will also direct your face downward, making you less vulnerable to a head-butt).

      There are three soft and vulnerable targets that don’t require any force for a strike to be effective: these are the eyes, throat, and groin. Sometimes the eyes are not an effective target because an attacker turns their face away to avoid being hit there. It doesn’t matter how far a person turns their face/eyes away, however, the throat/neck will usually remain available. The best way to attack the throat is in an upward direction.

      When you strike the throat, hit it hard. Your goal is to cause trauma and swelling to the throat so that your attacker’s breathing is impaired. An attacker who can’t breathe properly will not be able to fight effectively.

      The throat can still be a target even if your attacker turns their face away, which would make an eye strike difficult/impossible. The throat can be a difficult target for an attacker to defend—unless they keep their chin tucked to their chest at all times.

      The Initial Strike as a Range/Distance Finder

      Your initial strike can be used as a tactile “marker” to set up further strikes. In a dynamic, fast-moving situation where there are many changes in movement, punches and strikes often won’t land because the distance and position between the striking unit (e.g., the fist), and the target (e.g., the face), change as the punch/strike is being delivered. By not retracting the initial strike—such as the thumb to your assailant’s eye(s)—you can not only control their head (the target), but also give yourself another tool for judging distance/range. You just have to deliver the second strike roughly where your first hand is, as it’s already on the target. Using this method of zoning in on your targets makes it almost impossible to miss with your subsequent strikes. As long as you keep your hand on their eyes, you will always know where to hit, regardless of whether they move in to you, pull away, turn their head, etc.

      When your attacker is backing away quickly, it can be difficult to judge range effectively. In such situations, you can use your eye strike as a range finder to make sure that your other strikes land with full force. As you move toward your attacker, make an eye strike with your left hand.

      Rather than retract the strike, keep your hand pressed into your attacker’s face as you set up a power strike. If your attacker tries to move toward you, your hand in their face will prevent them from doing so; if they continue to move back, or adjust their position, you will be able to feel their movement and follow them.

      Keep your hand glued to your assailant as you strike them, so that you can keep delivering multiple power strikes against them. If your hand is on the target area, remove it as you strike with the other hand.

      The Krav Maga Yashir system works off the continuum: Disrupt, Damage, Destroy, and Disengage. This means that your first goal is to disrupt your attacker (something that can be accomplished by an easy-to-deliver “soft” strike to the eyes or throat) before going on to damage and destroy them with concussive/forceful blows (“hard” strikes).

      Hammer-Fists

      The hammer-fist is one of the most versatile striking tools that you have, as it can be delivered at multiple angles, and uses the bottom of the fist as the striking surface. In this fashion the relatively delicate bone structure of the hand is protected by the adipose tissue, meaning that it is unlikely that any damage to the hand will be sustained when using this type of strike—something you are always at risk of when punching with a closed fist.

      To strike with a closed fist without risking injury to the hand, it is wise to condition your hands. If you always wear wraps and/or gloves when you train, you may develop bad habits with your striking, such as not closing your fist fully on impact, etc. These bad habits could see you injuring your hands in a real-life confrontation; for example, if your assailant should duck their head, you may end up striking the skull rather than the face, and if your hand/fist is not properly conditioned for this type of potential impact, it is likely that you’ll damage it, as there would have been no consequence for this in a glove.

      With the hammer-fist strike, you are making impact with the bottom of the fist. The fist is still tightened on impact, but instead of striking with the knuckles (which can also bruise quite easily), you are striking with the tightened soft tissue at the base of the fist, which doesn’t damage easily; this protects the relatively fragile bones of the hand.

      Downward/Forward Hammer-Fist

      This strike derives its power from the dropping of the hand, assisted by the body, onto whatever target has been selected. It can be delivered straight down, against a target such as the back of your assailant’s neck (if they are bent over), or it can be angled straight into an attacker’s face if they are standing/facing you.