DVD Title: First Strike / Vol 1
Produced by: Krav Maga Productions I, LLC .
Sanction by Krav Maga Association of America &
International Krav Maga Association
Rating: 1 Star
As many of you know the name of our parent company is First Strike Worldwide, Inc. The choice of name comes from the emphasis on being the first prepared to fight, and the first, where needed, to take effective and swift action to end a fight before it even happens. Our philosophy has always been that preparedness is the first strike of any battle.
With that in mind it should be no surprise that an instructional video with our name sake would be of interest. Sadly, the opening sequence immediately demonstrates what the quality, or lack thereof, will be.
In this first screen shot, you can see that a bad guy has entered a bar scene to illustrate what one might do in the even of an attack by an armed person. Having worked extensively with firearms as a user and an instructor in the military, for law enforcement, and in the civilian world, I’m particularly well versed in what does and does not work when it comes to both disarmament and retention; this opening sequence, and later the instruction, on this particular topic is not only woefully inadequate, it’s possibly bordering on criminally negligent.
Now, I should note that I personally don’t have a problem with any system or association that seeks to inform and educate the public on or about ways they can defend themselves — after all, that’s what we do as well. Krav Maga has much to offer that is positive and informative. However, my concern is when an instructor like Krav Maga Worldwide’s Darren Levine teaches something he’s clearly not used in real life or taken the time to extensively investigate and evaluate under the most realistic conditions possible. Martial arts need not purely be an art; there are many aspects that are able to be repeated under scientific conditions.
Disarming firearms and bladed weapons are two areas that require real study to understand; this is where theory and reality shouldn’t cross paths unless you’re testing that theory against real life. Simply replicating or repeating a technique that someone like Levine thinks will work in the real world isn’t remotely acceptable.
Just as using a rubber knife to properly evaluate the effectiveness of a technique against a bladed weapon is stupid, so is using a rubber firearm. If you don’t have some way to assure that you are able to truly evaluate what happens when you try to grab a knife or firearm, then what’s the point? That’s like thinking that you can prepare for a cage fight by training against a person who is unconscious. You don’t learn to box by shadow boxing alone; if you’ve never been hit, how the hell do you know what it will be like in the ring?
While I’m not advocating taking a bullet or getting cut by a knife, there are legitimate ways to train that come pretty damn close to the real thing without risking your life in the process. Watching what Levine does suggests to me that he’s never taken the time to look at his own techniques, and yet, he is splashed all over the cover of Black Belt Magazine in April 2009 as having the best defenses against firearms. That’s scary. So when I see a video teaching basic self defense flash some ridiculous sequence where Levine poorly and dangerously “disarms” someone — a sequence clearly designed to enhance the reputation of the organization or instructors teaching you as the consumer, it’s annoying at best.
I should note that Vol 1 doesn’t actually address disarmament at all, it just shows a couple examples throughout the video. That in itself is a problem, and it’s what caught my attention. When I was training to be a police defensive tactics instructor under POST guidelines, we were taught early on in the course before obtaining certification that when someone teaches something showing students the “wrong way” how to do it, they can be held liable in court for the actions of that student. The example I can remember was of a police officer replicating what he was told by a police academy instructor as being the wrong way to do something, but that’s what he did under pressure and ended up killing the subject in custody. Not cool at all. It would seem to me that this video follows that line of instruction — how not to do something.
In this first screen shot from the video, you’ll notice that everyone is relaxing and having fun in a bar that’s lit with a smoky atmosphere and mood lighting. In comes an assailant with a firearm (red gun) and points it at the bartender (played here by Levine). At first glance, a pretty screwed up situation (Fig 1).
In the next screen shot, you’ll notice that Levine reacts to the situation by reaching up towards the firearm with his left hand (Fig 2). At first instance, this may work to his advantage. In fact, this image shows the beginning movement of a technique that we teach. However, that’s where it leaves off. What he does next is unreal. It’s more like a movie scene than an actual technique that one should use if they are ever faced with the prospect of having to attempt to disarm someone.
In this next screen shot what follows illustrates this instructor has a total ignorance of how firearms work, and more importantly, how easy it is to get shot when someone has their finger on the trigger of an automatic pistol. This is a move that only someone with zero real-world experience would ever attempt, let alone perpetuate in a instructional video. It suggests that Levine’s never really taken the time to understand what movements work, and what movements do not. When he grabs the front end of the pistol, he twists it clockwise and keeps the weapon directly in his chest (Fig 3.)
My biggest concern is that the assailant had his finger in the trigger guard and on the trigger itself. In our training exercises using simunitions, we’ve proven beyond a reasonable doubt that moving a firearm in this direction nearly always results in the defender being shot. Nobody who’s trained the way we have would ever consider such a movement, because time and time again we’ve seen that it’s a fatal choice.
To complicate matters, Levine continues to keep the weapon pointed at his chest (Fig 4). At no time does he ever attempt to remove himself from the line of fire, which is astounding. For someone who purports to be such a talented and experienced instructor, someone who is considered one of the top Krav Maga instructors, he’s shown just how ignorant he is in this sequence. This is nothing personal against Levine; I actually respect much of what he’s managed to accomplish, if by nothing more than good marketing, to spread Krav Maga worldwide. But in my personal and professional view as an instructor, his own video tells me he’s not skilled enough, at least in these scenes, to be telling anyone how to take a firearm away from someone.
And I suppose that’s what ticks me off. There’s so much hype surrounding Krav Maga as the end all be all of martial arts. It’s not. Just like any system, much of what is taught is based on being passed down, not tested against reality. When I see Levine make such a fatal mistake (one that is replicated time and time again), how can I possibly see him as being a mentor?
Levine continues to guide the weapon down his mid line. Remember that a bullet leaves a chamber at over 3000 feet per second, even with a reduced powder charge. At any moment, in real life, you can expect at least a single round to explode out the front and slam into Levine’s unprotected chest. It’s almost certain to be a shot that he dies from. All of his vital organs are exposed during the sequence. His heart, lungs, and other areas are right in the line of fire. Less than two pounds of pressure to the trigger is enough to end this conflict with the Levine lying on the floor taking his last breaths. And just to make it more in the favor of the person he’s trying to defend himself against, Levine adds upward opposing force to the weapon assuring that the assailant’s trigger finger is jammed down hard against the trigger, while the business end of the weapon is aimed up at the instructor’s own heart. Way to go. This is one of the most pathetic examples I have ever seen of a firearm disarmament. Horrible. I actually feel sorry for the guy, because anyone with an ounce of intellect should look at this and realize he’s seriously screwed up (Fig 5).
To add insult to injury, Levine puts in yet another sequence in the video; obviously he wanted to drive home that he’s an expert on disarming attackers, as this is a video clip between other instructional segments. For me, it drives home how grossly incompetent he appears to be on this particular topic. Check out the next sequence found later on in the video. Here he is (Fig 6) just relaxing against a wall waiting to be attacked by one of his buddies with a red gun. He’s a pretty cool cat.
Next, his buddy comes at him in full force (I guess) to jam the weapon into his face. Personally, I’d maintain a safe distance from anyone I’m pointing a weapon at. I learned a long time ago that people can transverse 21 feet within seconds to close that gap, so why give them less distance to move? But hey, that’ s just me. Obviously not all criminals (or, I guess, some instructors) are that smart. Here comes his left hand again. One wonders why Levine favors that hand; in every example I could find he seems to think that his left hand is the right choice, in all cases, for frontal attacks (Fig 7).
As if moving the weapon across your mid line wasn’t enough, in another spectacular demonstration of stupidity Levine fails to use his surroundings to his benefit (Fig 8).You’ll notice that he has a wall to his left. That’s the direction he should have moved anyway, given that the assailant is holding the weapon in his right hand. The proper technique is to clear the weapon the shortest distance, which is counter clockwise when the weapon is in his right hand, and clockwise when it’s in his left. This means the weapon has the least amount of distance to travel, an argument many in Krav Maga seem to oppose given the instructional material put out. The less distance to travel means the less of your body that is in the line of fire during the execution of a disarmament technique; in another video, one instructor went so far as to suggest you should never put your hands up because it’s too obvious when you make a movement towards the weapon, as if moving it all the way from a hanging position would be less conspicuous. In this case Levine could have used the wall to slam the person’s hand against, which would have an excellent effect on the attacker’s ability to retain his grip on the weapon.
Now, to make matters worse, the instructor decides that his best course of action is to throw a punch instead of securing the weapon with both hands (Fig 9).
Levine attempts to deliver a right cross (at least I think that’s what it was supposed to be, because he actually passes his head all together; even in training you should make sure all of your movements go to the target to assure you develop muscle memory) and fully extends himself both with the punch and his base stance that appears nearly twice the width of his shoulders (Fig 10).
Levine is so crossed up, it’s crazy. I can’t for the life of me understand why he’d act like this is really something people should do if forced to defend themselves against an attacker. His left hand is totally extended across his body to the right, and his right hand has fully passed the person’s head. I’m blown away by the lack of control he displays during dynamic movement, especially when one considers that he’s the senior instructor at his organization. What makes it even more devastating is that he’s demonstrating a truly dangerous technique. If Levine said this scene was for a movie, then I’d laugh it off as being typical Hollywood, but he’s not; this is an instructional video from an organization that TEACHES self defense; the changes of this working to your advantage in real life are very low — a statement I can demonstrate time and time again with the right equipment.
In this second to last example, I’m starting to see something that may redeem this piss poor display of tactics. Levine’s decided to secure the weapon (finally) with both hands (Fig 11). He’s also closed the gap, tightened up his stance, and reduced his center of gravity just a bit. Of course this is in part simply because he had to given his stretched out stance previously. In this situation, assuming he didn’t get shot as he crossed the weapon from his left to right in the first place, now the weapon is pointing out away from him; that’s a good thing obviously.
Alright, Levine’s done something of value (sort of) here. He’s grabbed the firearm with both hands — one of the top, which provides significant leverage and is relatively safe given this is a revolver (wheel gun) rather than an automatic with a slide. His right hand has secured the bottom and he’s applying opposing force while pulling at the same time. This combined with the retreating movement (withdraw) from the opposition facilitates a quasi wrist turn out, which is a decent manipulative control (Fig 12). It looks to me like he’s used a modified wrist lock common to Jujitsu, Aikido, and other arts.
There was more, but I just couldn’t stand to bring it all up here. All-in-all, out of five stars, these two brief demonstrations on the First Strike video combined with the lackluster educational content leave me with no choice but to assign one star only. To be honest, I felt the over all content of the video is amateurish and lacking in value. While production quality was okay, each lesson left out critical aspects and felt scripted rather than being taught from the perspective of instructors who truly knew the material inside and out. And to be frank, that’s pretty damn sad when you consider this was a basic level tape (and I do mean BASIC). Far from instructional lessons, this particular volume was nothing more than a demonstration video at best to me. I can’t recommend it to my readers. I’d suggest you save your money for something else.
About the reviewer:
James L. Clark is a former soldier who served in combat arms and with special operations; he is an accomplished author, speaker, and educator who holds scores of certifications, graduated from a police academy, attended law school, earned an MBA, and is the only American to have graduated with a Masters of Science in Global Security with a focus on US Homeland Security from the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, at the Royal Military College of Science. He’s currently a professional instructor with more than two decades of experience teaching combatatives, firearms, field medicine, and a variety of other topics related to the tactical, operational, and strategic environments. He’s served all over the world in and out of uniform in the real world boots on the ground, and regularly shares that experience with thousands of people each year.