A training programme for prison personnel on Krav Maga, an unarmed combat system, was inaugurated at the Madurai Central Prison here on Sunday by Commissioner of Police Sanjay Mathur.
According to the prison officials, 70 prison personnel from the State will attend the training programme in Chennai for three months.
The training will also be extended to all the police units as per the instructions of the Chief Minister and the Director General of Police. On Sunday, 10 prison staff from the Madurai Central Prison and S. Sree Ram, the coordinator and instructor of the Chennai Chapter of Krav Maga, staged a demonstration of the combat techniques. Mr. Mathur said, “Krav Maga is easy to learn and effectual to control the mob. The combat system needs constant practise, or else it might be forgotten”, he said.
According to Mr. Sree Ram, the 70 prison personnel who undergo the first phase of training will train others. “Improvised weapons are common in prisons. If the prisoners attempt to assault the prison guards with knifes and other weapons, the Krav Maga system will be of help to the prison guards. We will train the prison guards on how to ensure their safety, to get out of the situation and take control of the prisoners,” Mr. Ram said.
The Chennai Chapter of Krav Maga trained around 70 women police personnel in Chennai on the combat system and the police were imparting the techniques to the students of corporation schools and various other institutions, he said.
Mr. Ram further said that a large number of women were eager to learn the Krav Maga combat system after several gang rape incidents were reported in the country. “We train the civilians how to overcome the problem and defend themselves against one or more persons. Whereas, for the police personnel we train them on how to overcome the situation and take control of it”, he said.
