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Krav Maga

Krav Maga (Hebrew קרב מגע: "contact combat") is a self-defense and military hand to hand combat system developed in Israel. It came to prominence following its adoption by various Israeli Security Forces; now more widely in use including by the special forces of other countries. The version of Krav Maga taught in civilian martial arts classes is more often a simplified version that emphasizes personal self-defense, and is likely to exclude the killing techniques taught to the military, or the holds and come-alongs taught to police forces; there are legal proscriptions in some countries which govern and constrain the teaching of hazardous or life-threatening techniques to civilians. English-speakers often shorten the term to Krav.

The beginning of the system that would become Krav Maga in Israel was developed in Hungary and Czechoslovakia in the 1930s by Imi Lichtenfeld. This system was codified and first taught in Bratislava in order to protect the Jewish community from fascist militias.

When Imi Lichtenfeld came to British Mandate of Palestine prior to the establishment of the state of Israel, he began teaching hand to hand combat to the Haganah, the Jewish underground army. After the establishment of Israel, krav maga was the generic term used to reference the hand to hand combat taught to the Israeli armed forces and police.

When Lichtenfeld moved to Israel he changed his name to Sde-Or, a direct translation of his surname into Hebrew. Due to the fact that it is strictly a self-defense and military combat system, Krav Maga is constantly changing. After Mr. Lichtenfeld retired from a long career as chief instructor of close combat in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), he started teaching Krav Maga to the civilian population. In this way, a civilian version based on the principles of self-defense was developed.

In 1973 The Krav Maga program of the IDF underwent significant changes, when Moni Aizik was asked to revamp and redevelop the system so that it was able to meet the needs of the Sayeret/Special Forces. Moni Aizik continues to teach this system under the name Commando Krav Maga, using the prefix 'Commando' to note that this system is the one used by Israeli Special Forces as opposed to general infantry.

Prior to 1985, all experts in Krav Maga lived in Israel. Many schools have opened outside Israel, with the instructors being certified by the Israeli Krav Maga Association. Since the death of Imi Lichtenfeld, a number of different schools and associations of Krav Maga have developed around the world. There is currently a controversy among various organizations and individuals who claim the mantle as Imi's successor.

In Krav Maga, there are no hard-and-fast rules. It is not a sport and there is no competitive component. 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 or divert the most pain possible on the opponent. Groin strikes, headbutts, and other efficient and potentially brutal attacks are emphasized.

The guiding principles for those performing Krav Maga techniques are:

  • 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), to prevent the attacker from re-attacking, then neutralize the opponent, proceeding through all the steps in a straightforward manner, despite the rush of adrenaline that would occur in such an attack. The emphasis is put on taking the initiative from the attacker as soon as possible.

Although Krav Maga shares many techniques with other martial arts, like Savate and Kickboxing (for the fist- and kick-fighting techniques) or Ju-Jitsu (for the grappling and disarming techniques), the training is quite different. It stresses fighting under worst-case circumstances (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.

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.

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Richard Douieb