WHAT IS KRAV MAGA?
Born on the battlefield, perfected in the street, but what is Krav Maga?
Krav Maga is the tactical defense system of the Israeli Defense Forces. It was created by Imi Lichtenfeld in the late 1940s.
Krav Maga (pronounced KRAHV muh-GAH) means “Contact Combat” in Hebrew. It is, like most military-based unarmed combat systems, simple to learn, aggressive, and easy to remember under stress.
Imi was born in Hungary in 1910 and excelled at boxing, wrestling, and gymnastics. Due to antisemitism that threatened the Jewish population, he became involved in groups that patrolled their neighborhoods to defend themselves. Here, he quickly discovered the difference between what worked in sports and what worked in the real world.
In 1940 he fled the growing threat of Nazism and made his way to Palestine. In 1948, David Ben-Gurion established the State of Israel. It was there that Imi’s fighting ability was discovered, and he was appointed to teach unarmed combat to various combat units. Later, he would be appointed Chief Instructor for Physical Fitness & Krav at the IDF School of Combat Fitness. He served with the IDF for about 20 years before modifying it for police and civilians.
SELF-DEFENSE, NOT SPORT
Krav Maga is designed to be learned quickly, unlike traditional martial arts, which can take years to master. It deals with real-world attacks, such as multiple opponents, armed assailants, and muggings. Unlike sports systems (which spend their time training to beat one person who weighs the same as they do in a padded environment with doctors, referees, and rules), it is concerned only with reality.
Another difference between Krav Maga and traditional martial arts is that the majority of the latter are preserving an art form that’s been taught the same way for hundreds of years. Krav Maga is different in that it’s constantly evolving. Military specialists, law enforcement officers, and civilians provide this feedback. As criminals evolve and change their methods so must an effective self-protection system evolve.
WHAT IS WARRIORS KRAV MAGA?
Many of the organizations teaching Krav Maga have neglected to modify their instruction for a civilian market. Punching someone in the windpipe is great if you’re an Israeli commando fighting a terrorist. The same technique in a bar on Friday night will get you into legal hot water. Just what are the legal ramifications of the techniques you’re learning? Unlike many organizations, we teach our students those ramifications because we believe there are two fights to win. Number one is the physical fight, and number two is the equally important “legal” fight.
Those same organizations are also neglecting to teach what we call soft skills. They comprise 75% of self-defense. Things like situational awareness, avoidance, de-escalation strategies for verbal conflict, recognizing pre-fight warning signs, and so on. Again, most organizations begin with you in a fight. We believe, in many instances, we can recognize an assault before it reaches that point and teach you how to do that as well.