Impact weapon defenses

Impact weapon attacks can come in many forms. For example, someone can try to smash you with a baton, hammer, crowbar, impact weapon-like object, bottle, chair, and anything onsite an assailant can pick up to hit you. The three fundamental principles are either (1) to close the distance between you and the assailant while deflecting-redirecting the attack; (2) disengage until you recognize the correct timing to then close the distance or (3) retreat straight away. Attacks can come from a myriad of directions, heights, and angles in single swing attacks or multiple salvoes. Impact weapons (along with edged weapons) are often referred to in krav maga parlance as “cold weapons.”  

Recognize that a person with any type of blunt object in his hand could potentially use it as impact or jettison it as a weapon or means of distraction. The end of the impact weapon generates the most force as the assailant’s wrist is used as a fulcrum. Therefore, the most dangerous range of the attack is to be struck with the end of the weapon. In other words, the ballistic object’s momentum decreases the closer you come to the assailant’s swinging wrist. As noted, impact weapon defenses require the defender to stymie the attack by closing the distance to simultaneously deflect-redirect or absorb the swinging arm’s (not the weapon) impact. As with all krav maga defenses, the hand always leads the body to deflect redirect in conjunction with simultaneous multiple counterattacks.  Notably, impact weapons defense – unlike edged and firearm defenses – move directly along the line of intended attack rather than “off the line” as you will focus on in Chapters 3-7.  

We will focus on four common types of impact weapon attacks: overhead, overhead “off-angle”, side-swing and lower quadrant attacks. The danger, as with all weapon attacks, is that the assailant can change the angle of attack to counter your initial defense. This is remedied by performing the same defense regardless of the impact weapon’s trajectory.