Krav Maga is a self-defense and fighting system that was developed for the Israel Defense Forces. The original concept was to take some of the most simple and practical techniques of other fighting styles (for example, boxing, wrestling, aikido, judo, karate) with a focus on real-world situations, and develop them into a 'system' that was easy to teach to newly enlisted military personnel, and therefore be able to be learned rapidly and comprehensively.
Krav Maga emphasizes simultaneous defensive and offensive maneuvers. It has been, and still is, used by various military forces, security units, law enforcement and intelligence organizations all over the world.
Advanced skills are the basics mastered.
- Bruce Lee
Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is,
and you must bend to its power or live a lie.
- Miyamoto Musashi
Like most martial arts, Krav Maga encourages students to avoid physical confrontation. If this is impossible or unsafe, it promotes finishing a fight as quickly as possible. Students learn to defend themselves against all kinds of attacks and are taught to counter in the quickest and most efficient way possible.
Aspects of Krav Maga include:
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Simultaneous attack and defense.
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Attacking pre-emptively or counter-attacking as soon as possible.
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Using any objects at hand that could be used to hit an opponent.
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Targeting attacks to the body's most vulnerable points, such as eyes, neck/throat, face, solar plexus, groin, ribs, knee, foot, fingers, liver, etc.
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Using simple and easily repeatable strikes.
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Maintaining awareness of surroundings while dealing with the threat in order to look for escape routes, further attackers, objects that could be used to strike an opponent.
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Recognizing the importance of, and expanding on, instinctive response under stress.
Training can also cover the study and development of situational awareness to develop an understanding of one's surroundings, learning to understand the psychology of a street confrontation, and identifying potential threats before an attack occurs. It may also cover ways to deal with physical and verbal methods to avoid violence whenever possible. It also teaches mental toughness, using controlled scenarios to strengthen mental fortitude in order for students to control the impulse and not do something rash, but instead attack only when it necessary and as a last resort.
Krav Maga is a continuously evolving system and therefore has no clearly defined set of movements or patterns of training that would fit into a specific curriculum, as may be the case with other martial arts.
Whatever luck I had, I made. I was never a natural athlete, but I paid my dues in sweat and concentration and took the time necessary to learn karate and become world champion.
- Chuck Norris
*Thorin Blanco was certified as an instructor in Krav Maga worldwide in 2001.
Krav Maga is a military self-defence and fighting system developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli security forces (Shin Bet and Mossad) that derived from a combination of techniques sourced from Boxing, Wrestling, Aikido, Judo and Karate, along with realistic fight training. Krav Maga is known for its focus on real-world situations and its extreme efficiency. It was derived from the street-fighting experience of Hungarian-Israeli martial artist Imi Lichtenfeld, who made use of his training as a boxer and wrestler as a means of defending the Jewish quarter against fascist groups in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, in the mid-to-late 1930s. In the late 1940s, following his migration to Israel, he began to provide lessons on combat training to what was to become the IDF.
