Krav Maga defines "combatives" as the ballistic techniques used both in fighting and in self-defense.

Combatives are tools the instructor gives the trainee to help him/her in a fight for their life, to defend the life of another, or fighting for control over their own or the subject's handgun. They are an integral part of self-defense/officer safety. The peace officer may have been caught off guard by a sudden aggressive attack or may have been wounded during the attack and must continue to fight for their life. While Krav Maga self-defense techniques address the danger, it is usually combative techniques that eliminate subsequent threats and allow the peace officer to access higher force options.

The objective of this course is to teach the students how to effectively defend themselves and counter attack against a subject who uses personal body weapons to aggressively resist or attack them. The second part of this course will teach the student to disarm an assailant armed with a handgun and how to retain their weapon in and out of the holster or on the ground when grabbed by the assailant.

Self defense is the foundation of the Krav Maga Defensive Tactics System. The self defense module provides realistic hands-on training in defensive methods to enable officers to defend against a variety of hostile attacks; e.g., chokes, headlocks, bear hugs, including ground fighting scenarios.

Officers will learn to develop and deliver various highly effective counterattacks in order to quickly end the threat and regain control over the subject. (All Krav Maga techniques take into account the officer's need to secure his firearm.)

An important note on self defense and weapon retention: The number of police officers killed with their own handguns continues to be a serious problem facing U.S. law enforcement. Unfortunately, many handgun retention systems often ignore the fact that officers most often lose their sidearm during extended struggles (e.g., headlocks, chokes, punches, etc.) with subjects. Officers rarely have their weapon simply snatched from their person without a preceding struggle; therefore, a realistic weapon retention system must also address the struggle sequence preceding the taking of the officer's sidearm.

This module provides officers with an easy to learn, easy to recall, effective means of subject control. Speed, balance, and the application of the proper technique(s) will permit a trained officer to overcome low, moderate, and even highly aggressive resistance by the subject.

All exercises in this module are made effective by applying principles based on leverage, momentum, body position and angles. Officers learn to flow in the direction of the subject's resistance and apply techniques appropriate to the circumstances. Techniques should not create injury when properly applied. Important tactical communication techniques are emphasized so that officers can make the transition from initial application to appropriate de-escalation.

This section also deals with approaching and making contact with the subject including pat downs, handcuffing techniques, disarming techniques, and searching techniques.

Handcuffing and searching techniques include dealing with subjects who are standing, kneeling, seated or prone. Team takedowns and multiple contacts are also covered.

The objective of this course is to teach the student how to effectively defend himself or herself against a subject who attacks them using a chokehold or putting them in a headlock. The second part of this course will teach the student to defend him or herself when they are attacked and taken to the ground when grabbed by the assailant.

The ultimate goal is to keep the peace officer safe from harm and to give him/her the confidence and security to perform their duties effectively.

Course curriculum is designed to prevent injury to the individual and limit injury to the unruly subject, as well.

In this training module, Krav Maga introduces very basic issues on the ground - movement and counterattacks. The goal of the defender is to escape to a position of advantage (standing) as quickly as possible. This will include basic grappling skills applied in self-defense situations. These techniques are still basic, and are applied in self-defense situations only. While these techniques DO assume very strong attacks, they DO NOT address all the aspects of a ground fight. They are explosive responses to immediate threats, rather than the "chess match" response and counter-response moves of a larger ground-fighting program.

As you train and teach these techniques, be aware that there is a much larger world of ground fighting, and that these techniques are only a small portion based on self-defense responses only.

A Note on Krav Maga's Approach to Ground fighting: Whether you are proficient on the ground or not, Krav Maga's main object during a ground fight always remains the same: to get up as quickly as possible, and access higher force options if necessary or available.

During ground fights, the defender is extremely vulnerable to a second attacker or to stabs if the opponent produces an edged/pointed weapon, and the chance of losing your handgun or other equipment is increased the longer you remain on the ground.

A "stick" is the most obvious member of a family of weapons known as Impact Weapons. These can include not only baseball bats, pools cues, tire irons, "Club" car security devices, etc., but also handheld rocks, hammers, and any other striking instrument that does not possess a long, sharp edge or point. Although some of these weapons (such as a rock) do not create the distance-related dangers of a stick, the defense remains the same for all of these weapons.

This module teaches officers how to use a variety of impact weapons for defensive purposes and for counterattack against both an unarmed combative assailant and an assailant armed with a blunt object or edged weapon. Extensive training is devoted to striking valid target areas, as well as learning to incorporate pauses during an incident in order to accurately assess the effect of the impact weapon on the subject. Training includes techniques to gain distance/time to retrieve the impact weapon; combining other force options (i.e., hands, legs, etc.) with impact weapons; combining a body defense and blocking technique to form the earliest defense; combining a defense and simultaneous counterattack; and more.

Because the Krav Maga system is well-integrated, previously learned principles from other units (combatives, self defense, empty-hand defenses against an armed assailant) will be directly relevant and applicable to this module. An impact weapon is treated as a tool to be utilized as an extension of the officer's body.