VERBAL AGGRESSION

I was training a lovely couple today in Krav Maga and some of the NSI material. Second private lesson so we looked at various attacks and threats. The woman was performing excellently, talented and able to absorb and pick up the material quickly. We spoke briefly about the verbal side as it was a threat and of course the individual will speak to you to say what they want. Now I said they can either shout at you or speak slowly and assertively but with a menacing tone. i told them that most people were beaten before a punch is ever thrown as they cannot deal or do not train to deal with the aggressive language. So immediately the husband screams at his wife and threatens her and all of a sudden she freezes and doesn't act. Now this is someone that she loves and sees everyday yet she couldn't handle the shouting part. It is a lesson for us all. Its a horrible experience to have someone shout at you like this. Mark Davies is excellent at it. One minute he is all calm the next he is threatening you and I swear you can see people adrenaline dumping in a classroom environment. I attended a seminar with Richard Dimitri years ago in London and the opening drill was three people just shouting and being aggressive towards you to try and desensitise you to it. It's not everyones cup of tea, and in truth if you did it in class every week most people would jack in the training. However, every so often its good to throw in and help people excel in their training and be prepared for violence. Michael often does it in the Tactical Edge class which is good. I however spend my days screaming at the kids classes so by the time the adults come in I can barely muster a loud shout.

Marcus