Krav Maga Training For Law-Enforcement

Often when people think about the differences between Krav Maga for civilians, for law-enforcement officers and for military personnel, they think that those working professionally within a security role, will learn higher, and more advanced techniques, that will require a greater set of skills to perform and get to work etc. However, the truth is that those working in these fields usually have a limited amount of time to devote to unarmed/hand-to-hand training. This means that rather than learning more complex solutions, those working professionally need simpler, and more straightforward solutions, that require less training and less expertise to perform. Simplicity is key when training those working in either the military or law-enforcement.

Whilst the core principals and concepts of Krav Maga remain the same for both law-enforcement and civilians, the aims, and goals of each group, when dealing with violence are very different e.g., in most civilian settings the goal is to quickly disengage and get to safety, whereas with law-enforcement, the focus is on subduing and controlling the violent offender etc. Disengagement, is really only an option, when trying to draw a lethal or less-than-lethal weapon, or when waiting for backup, because assistance is required etc. Krav Maga training for LEOs (Law-Enforcement Officers), also includes training in the use of less-than-lethal weapons, such as the effective deployment of OC/Pepper spray, and batons (including the Monadnock PR-24, side-handled baton), as well as in the use of firearms; both short and long barrel weapons (carbines and rifles). As well as teaching offensive solutions using such weapons, LEO Krav Maga, also teaches individuals how to retain such weapons, because as well as being useful tools they are also a liability, because their presence potentially gives violent offenders access to weapons e.g., in healthcare/hospital settings 23% of all shootings involved a weapon taken from a security guard (Kelen et al., 2012).

Another difference between civilian Krav Maga and that taught to law-enforcement personnel, is that in many instances those working in law-enforcement work together as part of a team, rather than as individuals (which may be more characteristic of civilian scenarios). This means that part of Krav Maga training for law-enforcement must involve training in team tactics, and the different roles that members of a team must perform e.g., in the case of controlling an armed assailant one person may be tasked with controlling an offender whilst the other performs a weapon disarm, after which another officer restrains them in handcuffs etc. Whilst training individuals to work together as part of a unit, may be part of civilian Krav Maga training in certain contexts, such as how two trained individuals work together, when dealing with a larger group/mob, it is not a core focus of civilian training etc., as in most scenarios an individual will be working alone.

It would be wrong to think that Krav Maga for law-enforcement, represent a “higher” level of training etc., and better to see it as a type of training that is specific to certain contexts and scenarios e.g., civilians – in almost all scenarios - do not have the right to restrain someone after they have ceased to become an immediate threat etc., so ideas and techniques around the concept of control and restraint, may be tactically unsound in civilian settings, whereas this is not the case when/where LEOs are involved. If you are interested in brining some form of training to your department, please use the link below to contact us concerning your requirements.

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