Further Information
Book: Basics and Principles of Self-Defense
Second corrected and revised edition in Germany 2023, first published in English 2024. Detailed explanations on 226 pages with more than 460 illustrations. Available in every bookstore and on the Internet as:
- Paperback
Text and illustrations in black and white
ISBN-13: 978-3-7578-1363-5
Price incl. VAT: 22,00 € - E-Book
Text and illustrations in black and white
ISBN-13: 978-3-7583-9563-5
Price incl. VAT: 11,99 €
About the Author
Bernd Irmscher was born 1960 in Essen, Germany, gaining his first experiences in Judo at the age of 10 and practicing Karate since the age of 15. One of the main reasons for his interest in Far Eastern Martial Arts is the fascination of being able to neutralize a seemingly superior opponent more through technical skills than sheer violence. On vacation or whenever a good opportunity arises, he enjoys to explore and learn about various Martial Arts. In 2013 he obtained the certification as a self-defense trainer from the the German Karate Association. In addition to Karate, since around 2009, he has been training the Israeli self-defense system Krav Maga and obtained the qualification as a Krav Maga Instructor from the Krav Maga Union in 2015. For many years, he has been conducting self-defense courses and training sessions in clubs, companies, and public institutions.
Self-Defense-Videos
Mirror-image grip on the wrist with one hand
Lapel grip with one hand (soft defense)
Stranglehold from the front with two hands
Stranglehold from the rear with a forearm
Side headlock while standing
Protected Getting Up Forward
You can find these and other videos on the Internet here on YouTube.
All videos are based on illustrations from the book presented above, which were created by Verena Hahn on the basis of photos taken by Rüdiger Butterbach.
More Videos on Self-Defense, Krav Maga and Combatives on YouTube
Kelly McCann
J. Kelly McCann is a former special operations officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and was responsible for hostage rescue operations and counterterrorism training during his service. After his military service, he conducted international training for government agencies, corporations, law enforcement and security forces through his company Kembativz, LLC.
Geoff Thompson
Geoff Thompson is a book and screenplay author and world-renowned self-defense expert. He holds a black belt in judo and karate and has published many non-fiction books on self-defense, fear management and martial arts based on his many years of experience as a bouncer, among other things. One of his core topics is the transferability of traditional fighting styles from the dojo to real-life application on the street.
Lee Morrison
Lee Morrison is the founder of the self-defense system “Urban Combatives” (UC). As a result of more than 40 years of training in various martial arts and countless personal experiences on the street and as a bouncer outside clubs, UC has been a purely principle-based method since 1999, which consists of comparatively few, effective and above all simple elements, but which have proven themselves many times over in real combat situations for this very reason.
Alain Formaggio
Alain Formaggio works for the French police as a self-defense and special forces instructor for various federal authorities in France. His martial arts career began at the age of around 13 with Karate. He later added French Boxing and Krav Maga. In 1998, he was graduated as a Krav Maga Instructor by Eyal Yanilov, a student of Imrich Lichtenfeld (founder of Krav Maga). Alain Formaggio has been a recognized self-defence expert around the world for many years.
Mick Coup
Mick Coup, with his extensive knowledge of many combat systems, active military service and specialized security operations, has a reputation for saying things the way they really are, not just the way many would like them to be. His techniques are based on a wealth of experience, gained at high risk, uncompromising and hard work, and have been proven in practice many times over.
Tony Blauer
Tony Blauer has been active in the fields of martial arts, self-defense, defensive tactics and martial arts for over forty years. His research into the neuroscience of fear and fright led to the development of the SPEAR System ®, a modern personal defense system based on physiology, physics and psychology. It has been used by defensive tactics and combat trainers around the world for over 30 years.
Rory Miller
Rory Miller spent seventeen years in law enforcement as an officer and sergeant in high security, detention, and mental health, leading a tactical team and teaching topics such as defense tactics and violence prevention, first aid, and crisis communication with the mentally ill. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, served in the National Guard as a Combat Medic, earned college degrees in Judo and Fencing, and received a Mokuroku (Japanese “catalog”), a type of award for an instructor's skill level in Jiu-Jitsu.
Konstantin Lechev
Konstantin Lechev teaches combatives, gives seminars and workshops for civilians, bouncers, law enforcement, security and military groups. For more than 25 years he has trained in a variety of Eastern and Western martial arts, including boxing, karate, Muay Thai, Jeet Kune Do and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He worked as a bouncer for a while, which further strengthened his understanding of reality. Among others, he trained with Lee Morrison, the founder of Urban Combatives and Richard Dimitri, the founder of Senshido.
Peter Weckauf
Peter Weckauf is a qualified trainer in adult education, author, state-certified safety specialist and a renowned trainer at home and abroad (Germany, Italy, Spain, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Finland, etc.). He began practicing martial arts in 1978 at the age of 15. He is an instructor for Krav Maga, Jeet Kune Do, Eskrima, Kali, Luta Livre and a trainer in Wing Tsun as well as a state-certified Boxing Instructor. He has been teaching private individuals, professional groups and authorities in various courses and seminars for over 30 years and is the founder and developer of T.C.S. Knife Fighting Concept and S.D.S. Concept as well as the head of the AKMA Austrian Krav Maga Association.
Knife Attacks
Knives are unfortunately all too often underestimated as weapons; however, it must always be borne in mind: Knives are always sharp, pointed and unsecured, i.e. unlike firearms, knives are practically always “loaded”. In addition, they are very easy to obtain and are often difficult to see in poor lighting or in a scuffle. For these reasons, knives are among the most dangerous weapons »on the street«.
The videos compiled here are intended to illustrate this, raise awareness and help people to realistically assess knife attacks. Only with this understanding can (survival) strategies for dealing with such attacks be developed.
Self-Defense - Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous.This playlist contains videos from various sources, fighting and self-defense systems and topics, in which different aspects of self-defense are looked at in detail.
WEISSER RING - WHITE RING
Even if an attack has been survived and even successfully fended off, this does not mean that everything is automatically “all over”. Depending on the intensity of the situation, your own history, your social environment and many other influencing factors, it can take a very long time to come to terms with an experience of violence in such a way that you can continue to lead an unaffected life afterwards.
Victims and their families can find advice and support from the non-profit aid organization WEISSER RING, which is active in several European countries and is therefore also represented in many German cities with various contact points and facilities for crime victims and their families.
