What is Krav Maga?

Question

I have been looking into martial arts for law enforcement/security personnel. I stumbled across an art called Krav Maga. What is it and how effective is it?

Answer 1

Krav rocks.. I'm testing for my level 4 next month. Classes are extremely intense, which consist of warm up, high intensity drills, more drills with stress, then usually choke defenses at the end. We have several law enforcement officers in my class. Very useful and effective.

Answer 2

well I guess what martial art included in his answer has explained it, or the gist of it actually.

its a fighting style (some call it a concept, which i didnt quite think is right) developed by an Israeli man. the Israeli army choose to use it for its practicality. long story short today it not only is taught to military and law enforcement personnel, it is also taught to civilians. of course the civilian syllabus is different in that some teachings in some countries are illegal.

how effective it is? if you believe what Bruce lee said that the simplest attacks are the most practical in a fight. thats krav maga for you. actually he also did say that how useful a martial art is is how much of what is taught you can bring into a fight. so learn all the flying kicks you want, but dont use it in a real fight. krav is simple and to the point. but it does teach you the best of everything too. plus it trains you, physically and mentally to handle the feelings and emotions that may 'paralyse' a normal person. by what Martial Art said :loud music etc.

so if you want to know more about krav maga, wikipedia elaborates in greater detail what Martial Art said.

Answer 3

If that is the field you are going to go in, Krav Maga would be excellent for you to study. Krav Maga isnt really a martial art, it is more of a street self defense, meaning they teach you defense and attacks against armed attackers and skilled attackers. It is also used for cardio purposes, but it is the best self defense study there is for someone that needs to know it for their job or just because.

Answer 4

Krav Maga is fairly recently create martial art. (in last 50 years about) it is based upon military combat, so it is quick to learn, effective in hand to hand or unarmed against armed situation, and it has been used to train the israeli army. Since Krav Maga specializes in law enforcement and army related activities this could be a perfect martial art for you.

Answer 5

Check out the location's website and see if they are part of any krav maga association. If they are, you might be able to go on the association's website and see how good their instructors are. They should also either let you take a free class before you join, or let you watch.

Answer 6

Not all schools are the same but here are some of the things you will learn in Krav Maga

http://www.selfdefensetexas.com/index.php?categoryid=8&s=&

Answer 7

Violent and effective. The training is real world and extremely tough. My buddy trains in it in San Fran, he's also a brown belt in Kenpo. It came from the Isreal army. They have weapon defense and plenty of nasty street techniques. They also spar quite a bit so be ready ot knocked around once you get the basics down.

KK

Answer 8

Training

[edit] Basic principles

In Krav Maga, there are no hard-and-fast rules. It is not a sport, and there are no competitions. All the techniques focus on maximum efficiency in real-life conditions. Krav Maga generally assumes a no quarter situation; the attacks and defenses are intended to inflict the most pain possible on the opponent in the least amount of time. Groin strikes, headbutts, and other efficient and potentially brutal attacks are emphasized.

The guiding principles for those performing Krav Maga techniques are:

* neutralize the threat
* avoid injury
* go from defending to attacking as quickly as possible
* use the body's natural reflexes
* strike at any vulnerable point
* use any tool or object nearby

The basic idea is to first deal with the immediate threat (being choked, for example), prevent the attacker from re-attacking, and then neutralize the attacker, proceeding through all steps in a straightforward manner, despite the rush of adrenaline that occurs in such an attack. The emphasis is put on taking the initiative from the attacker as soon as possible.

[edit] Techniques

Although Krav Maga shares many techniques with other martial arts, such as Boxing, Savate and Muay Thai (for the punches, kicks, elbows, and knees) or Ju-Jitsu, Judo and Wrestling (for the grappling and disarming techniques), the training is often quite different. It stresses fighting under worst-case conditions or from disadvantaged positions (for example, against several opponents, when protecting someone else, with one arm unusable, when dizzy, or against armed opponents).

Training in Krav Maga is an aerobic workout, and relies heavily on pads. Students take turns holding pads and doing combatives against the pads. This is important because it allows the student to practice the technique at full strength, and the student holding the pad learns a little of what it feels like to get hit. It can be almost as taxing to hold a pad as to practice against one. Some schools incorporate "Strike and Fight," which consists of full-contact sparring intended to familiarize the student with the stresses of a violent situation.

Training may employ a speaker system blasting loud music, stroboscope and/or fog machine meant to train the student to ignore peripheral distractions and focus on causing as much damage as possible. Training might also contain ways to deal with situations which could end in fights. Physical and verbal methods to avoid violence whenever possible are taught.

A typical Krav Maga session in a civilian school is about an hour long and mixes aerobic training with self-defense teaching. As levels increase, the instructors focus a little less on aerobic training and slightly more on combatives. First, the instructor will run a very intense drill to get the class's heart rates up. Then, after stretching, the instructor will teach two or three self-defense techniques. In the beginning the techniques will either be combatives (punches, hammer-fists, elbows, knees and roundhouse kicks, for example) or grappling (breaking out of chokes or wrist-grabs, getting out from under an opponent while on one's back). After that, the class usually moves to a drill that combines the techniques just taught with an aerobic technique. Finally, there is the final drill intended to burn out the students. Depending on the class - and on the instructor's mood - this drill may be at the very beginning or at the end of the class.
1. ^ http://www.kapap.net/history.htm
2. ^ http://www.krav-maga.com/founder.html
3. ^ http://www.krav-maga.com/nhistory.html
4. ^ http://www.edgecombatfitness.com
5. ^ The Israeli Krav Maga Association
6. ^ The International Krav Maga Federation
7. ^ The Krav Maga Association of America
8. ^ Krav Maga Incorporated
9. ^ Commando Krav Maga
10. ^ http://www.krav-maga.com/law_enforcement.html
11. ^ http://www.sdtactics.com.au/html/instructor_training/Grading_System.htm
12. ^ http://www.krav-maga.com/vip_protection.html
13. ^ http://www.kravmaga-sf.com/class_descriptions.html
14. ^ Wingate Institute
15. ^ http://www.alias-tv.com/sydney.html
Thanks for your time.

Answer 9

It's the martial art of the Israeli Defense Forces. It combines elements of many different styles, and is primarily concerned with being easy to learn and delivering effecting, devastating attacks with a minimum of fuss.

Answer 10

its israeli self defense. if taught properly, it is extremely effective.