American actress Jessica Alba has been a Krav Maga fan for years. But now the Mechanic: Resurrection costar of British actor Jason Statham is crediting the official self-defense system of the Israel Defense Forces for her ability to perform her own stunts in the new action-thriller.

“I did all my stunts for Mechanic: Resurrection. Hand-to-hand combat is where I’m home,” Alba told Us Weekly.

The 35-year-old buff mother of two, who proved her martial-arts skills in the sci-fi series Dark Angel in the early 2000s and again in 2005’s Fantastic Four, first posted about her love for Krav Maga in 2014. She shared a video of her training, with fourth-degree black belt Michael Margolin of Krav Maga Worldwide, to her social media feeds.

“It gets you in good shape and you’re also learning a skill. It’s an effective workout because of the kicking and punching with the resistance of another individual,” said Margolin.

Now, as she does the press rounds to drum up interest for Mechanic: Resurrection, Alba – who, in addition to being a Hollywood actor is also cofounder of household products venture The Honest Company — is once again praising this Israeli hand-to-hand combat system.

“I jumped at the opportunity,” she told US morning talk show Today about her role as tough girl Gina. “Also being able to see the female lead not just be the damsel in distress, but get to actually get in there and do the action and kick some butt.”

Krav Maga, which literally means “contact combat” in Hebrew, has long been the go-to fitness trend for Hollywood actors.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt trained in Krav Maga for their roles in By the Sea. Jolie famously learned the Israeli contact sport for her roles in the Tomb Raider series as well.

Other high-profile disciples to have turned to this technique to buff up for film roles include Kristanna Loken, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Lopez and Shannon Elizabeth, among others.

Of course, Krav Maga is not just for entertainers. The technique is taught to law-enforcers and thousands of civilians in the United States and around the world.

The simple, effective self-defense system emphasizes instinctive movements and realistic training scenarios.

“You take your opponent down basically with anything that’s around as quickly as possible and then you get out of the situation, so it’s brutal, it’s fast, to the point, and it was fun to do!” Alba told the Today show.