What we do

Urban Fit & Fearless™offers self-defence classes and training in South London.

Thanks to our unique blend of conditioning and combatives, we're one of the top self-defence programmes in London.

With us, you'll get action-packed Krav Maga sessions where short, intense workouts alternate with simple self-defence drills.

• Learn to defend yourself (Urban Krav Maga system)

• Improve your physical condition: cardio + full body workout

• Enhance your confidence and self-esteem

• Learn to channel adrenaline and deal with aggressive behaviour

• Let off steam

What is Krav Maga ?

Krav Maga is a military self-defence system developed by the Israeli army after WW2. It is not a combat sport but a simple and effective fighting system designed for self-protection and physical training. It is intended to be practical and intuitive regardless of age, gender or physical ability.

Self-defence against knife attacks: evidence-based approach

By Patrice Bonnafoux ©2016
(last updated 2020)


We'll all agree that in order to adopt realistic methods of defence against knife attacks, we first need to understand how an attacker is most likely going to use his weapon.

But how do we get that understanding?

The truth is, we mostly rely on other people (the 'experts') to give us the answers.

The problem is that the Martial Arts / Self-Defence industry is plagued by misconceptions and fallacies.

That's why I decided to properly research on this topic. I wanted to understand the dynamics of real knife attacks and I wanted it to be based on evidence.

Luckily, in recent years CCTV and phone footages have provided us with abundance of real-life examples we can learn from.

Data were readily available for anyone who was willing to carry out the (tedious) analysis.

And today I'm going to share with you the results of my investigation where some interesting findings were uncovered.

Boxing, Pugilism and Self-Defence

Boxing/Fist fighting has a long tradition in human history. The earliest known depiction comes from Sumer (Iraq) and dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. Other depictions are found in Mesopotamia (Assyrian and Babylonian arts) and Anatolia (Hittite art) in the 2nd millennium BC while the earliest documented use of gloves is found on Minoan Crete (1650-1400 BC) and on Sardinia.

Krav Maga Grading System and Belts

For belts and grades, most Krav Maga organisations use the judo-based ranking system with coloured belts that Imi Lichtenfeld designed.

The belts go from white to black, and there are 9 Dans (aka "Dargas") for the Black belt. The time and requirements for advancing from one belt to the other vary with each organisation.

Some other Krav Maga organisations, mostly outside Israel, use coloured patches instead of belts. There are only 3 colours, Yellow, Blue and Red. In the patch system which was developed by Eyal Yanilov in the late 1980's, the grades are divided into 3 main categories:

• Practitioner (P)
• Graduate (G)
• Expert (E). 

Each category has 5 ranks: P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, then G1-G5 and E1-E5.

Training Grades and Belts