ALGIERS, La. (WGNO) – Things are hot and sweaty in the Triumph Krav Maga studio on the Westbank, and there’s a lot of screaming and yelling going on. This hand-to-hand combat training is the official self-defense of the Israeli military.

It also happens in Algiers—and two other satellite locations in New Orleans—on a regular basis.

“We’re not a system where we teach people to fight fair—everything we teach you is so that you can win the fight and get home safe,” says owner and head instructor, Vinay Chary.

He let our cameras peek in on a self-defense lesson that’s part of a six-week challenge for women, teaching non-traditional martial arts techniques that focus on personal safety.

“Krav Maga is always designed for a smaller person to overcome a much larger attacker,” explains Chary. He says it’s exactly what you need to survive a surprise attack like the ones reported Uptown. A prowler (police say possibly the same man in all cases) has been breaking into women’s homes and watching them when they sleep. In at least one case, the suspect (described as a white male of medium build) put his hands over the woman’s mouth.

“The first thing you want to do is address the immediate danger which is the arm around your throat or the hand around your mouth,” says Chary.

Then, anything goes! But proper training will create a muscle memory that could save your life.

“Fight like an animal. You need to fight with everything that you have. Strike to the face, strike to the throat, strike to the groin. Whatever you can grab onto; stick your thumbs in their eyes! There are no rules in this situation,” insists Chary.

At the end of the day, you are your first responder; nobody’s coming to save you, that’s what I tell everybody in these classes,” he says.

Hear what Curt Sprang and Susy Roesgen think about this form of self-defense from this discussion on News With a Twist at 10pm: