Whether at home or traveling abroad, being attacked is always a possibility.  Most of today’s common self-defense programs teach one aspect of defense or focus on techniques that follow rules set up by a sporting commission.  In the real world, there are no rules and attackers can strike using numerous techniques and with weapons.    To be confident that you can defeat real world attackers, you have to be trained in a variety of different self-defense techniques.

Mclean Self Defense is the only school in the DC area that teaches Haganah, the most well rounded, easy to learn self-defense program available today.   Haganah is based on military combat instruction, where students need to develop basic proficiency in a few months or risk getting killed.  There is no better training for anyone wanting to achieve practical, real-life self-defense capability in a short period of time. 

Our school is comprised of men and women of all shapes and sizes and from all backgrounds that have come together to learn the most powerful self-defense techniques for defeating real attackers in real-world situations, while getting in great shape and developing a mindset that enables you to deal more effectively with everyday challenges.

Mclean Self Defense serves the Northern Virginia and DC Metro area with instruction in Haganah/F.I.G.H.T., the most formidable reality-based self-defense system available today.  No other school in Virginia or the DC Metro area offers the world's most effective, no-frills practicality of Haganah, the ultimate combat system of the Israeli Special Forces.  Classes are taught by Bill Grinnell, one the country's few black belts in Haganah.

Classes involve light contact to simulate attacks and defenses and moderate physical exercise to enhance physical conditioning.  The Haganah classes are taught in Tysons Corner at our sister school, the American Fight Club.  For more information about the American Fight Club, go to www.afcva.com.

Try a class for free!  You won’t be subjected to any pushy sales pitches or other hassles.  Contact us for more information or to let us know when you would like to try your first class.

Haganah/F.I.G.H.T. Overview

Are you looking to develop devastatingly effective self-defense skills that will work against larger, stronger, and faster opponents and won’t take years to learn?  Then Haganah/F.I.G.H.T., the ultimate combat system of the Israeli Special Forces, is for you.

Haganah is the Hebrew word for "defense."  It is also a complete combative methodology based on a combination of Israeli martial arts and military tactics, including Krav Maga, Hisardut, KAPAP and LOTAR. F.I.G.H.T. stands for "Fierce Israeli Guerrilla Hand-to-Hand Tactics." The F.I.G.H.T program encompasses the hand-to-hand, empty-hand vs. knife, empty-hand vs. gun, and ground survival components of Haganah. The remaining components involve tactical knife fighting and combat shooting. Haganah is the world's only martial art that incorporates all types of combat.

Haganah Self-Defense Principles

While effective in an infinite array of situations, Haganah self-defense is based on a few simple principles.

• Avoid getting hit
• Don't be fancy
• Defend yourself in the quickest, safest and most effective way
• Use the opponent’s vulnerable and weak points
• Don't rely on strength
• Use available objects as weapons
• If forced to fight, no rules, no limits

Maximum Efficiency in Minimal Time

Other martial arts require years of training to develop the level of proficiency that allows students to emerge successfully from real-life altercations. While great for instructors, this is not so good for students who might need to defend themselves in the immediate future. But Haganah is different. Haganah derives from military combat instruction, where students need to develop basic proficiency in a few months or risk getting killed. There is no better training for anyone wanting to achieve practical, real-life self-defense capability in a short period of time.

Haganah was designed to be not only effective, but easy to learn. Students are exposed to the system's entire repertoire over a four month cycle, called a rotation. Because Haganah primarily utilizes a small core of simple but effective techniques that are repeated over and over until they are committed to muscle memory, the student begins to see results almost immediately. Proficiency increases with repeated rotations, but after four months, the committed student will already possess a solid foundation for dealing with all types of altercations.

A Continuously Evolving Self-Defense System

Unlike most martial arts, Haganah incorporates only tactics that have proven effective in the field, and continually adds and discards elements based on information from both military operations and the experiences of practitioners in Haganah classes. As a result, the student gains access to ever more refined techniques and strategies that have been tested in situations ranging from counterterrorism activities to deadly street fighting to effectively disabling a would-be mugger. The Haganah student will be prepared to deal with all types and levels of threats, and will instinctively know how to calibrate a response.

Is Haganah for You?

Whether you are a trained professional looking to improve your combat readiness or a civilian new to self-defense training, you will gain tremendous benefits from training in Haganah. Haganah is a comprehensive self-defense system designed so that anyone--regardless of size, strength, or previous martial arts experience--can successfully utilize it to defeat an adversary. It is useful even in multiple attacker scenarios or when you are at an extreme physical disadvantage. It is also the ideal combat art for military and law enforcement personnel, as well as individuals employed in the private security field. Anyone training in Haganah will learn battle-tested techniques that have saved the lives of troops and agents operating in the most extreme conditions.

If you want or need to develop practical self-defense skills right away, there simply is no better martial art training than Haganah. And while the Haganah curriculum at Mclean Self Defense routinely receives the highest marks from combat professionals, our program is equally well suited for individuals with no prior self-defense experience. In fact, because Haganah does not rely on strength and is easy to learn, it’s ideal for physically smaller, less athletically inclined, or less fit individuals. Though we promise you that training in Haganah will whip you into shape quickly!

Women's Self Defense and Haganah

Haganah has already been proven effective for women in combat situations. In Israel, all citizens, including women, are required to serve in the military, where the techniques of Haganah were developed. The simple, effective, rapid-fire techniques of Haganah are designed to demolish even the strongest attacker by targeting his most vulnerable areas. A woman trained in Haganah will have the advantage in confrontation even against a much larger, more powerful man. She will have the advantage of automatically knowing what to do, and where and how to strike.

As a female student of Haganah, you will carry yourself with increased confidence. Whatever circumstances you encounter, you will approach them knowing you are prepared to defend yourself and win.

Self-Defense against Weapons

Haganah takes a unique approach to weapons training. While students aren't required to learn tactical knife fighting or combat shooting (though both are part of the available curriculum), they will learn about guns and knives in order to better defend themselves against them. Most martial arts disarmament techniques are taught by instructors who aren't necessarily knowledgeable about how to use the weapons themselves. In Haganah, the integrated training system ensures that the student learns how guns work, how to operate a safety, and how a competent knife-wielding opponent is likely to react. This leads to much better preparation and understanding of how to deal with real-life scenarios involving weapons.

Haganah/F.I.G.H.T - Training beyond Self-Defense

The Haganah program at Mclean Self Defense does more than equip students with invaluable self-defense skills. The intense training regimen guarantees improved fitness and muscle tone with an emphasis on speed, strength, flexibility and coordination. You will gain increased confidence, focus and discipline, as well as greater poise and resourcefulness. These traits will benefit every aspect of your life, enabling you to deal more capably with any situation you encounter, be it at work, school, or home.

The Mclean Self Defense Advantage

At the Mclean Self Defense, you will learn to defend yourself against real-life attackers with automatic and effective precision. Our small class sizes and expert black belt instruction assure you an optimal learning experience while you train in a deceptively simple combat system that is direct, fast, and powerful.  Classes involve light contact to simulate attacks and defenses and fitness routines designed to improve your physical conditioning.

Haganah classes are open to men, women, and children ages 13 and over. Weekly classes run Sundays through Thursdays.   Try a class for free!  You won’t be subjected to any pushy sales pitches or other hassles.   Contact us for more information or to let us know when you will try your first class.

Try a class for free!  You won’t be subjected to any pushy sales pitches or other hassles.  Contact us via email or by calling (703) 679-7512 for more information or to let us know when you would like to try your first class.