What is Krav Maga?
What is Krav Maga?
Krav Maga (“contact combat” in Hebrew), is the self-defense system of the Israeli Military. A non-competitive martial system, Krav was designed using components of Karate, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing and Judo.
History of Krav Maga
In the mid to late 1930’s a Hungarian man named Imi Lichtenfeld, a champion boxer and wrestler, had formed a group of men to protect Jewish neighborhoods in Pozsony, Czechoslovakia from the anti-Semitic thugs that were terrorizing them. He realized that his boxing and wrestling background was not as effective in a real fight situation as he had once believed. He began then to re-evaluate what he knew and add to it. Since he had become quite a thorn in the side of local authorities, he decided that in order to keep his family safe, he caught one of the last refugee ships out of Europe before the full escalation of World War II.
He would eventually find his way to the Middle East. It was there that he began to codify all of the skills he had learned street fighting, as well as other things he had picked up along the way. After the war Imi was given the task of training in hand to hand combat the burgeoning military force of the newly formed state of Israel. Krav Maga was officially born.
Today, Krav is taught and practiced by military and law enforcement agencies and regular people all over the world. It is one of the most practical and useful self-defense systems ever designed.
Krav Maga Philosophy
The basic principles of Krav Maga are:
1. Maintain situational awareness at all times
2. If possible, avoid conflict by any means necessary
3. End any conflict as quickly as possible.
4. Maximum efficiency in movement so that one basic defense will work with a variety of attacks
5. All techniques should be based on intuitive natural instincts and movements
6. Techniques must defend and counter attack simultaneously
7. Techniques must work from a position of disadvantage (opponent is bigger, stronger, etc.)
8. Training must simulate, as closely as possible, a real situation.
9. In a real situation there are no rules. Anything you CAN DO to defend yourself from being the victim of a violence, you SHOULD DO.
Krav Maga Motto
“It is better to avoid than to de-escalate,
better to de-escalate than to fight,
better to fight than to die.”
Krav Maga (“contact combat” in Hebrew), is the self-defense system of the Israeli Military. A non-competitive martial system, Krav was designed using components of Karate, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing and Judo.
History of Krav Maga
In the mid to late 1930’s a Hungarian man named Imi Lichtenfeld, a champion boxer and wrestler, had formed a group of men to protect Jewish neighborhoods in Pozsony, Czechoslovakia from the anti-Semitic thugs that were terrorizing them. He realized that his boxing and wrestling background was not as effective in a real fight situation as he had once believed. He began then to re-evaluate what he knew and add to it. Since he had become quite a thorn in the side of local authorities, he decided that in order to keep his family safe, he caught one of the last refugee ships out of Europe before the full escalation of World War II.
He would eventually find his way to the Middle East. It was there that he began to codify all of the skills he had learned street fighting, as well as other things he had picked up along the way. After the war Imi was given the task of training in hand to hand combat the burgeoning military force of the newly formed state of Israel. Krav Maga was officially born.
Today, Krav is taught and practiced by military and law enforcement agencies and regular people all over the world. It is one of the most practical and useful self-defense systems ever designed.
Krav Maga Philosophy
The basic principles of Krav Maga are:
1. Maintain situational awareness at all times
2. If possible, avoid conflict by any means necessary
3. End any conflict as quickly as possible.
4. Maximum efficiency in movement so that one basic defense will work with a variety of attacks
5. All techniques should be based on intuitive natural instincts and movements
6. Techniques must defend and counter attack simultaneously
7. Techniques must work from a position of disadvantage (opponent is bigger, stronger, etc.)
8. Training must simulate, as closely as possible, a real situation.
9. In a real situation there are no rules. Anything you CAN DO to defend yourself from being the victim of a violence, you SHOULD DO.
Krav Maga Motto
“It is better to avoid than to de-escalate,
better to de-escalate than to fight,
better to fight than to die.”