Have you ever seen one of those spy movies that have you leaving the theater wishing you were a kung-fu expert? I know when I saw the new batman movie I spent days obsessing over how I could learn to fight like Anne Hathaway’s version of Catwoman. Black tights or not, I wanted to be her.

Now let’s fast forward to the real world. We get emails almost every day alerting us of a new crime that has taken place near campus. Our campus police do a darn good job at keeping us safe, but what happens when we still find ourselves in sketchy situations? Sometimes fight or flight becomes the only option.

So let’s talk about Krav Maga. It is the national fighting form of Israel and is often regarded as one of the best forms of street survival Instead of blocking a punch and then delivering a punch back, you can block and attack all in one move. This is the ultimate self- defense style because you don’t need to be a six foot seven man of steel to fight effectively.

Brazilian Jui-jitsu is a whole different ball game. This style of fighting won’t cause black eyes and bruises. More like broken ankles, snapped wrists and the absolute wind knocked out of your opponent’s lungs. The point is to knock your rival off their feet before using chokeholds to immobilize them. If you aren’t afraid to get up close and personal with an assailant, then this may be the style for you.

Now, before you start swinging your fists of fury all over New Orleans, let me put out a quick disclaimer. Violence is not the answer. Meeting someone to throw down is not what martial arts is for, nor would Iggy approve. If you actually want to take up the art of fighting, do so for the proper reasons.

Cami Thomas is a business senior who studied Capoeira for two years and Krav Maga for one summer. She can be reached at [email protected]