Boston Krav Maga - Tactical Medical Training
Tactical First Aid
When the Boston Marathon bombings took place on April 15th, 2013, tourniquets proved to be one of the most effective solutions to dealing with many of the injuries that the casualties/victims of the bombings had. The lives that were saved in this way proved to us as a school that our Tactical Medical training was not only relevant, but essential – we offer such training free to students of the school.
If you would like to read an article that was published in The Atlantic, by a journalist who attended one of these seminars, please click here.
Because Krav Maga training involves dealing with a variety of weapon attacks (knife, stick, gun etc.), and recognizing that it is not always possible to come away from such incidents unscathed, we look to provide our students with the skills and knowledge to deal with knife and gunshot wounds, along with blunt trauma injuries that could occur as part of a baseball bat, etc. Unfortunately, medical training and first aid often gets overlooked when it comes to dealing with real-world violence, as those who train often want to believe that they will exit violent situations unharmed and uninjured. However, this may not actually be the case, and knowing what to do before professional help and assistance can get to you (or those with you), could mean the difference between life and death. It is easy to get caught up with the idea that learning how to defend yourself is all that is necessary to survive a violent altercation, however medical training is an essential part of any program that teaches survival.
Our "Tactical Medical" component is taught by qualified members of the Krav Maga Yashir Boston Instructor Team, who are qualified EMTs. The course content is similar, and based upon the Tactical Combat Casualty Care program (TCCC), that was designed and is in use by the US Military to treat battlefield casualties before they could be treated at a medical center. Our program is designed to take an untrained individual, and teach them basic life-savings skills in the shortest possible time (its goal is similar to that of Krav Maga in the IDF, which aims to get a new recruit combat ready with limited time and training). This is not a first aid at work course/program but one that deals with the injuries and trauma caused by extreme violence, such as from blasts/shrapnel, bullet and stab wounds, blunt trauma, etc.
The course is a mix of theory and practical, and is taught by an instructor who has firsthand experience of the subject matter he teaches; something which adds an extreme amount of value to those who attend these seminars and courses. Those participating get the chance to practice applying tourniquets, carrying “injured” persons, and treating bullet and blast wounds, under the supervision of somebody who has performed these tasks in real-life situations. This type and caliber of training is not readily available and we are extremely proud as a school to be able to offer it to our students.
Whilst we have always believed this type of training to be important and relevant, recent events have shown the importance of being able to treat injuries before the relevant authorities arrive. In any terrorist or active shooter situation, a person can bleed out in the time it takes for the security and medical agencies to mobilize and put a plan into action. Being able to be an active “bystander” in such situations may well put you in the position of saving lives that may otherwise have been lost.