There seem to be two big opinions of Krav Maga, the hand-to-hand combat discipline originally developed for Israeli fighting forces. For some people, you can slap an Israeli flag on anything tactical, and it gets +10 HP. After all, it’s the Holy Land and Everyone is Israel is a superhuman commando like Zohan. Plus, all of the women in the IDF are babes with Desert Eagles, right? But, for other people, Krav Maga gets treated like Rex Kwon Do. Bow to your sensei! Needless to say, it’s a lot like guns in that the quality of instruction available varies widely.
But, while the self-defense part of the Internet is arguing about whether Krav Maga is legit or not, there’s a new threat facing all of the instructors, good and bad. With everything going on in Israel right now, some people who side with Hamas and/or the Palestinians are losing their minds. One man even recently set himself on fire outside of the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC.
Sadly, anything remotely Jewish or Israeli is now a target for possible violence, and one man decided to create a scene at a Krav Maga business in Florida:
The man has shown up to the business twice, and on at least one of the times started screaming, “Allahu Akbar!” It goes without saying that if you’re in an Israeli or Israel-related business and someone comes in yelling that, they’re not there with peaceful intentions. Are they about to start shooting? Do they have a bomb? Is there a machete about to come out?
Fortunately, the man didn’t blow himself up or hurt anybody and left without harming anyone. But, we have to ask ourselves what we’d do if we ran a business that became a social or political target.
While not exactly businesses, we can draw on the experiences of successful church defense to get some ideas. Like the Krav Maga business, churches have become a magnet for all sorts of people who are angry with Christians. Only a tiny fraction of a percent of people who have issues with conservative Christianity are a danger to anybody, but all it takes to harm innocent people at a church is one loser, so it’s a threat that churches have had to take seriously.
One obvious one is that somebody with decent training should be armed at any business that might become a target. Whether it’s a Christian bookstore, a Krav Maga studio, or even a gay bar, businesses can become targets.
In this case, the instructor was armed, but didn’t draw his pistol. He seemed to be able to assess the situation and figured out that there wasn’t a deadly threat, so he used his other skills to deal with it without using force. Things like non-violent dispute resolution (Verbal Judo) and the ability to keep yourself calm (box breathing) all can keep a problem from going into violence.
It’s also very important to be a good witness. This place had video cameras, and the people were able to attest to the police that the man said, “Allahu Akbar!” Given the lack of permission to be there and the threat involved, he got a trespass warning and may end up being arrested. But, if nobody can be clear-headed enough to give the police good information, law enforcement can’t do their job and put people like this away.
Finally, physical security of the site is key. If you operate a controversial business of any kind, consider adding some physical security measures. Even keeping the door locked when you don’t expect anybody, or adding a second door that automatically locks so you can “buzz” people in can keep people like that a few more feet away from innocent people inside. If someone doesn’t seem safe, don’t buzz them in!
If you own a business, take stock of what industry you’re in and whether someone might hate you for it. You might be surprised at what people will hate each other over these days, but with some strategic foresight, you can get a better idea of what to look for.
