People who are new to the sport or just starting out often have this fear: that they’ll become paranoid while practicing Krav Maga. What’s the reality?
Let’s first look at the advice we give in our classes regarding observation.
According to biology, we have five senses. In reality , we have six: the classic senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste, and the more abstract sense ofintuition.
With the exception of taste, all the other senses allow us to engage with our environment:
- Sight: It’s very important—it’s the sense we use most easily… As long as we don’t make the mistake of focusing it on our phones!
"Using a cell phone while driving triples the risk of an accident. Even more serious, reading a text message while driving increases the risk 23-fold: it forces the driver to take their eyes off the road for at least 5 seconds."
Out on the street, the problem is similar: we usually have our heads down when we’re looking at our phones. In addition to the risks associated with poor posture, you can only see the ground. If you really need to use your phone outside, make sure to stand against a wall first , then raise the phone to eye level. Your peripheral vision will pick up on movements around you: if someone is coming toward you, you’ll see them early enough to put your phone away and walk away if necessary.
We'll explore other uses of observation later in this article.
- Sense of Smell: Our nose is also there to help us; for example, it allows us to detect the smell of smoke [If you’d like to learn how to use a fire extinguisher in case of a fire, check out our article here], the smell of marijuana, and other unusual odors that should alert us.
- Hearing: We all love listening to music [In fact, that’s one of the tips we give here for boosting your self-confidence] but if you want to listen to music outdoors, it’s best to use only one earbud so you can stay aware of your surroundings. That way , you’ll be able to easily hear unusual sounds, such as someone shouting—whether out of fear or anger.
- Touch: This is a sense used as a last resort: regular Krav Maga training will help you develop reflexive movements in the event of an attack and, therefore, violent contact [Read the article on reflexes and muscle memory here].
- Enfin l’Intuition : elle nous sert tous les jours, lorsque l’on accepte de se faire confiance. Peu importe l’aspect physique d’une personne, si votre ressenti est négatif faites-vous toujours confiance. Par exemple, beaucoup de personnes qui se font suivre le ressentent plus ou moins consciemment. Quel que soit le domaine ou la personne, faites toujours confiance à votre intuition !
Practical Tips for Everyday Life
During Krav Maga classes, we often talk about safety circles. Imagine a circle with you at the center and a radius equal to the length of your leg. Have fun observing the hands of people who enter this circle. Most attacks begin with the hands (a punch, a slap, drawing a knife, etc.). Watching people’s hands allows us either to move away from a potential threat or to react without being caught off guard when a violent movement is initiated. Since our reaction time is shorter, our response will be more effective.
In addition, you’ll learn a lot about the people around you (you’ll be able to spot signs of stress, such as someone biting their nails, and so on…).
It is also important to be aware of your surroundings in certain situations:
- When we're about to go home, before entering the building, we'll make sure no one is trying to rush into the lobby with us.
- When we withdraw money from an ATM, we’ll make sure no one is in the immediate vicinity (on the sidewalk or in a car parked relatively close by).
- Before getting in or out of your car, you should scan your surroundings.
Finally, it's important to locate emergency exits and fire extinguishers, whether at your workplace or in restaurants, bars, concert venues, and other places you frequent.
How Come These Observations Don't Actually Make Us Paranoid?
Think back to your childhood, when you learned to look both ways before crossing the street:
Look left, then right, then left again, then right again, and cross only when the pedestrian signal is green.
Today, you probably cross the street right in the middle when there are no cars, and you do it completely automatically. Consciously, you’re thinking more about your shopping list, your family, or work… But if there’s a car, you won’t cross. You won’t feel stressed or afraid because of the car’s presence. So you’ll have the appropriate reaction—without even thinking about it.
Le Travail de l’Observation fonctionne exactement de la même manière. Il faut être « aware ». Si la référence à Jean-Claude Vandamme peut nous faire sourire, être attentif sans être constamment en alerte nous permet de ne pas être surpris ou stressé en cas de danger.
Parce que l’on sera habitué à visualiser les comportements « habituels » au quotidien, nous serons capables de repérer beaucoup plus vite les comportements « inhabituels » et les potentielles menaces.
We will then be able to easily avoid them by moving away, or handle them using Krav Maga.
L’observation nous donne donc la capacité d’anticiper afin de pouvoir mieux Éviter ou Réagir.
From Paranoia to Serenity
Paranoia stems from the fear of being attacked or harmed. This leads to mistrust and excessive suspicion in everyday life, which is often irrational.
Grâce à l’observation et à l’entraînement régulier au Krav Maga, vous saurez que vous êtes capable de réagir judicieusement et efficacement face à une situation dangereuse.
Greater peace of mind in everyday life—that’s one of the benefits of practicing Krav Maga regularly!
