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Krav Maga is a defensive tactics system taught to Israel's security and military units. It is not a martial art. Its roots were in the formative days of the Israel Defense Forces in 1948, but it has now been expanded to include civilians.
Krav Maga is probably the most widely practiced defensive tactics system in the world today, being particularly strong in northern Europe and the west coast of the US. In those regions it is part of the defensive tactics syllabus for many police, security and specialist military units. Krav has three streams, one for civilians and two specialist streams, one for law enforcement/security and another for military personnel.
Horizontal system
Krav Maga's strength is that it is a 'horizontal' or integrated system, that is, it covers the full spectrum of confrontational situations from standing striking, ground fighting, control and restraint, empty hands versus weapons and use of weapons such as knives, sticks and everyday items.
Deals with the Multiple Opponent Problems
It is one of the few systems to specifically and methodically addresses the multiple opponent problems as part of the syllabus. The majority of martial art systems inadequately address this issue in a formal and structured way and in a way that reflects what truly happens out there. For most martial arts, the 2 or 3 versus one sparring that is sometimes practiced is simplistic and unrealistic.
The Weapon Problem
In comparison with other systems it is very strong in empty hand versus weapons, a reflection of the sad fact that it is based in a region of everyday violence. All weapons are dealt with, from knives and clubs, to handguns, automatic weapons and even hand grenades. Krav Maga's methods in this area are very superior and it has answers for weapon threat situations for which other systems would have no answer.
Psychology of Combat
Krav Maga betrays its roots in the military and security forces by the way it deal with the impact of heightened emotional states during conflict on the ability of a person to function effectively. As a formal part of the training method it has a devious array of structured drills for putting the student under psychological pressure during training to simulate anxiety levels during a confrontation. Safety is a prime concern of Krav Maga, so exercises that are used by the military and security forces are toned down for civilians.
Environmental Training
Environmental training is a key part of the system with training conducted in all manner of places, from stairs and hallways, in rain (snow and ice in Europe), in the dark while possibly wearing restrictive clothing or uniforms etc. We think this is important as the student must be able to quickly adapt their technique to the environment.
Rapid Learning and Short Reaction Times
Krav Maga is a good example of what could be termed a 'root movement' system. It's approach is to take one action and use it to solve as many self defense problems as possible rather than attempting to find an optimum (and hence unique) solution for every situation. Given the number of physical variables involved in a confrontation, the optimum but unique approach results in too many techniques to remember.
Under pressure and possibly in less than optimum environmental circumstances
(that is outside the training hall) the ability to recall and correctly perform that unique solution is very problematic. The killer is that having greater choice increases reaction time. Vital fractions of a second are lost.
Moreover, more techniques means training time has to be spread more thinly over the greater number of movements. Better to have fewer movements and movements that are adapted to new situations meaning the student learns more rapidly and hence under pressure will react in less time.
Krav Maga is a defensive tactics system taught to Israel's security and military units. It is not a martial art. Its roots were in the formative days of the Israel Defense Forces in 1948, but it has now been expanded to include civilians.
Krav Maga is probably the most widely practiced defensive tactics system in the world today, being particularly strong in northern Europe and the west coast of the US. In those regions it is part of the defensive tactics syllabus for many police, security and specialist military units. Krav has three streams, one for civilians and two specialist streams, one for law enforcement/security and another for military personnel.
Horizontal system
Krav Maga's strength is that it is a 'horizontal' or integrated system, that is, it covers the full spectrum of confrontational situations from standing striking, ground fighting, control and restraint, empty hands versus weapons and use of weapons such as knives, sticks and everyday items.
Deals with the Multiple Opponent Problems
It is one of the few systems to specifically and methodically addresses the multiple opponent problems as part of the syllabus. The majority of martial art systems inadequately address this issue in a formal and structured way and in a way that reflects what truly happens out there. For most martial arts, the 2 or 3 versus one sparring that is sometimes practiced is simplistic and unrealistic.
The Weapon Problem
In comparison with other systems it is very strong in empty hand versus weapons, a reflection of the sad fact that it is based in a region of everyday violence. All weapons are dealt with, from knives and clubs, to handguns, automatic weapons and even hand grenades. Krav Maga's methods in this area are very superior and it has answers for weapon threat situations for which other systems would have no answer.
Psychology of Combat
Krav Maga betrays its roots in the military and security forces by the way it deal with the impact of heightened emotional states during conflict on the ability of a person to function effectively. As a formal part of the training method it has a devious array of structured drills for putting the student under psychological pressure during training to simulate anxiety levels during a confrontation. Safety is a prime concern of Krav Maga, so exercises that are used by the military and security forces are toned down for civilians.
Environmental Training
Environmental training is a key part of the system with training conducted in all manner of places, from stairs and hallways, in rain (snow and ice in Europe), in the dark while possibly wearing restrictive clothing or uniforms etc. We think this is important as the student must be able to quickly adapt their technique to the environment.
Rapid Learning and Short Reaction Times
Krav Maga is a good example of what could be termed a 'root movement' system. It's approach is to take one action and use it to solve as many self defense problems as possible rather than attempting to find an optimum (and hence unique) solution for every situation. Given the number of physical variables involved in a confrontation, the optimum but unique approach results in too many techniques to remember.
Under pressure and possibly in less than optimum environmental circumstances
(that is outside the training hall) the ability to recall and correctly perform that unique solution is very problematic. The killer is that having greater choice increases reaction time. Vital fractions of a second are lost.
Moreover, more techniques means training time has to be spread more thinly over the greater number of movements. Better to have fewer movements and movements that are adapted to new situations meaning the student learns more rapidly and hence under pressure will react in less time.
