What is Krav Maga Training?
We get asked a lot of questions about Krav Maga Training. So I’m collating all of the questions we get asked into this blog with Krav Maga Videos, Links and other goodies.
What is Krav Maga Training?
Krav Maga is a series of state of the art self-defence tactics and techniques. It provides solutions for self-defence scenarios where this is 1 or many assailants who pose an immediate threat to your person or the life of a third party that you are willing to protect.
Krav Maga was originally developed by the Israeli Defence Forces and various branches of the security services by Imi Sde-Or and was only later adapted to civilian needs.
Krav Maga is a Hebrew name that means contact fight.
Although it is more about avoiding a fight where possible and only fighting if there is no alternative or more efficient solution to the threat that you are experiencing.
The system is designed to be easy to learn, but as some of the threats that we can face are fairly complex. From hostage scenarios to protecting a third person. It’s important to train regularly to be able to apply these techniques under stressful circumstances.
What is unique about Krav Maga is that the system works equally well for children, teens, adults, men or women.
It’s because the movements are very similar to the bodies of natural reactions. Using our flinch reflex to apply the techniques in the system makes them quicker to learn and more likely to be applied under situations of stress.
In a Krav Maga class, you will typically experience a mixture of the following elements of self-defence training.
Combatives, this is the kicking, punching and blocking skills. There’s a lot of tools that we can use on the human body for inflicting pain and damage to an assailant. Most people typically assume that all Krav Maga classes involve a lot of groin kicking.
The reality is that you practise targeting the vulnerable point of the human body and generating force with your striking.
This is probably the number 1 skill in protecting yourself against a violent attack.
Within Krav Maga training you’ll also experience self-defence techniques.
These can be either standing or on the ground. Standing techniques can be releases from holds, grabs, pulls, chokes, strangulation and throws.
This training is all delivered through technical, tactical, physical and mental training experiences.
Ground-based problems can be very similar, but your movements are much more restricted.
There are also weapon defences. These can be from threats or actual attacks such as with a knife, club, bat, rifle, machete, crowbar or gun.
There are also third party protection elements within Krav Maga training. This can be from a professional perspective as a bodyguard with a VIP to protect. Similarly, as a parent you could be protect a child or as a security guard, protecting a work colleague.
Krav Maga is training for real-life violence. From your first lesson, you’ll see how practical it is. You’ll practice live on focus pads, kick shields, punch bags, tombstones and any other equipment that can help you to progress.
There is a lot of emphasis on aggression in training, but safety too so you go home after a lesson in one piece, but bumps and bruises are not uncommon from an intensive class.
Krav Maga Training Links:
Max Krav Maga – Video Library Resource
Is Krav Maga any good?
There are lots of people out there with opinions on whether Krav Maga works or it’s bullshido?
The first thing you need to understand about self defence is that without Krav Maga, we’re still all very capable of protecting ourselves.
We have strong leg muscles, sharp teeth, nails, shoes, thick bone on our bodies. We’re well designed for combat as a species.
All you’re getting with Krav Maga is the opportunity to enhance these tools, with the least amount of effort making them as efficient and effective as possible for the purposes of self defence. Krav Maga achieves this by building your confidence and through play you refine the skills you already have so that you’re capable of applying them under pressure.
With this in mind, it’s not Krav Maga that works. it’s your exposure to training it in the most intensive and realistic way that will determine whether it will work for you or not.
When you’re learning to drive a car, how do you think you would drive if you only practised in a car park without getting on a road with actual traffic. You would be able to drive the car, but would you freeze when the traffic started flowing faster. Would you hesitate to pull out or using roundabouts?
Krav Maga is no different to driving. When you pass your test and take your first visit on the road without an instructor next to you. Your driving is a little wobbly, it’s not at the level you were driving with an instructor next to you. But the training and experience you had were enough for you to get by safely. Why should Krav Maga training be any different?
Jo Rogan discussion on whether Krav Maga is legit
Fighting Tips discussion on whether Krav Maga Works
Is Krav Maga a Martial Art?
Krav Maga Worldwide says that “A martial art is a codified system of physical movements meant for a competitive, combat, or combat-like activity. Krav Maga, on the other hand, is more properly defined as a practical self defense system. It combines effective techniques from other arts, including wrestling, boxing, and street fighting, forming a system of powerful combat skills.”
You can read the full article here.
I would argue that Krav Maga can be both.
There is an art within Krav Maga as you can choreograph how an attacker is most likely to respond, how you should attack and also what you expect the student to know. You’ll start to seen global groups of Krav Maga clubs teaching and training in near-identical ways. To me, this is an art form.
However, once you start training in Krav Maga purely for the purpose of self-defence. The art goes out the window, rules go out the window. It becomes about whatever it takes to walk away from a violent attacker.
You can not choreograph this type of survival, it’s about adaption, mindset and opportunities. The problem what this type of training is that the likelihood of injuries is very high. The art is there to maintain safety in place and ensure a level of consistency in how students progress.
Is there a Krav Maga Club near me
If you are looking for a Krav Maga club. You’ll notice that are likely to many clubs near you or none. It’s usually because there’s been an instructor in an area who has trained up other instructors who expand and open their own clubs.
So how do you choose a good club?
Well, there are some big groups out there that have a standard that you can expect.
There are also independent clubs not affiliated with any of these. This does not make them a lesser training experience. It’s really about what you want from the training, is it fitness, self-defence, something else?
Most clubs offer a taster class of some format. You’ll need to take advantage of this and try a couple to get a good idea on the best fit Krav Maga club for you or your family member.
There are a few things to look for from a Krav Maga club though.
How was the instructor certified? There should have been a level of formal intensive training. Without any Krav Maga certification, then this puts the authenticity of the instructor into question.
How does the instructor pressure test the students?
There should be a level of resistance or a dynamic quality to the training so that you have to make fast decisions against a training partner with a level of resistance. This is where the training partner is not compliant with your attempts to protect yourself. Without this, you are learning a martial art and it is unlikely to assist you in a real-life self-defence scenario.
How does the instructor stay relevant and current?
Ask the coach how they train and update their knowledge. If they can not provide you with an answer that you can easily understand, the instructor is unlikely to be investing in themselves and thereby they have stopped improving how they coach their students. This is not necessarily a bad coach, but there may be more relevant coaches out there to the real-world.
Is it Kravmaga or Krav Maga, what does it mean and how do you pronounce Krav Maga?
Here’s Eyal Yanilov, a real life Master of Krav Maga telling you what Krav Maga is and listen to his pronounciation.
