ITBP adopts Israeli martial art

Vijay Mohan

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 5

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) has introduced Krav Maga, the Israeli form of martial arts of self-defence, becoming the first Central Armed Police Force to switch over to this “no holds barred” style of unarmed combat.

“Krav Maga was introduced in the ITBP about three months ago. It has been made a part of the basic training being imparted to recruits,” a senior ITBP officer said. “We have one qualified instructor trained by a team from Singapore. As many as 176 personnel have been trained so far,” he said.

The move to introduce Krav Maga in Indian forces is a result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Israel. The Special Protection Group, tasked with the protection of the Prime Minister, has also introduced Maga as part of its protection drills. It also forms part of the training curriculum of the British Special Air Service and the US Marines.

Other forces in the country are also looking at this unarmed combat technique. ITBP officers say Krav Maga is extremely efficient as it was derived from the street-fighting experience of Israeli martial art experts. It is focused at finishing a fight as quickly and aggressively as possible, with attacks aimed at the most vulnerable parts of the body which are not limited to avoiding serious injury or even death. The ITBP’s mandate is the peacetime management of the border with China.

What’s krav maga

The Krav Maga is a combination of various martial arts form like boxing, judo, wrestling, wing-chun, sarale and jiu-jitsu. Unlike most martial arts which are sports-oriented, Krav Maga is combat-oriented and does not employ any restrictions on points of bodily contacts or use of objects as weapons.