Fighting to be fit

A large man jabbed a knife at my face. He yelled and came close, a madness in his eyes. I blocked and punched, deflecting the assault in a simulated fight for my life.

As workouts go, mock knife attacks are rare. So are targeted kicks to the groin. But at Krav Maga Minneapolis (www.kravmagampls.com), a self-defense class that mixes exercise with combat moves, instructors strive to conjure real-life survival scenarios.

"If we do pushups, we do it with someone attacking you," said Gail Boxrud, a Minneapolis instructor certified by the International Krav Maga Federation in Israel.

Krav Maga, which translates to "contact combat" in Hebrew, was developed into a martial art within the Israeli Defense Force. It takes cues from boxing, judo, jujitsu and other established disciplines. But the system banks on basic survival, escape and evasion before worrying about style and perfect form.

Moves are simple and straightforward. They are easy to retain, taking advantage of a person's instinct and common reaction in a time of distress.

Krav Maga is not usually practiced as a sport, and the fixtures of many martial arts -- uniforms, belts, rankings, sparring matches -- are for the most part absent. The technique's founder, Imi Lichtenfeld, a Budapest-born Jew who died in 1998, had a famous line about his discipline for self-defense: "So that one may walk in peace."

Last week, in a gritty gym in Uptown Minneapolis, peace was not foremost on my mind. Dante Pastrano, a 6-foot kickboxer, had his hands wrapped around my neck, and he was yelling.

I'd come to try Krav Maga in a private session. Boxrud, 50, is one of only a few instructors in the region. Since 2007, she has taught the technique to about 150 people, including security workers and police officers. She runs classes four days a week in a rented space on Lyndale Avenue as well as at the St. Paul Jewish Community Center.

Martial Arts America in Chaska (www.maakravmaga.com), also offers Krav Maga instruction three nights a week.

Pastrano, a former bouncer, received Krav Maga certification last summer, and he works with Boxrud to teach men and women from all walks of life. My session, an hourlong introduction, included background on Krav Maga philosophy and some psychology on self-defense situations. On the mat, a rubber knife at my feet, Pastrano was not shy about moving me into the heat of the simulated moment.

"Don't move! Get down!" he yelled, hands tight on my throat.

I struggled to get free, helpless in a death grip. Boxrud stood nearby to demonstrate a move. Her right arm shot up, and her left foot stepped back. I followed the lead, twisting to shed Pastrano's grip, then bringing an elbow down to force his hands away from my body.

There are hundreds of moves in Krav Maga, including methods to deal with domestic violence or an attacker with a gun. In one session, Boxrud teaches moves for fighting while seated in a car.

"If someone is coming to attack you, there are no rules," she said.

On the mat with Pastrano, she showed off a sequence: block, punch, twist, kick.

"Break his knee on the way out," she said, tapping a foot to the front of Pastrano's leg.

Her technique was fluid, unforgiving. Pastrano moved in, and Boxrud front-kicked his groin.

"Go for the weak points," she said.

In real life, Krav Maga provides an escape during a dire situation, one that most practitioners hope never to see. But for Mark Pannaralla, a student of Boxrud, the discipline saved him from an assault one night on Nicollet Mall.

Working as a bouncer, Pannaralla, 36, had escorted three rowdy patrons outside.

"The lead guy got mouthy, and then all three of them came at me," he said. What happened next -- a swift kick from Pannaralla to the solar plexus of the main perpetrator -- took place in a blink. He didn't stop to think.

"The move was second nature," he said. It was also effective. One kick was all it took, Pannaralla said. "The leader was down, and the others were backing away," he said.

On the mat with Boxrud and Pastrano -- kicks flying, blocks sent up at ease -- I could see why the bad guys had let the bouncer be.