Real Self-Defence in the North East! Welcome to Cleveland Krav Maga. Based in the North East, but now with training opportunities UK-wide, we are a club at the cutting-edge of practical, effective self-defence and self-protection. We practice a system that includes Urban Krav Maga (UKM). UKM is one of the fastest-growing self-defence systems in the UK. Why? Because it's easy to learn and it works. It's that simple. Why does our system work?

Because there's a lot more to effective self-defence than just learning a bunch of clever tricks. You need to understand why you may be targeted, how you are likely to be approached, and what that will feel like. How will you react? If you freeze, all the clever tricks are a waste of time. You need to know how to avoid confrontation altogether if you can, and learn what to expect, and how to control your reactions and responses if you can't.

Our aim is that all our students develop a working strategy to avoid trouble whenever possible, together with the genuine ability to deal with real violence quickly and effectively, if they have to.

Our system is built on a simple, effective Personal Security Strategy, including training in Awareness, Avoidance, Escape and Conflict Management, as well as unarmed combat.  Our reality-based training focuses on all aspects of urban self-protection and self-defence.

What is Krav Maga?

It's a hebrew phrase meaning 'contact combat' or 'close combat' and it describes the close-quarter combat training given to the Israel Defence Force (IDF) and Israeli special forces. All adults in Israel must do national service, so it's a system that must work effectively for everyone, regardless of gender, size or strength.

How is Urban Krav Maga (UKM) different?

It's a civilian system, adapted and developed for use by civilians in all kinds of self-defence situations.  All of our techniques and strategies are based on proven principles. They are tried and tested, we know they work, and we are happy for you to judge them on their own merits.

UKM is a solution-oriented system. We don't spend months or years perfecting techniques before learning their practical applications like many traditional martial arts. Nor do we learn 'self-defence applications' that are too stylised or complicated to work in the real world. Our approach is 100% practical - "what's the threat, and how do we deal with it, simply and effectively?". You will learn real, useable skills in your first lesson, and in every lesson. 

We draw on the best elements of UKM, MMA (cage fighting), Keysi, Muay Thai and British Military CQC to constantly refine and improve what we do. But we take from them only the skills and principles that work in real urban combat situations. If something works in the dojo, the ring or the cage, but not on the street, then it doesn't make it into our system.

Thugs, muggers and rapists don't 'play by the rules', so our system is definitely not a sport. We routinely train in the use of self-defence techniques that are banned from all martial arts competitions and combat sports, including MMA, because they are considered too dangerous (which really means 'too effective') for use in a sporting context.

We also train in defence against weapons, especially knives. The UK Home Office British Crime Survey statistics for 2009/10 record 42,448 reported attacks involving knives and sharp instruments. That's 116 every single day. 196  of them (4 per week) were fatal. Not surprisingly, we consider this aspect of our training very important.

To gain acceptance into our system a technique must be  rigorously tested against our core principles: It must be quick and easy to learn, simple to use, and it must work under pressure. Our self-defence system works for men, women and teenagers, regardless of size, weight, strength or 'punching  power'.

Our training focuses on realistic "what if..." scenarios, teaching you key principles that you can adapt to enable you to deal with any situation that might arise.

What will you learn at Cleveland Krav Maga?

• Defences to the 10 most common forms of attack (based on UK police statistics, and accounting for the way 96% of attacks begin)
• Defence against weapons - especially knives, but including bottles, baseball bats, pool cues, and more - even handguns!
• Defensive fighting on the ground
• Defence against multiple attackers
• Defence against sex attacks (53,239 sex attacks were reported in 2009) 
• Defending other people
• Breakaways and escapes
• Control & Restraint
• Awareness and avoidance strategies
• Dealing with verbal aggression
• Understanding the psychology of violence and overcoming fear
• The Law of Self-Defence
  
  And more...

We also offer, anywhere in the UK, a series of intensive group courses lasting one or two days, and a range of Personal Security seminars for those who feel they would benefit from learning a comprehensive 'Stay Safe' strategy without (or as well as) learning the physical self-defence skills.

We can offer: an intensive one or two-day Rape Defence Programme
                      one & two-day women's self-defence courses,
                      one & two-day men's self-defence courses, 
                      a two day control and restraint & third party defence course, and
                      a personal security seminar, customised to your requirements.

We can also put together customised courses to suit your specific requirements, and location is not a problem as long as you can find a suitable venue. We can help you with that.

You will find full details of these courses at the foot of our 'Train with Us' page...

For further information:

Please contact Phil Lyons   07985 22 66 56   phil@clevelandkravmaga.com   or continue to explore our site.