Krav Maga Control and Restraint Holds (Yellow-Brown Belts)
Krav maga employs eight different escort control holds designed to move a prisoner or control a belligerent person. Anyone who has had to control or restrain a determined resisting subject (“controlee”) understands the difficulty of applying minimum use-of-force controls. Accordingly, krav maga advocates using a “softener” combative or series of combatives targeting the “green” zones or anatomical targets that, when struck, will not result in long-term physical damage or death.
The control holds switch from one control tactic to another when a person resists. The switch is a form of retzev. These holds can be applied by one or two escorting or controlling officers, agents, or security personnel. Part of our specific focus in krav maga is to allow multiple responding personnel to subdue a person quickly and efficiently without placing pressure or force against a controlee’s spine, base of the neck, or throat.
Krav maga also has countermeasures to its own control holds; however, once again with the goals of this book in mind, these are not depicted but reserved for vetted, in-person training. In learning the countermeasures to our own control holds, our trainees become more efficient in administering the control holds.
Standing Escort Control Holds #1-7 may also be used to take a hostile third party swiftly and efficiently to the ground to apply restraints, to wait for additional help, or to de-escalate a situation.