Krav Maga, opinions and Spiritual or just self defense?

[47MartialMan]

Yep, Richard Plantas (Plankas?) lives here in Louisiana

[Oni]

The film Enough starring Jennifer Lopez use Krav Maga. On the Dvd there is a featutre called Krav Maga:Contact Combat it explains in brief how is was started and what is involved very brief (about 10 mins maybe less) it has some demos in which people are attack and people who know KM defend themselves it is purely for show no contact.

 

The feature was helpful is making me decide against KM as my chosen MA as even though it is very effective I didn't like how violent it seemed I want to stop myself from being attacked not turn into the attacker this is the impression I got from KM that the people who know it don't stop at just stopping the person from attacking them they attack back which I think is wrong.

 

This is just the impression I got.

[wing chun kuen man]

Glow,

 

As far as I know there is nothing spiritual about Krave Maga...It is a pure selfdefense style. If you want to learn self defense in a relatively short period of time I think that it is a good system, but no way in hell am I going to call it the best self defense system.

 

Maybe it is even one of the best to study in the short term but, if one can commit long term (5 years or more), then there are many other arts systems that I personally consider superior (my opinion), such as various traditional kung fu and various traditional karate styles. This not to say that you will not learn more if you stick to Krave Maga for a long period of time, only that in MY opinion you will learn much, much more in systems such as I mentioned mentioned above.

 

Let me tell you about an incident between my kung fu sifu and a Krave Maga instructor in the academy where my sifu used to teach. After explaining to my sifu how great his system was, the Krave Maga instructor asked my sifu to grab his throat/neck area anyway he wanted....my sifu obliged and used a tigerclaw grab which resulted in Krave Maga teacher almost passing out after a short futile attempt to free himself. In a real fight he would not even had time for a short futile attempt, he would have been "dead on his feet".

 

Now both my sifu and the Krave Maga instructor have years of experience under their belts. Again, I am not putting down Krave Maga, it is a good art for the short term (and again my opinion) but if you have the time and are willing to put the commitment then there are superior martial arts out there. You may not be able to find good schools/instructors that easily but it is worth the search.

 

Wing Chun Kuen Man

[47MartialMan]

I have known about KM for some time. I am still researching the subject.

[karlberg]

Hi there all of you I'm new here.

 

I know that there are people that likes KM and the once that don't.

 

I started my KM training in the army, without knowing what is was. We got trained in combat fighting and I later found out that it was KM we was thaught.

 

KM is a system that is based on natural reactions such as if you get a puch to your head you put your hand up aginst your head to protct it. The only diffrence is that you hold it further from your head, so that you stop the punch before it hits you.

 

If you get attact my a knife, you still use the same block.

 

What I try to say is that it is a simple system with as few technices as possible against as many attacks as possible.

 

As someone said earlier, it's some kind of mixed MA. Yes it is, it's a system that are put together by many diffrent styles, it has it's roots in the real world mostely the world of war and anger in Israel.

 

I have been to seminars with Eyal Yanilov, Amnon Darsa and even Amir Perets, they are all very good Instructors and the all have a real life background that has involved fighting.

 

Someone said that it might be a good system only if you are not going to study it no longer than 5 years. I would say that's not true.

 

As longer you practice the better you will get. The system is build so that the first thing you will be taught is the most common attacks, as longer you study the art, the more uncommon attacks you will be faceing.

 

We work alot with dealing with stress and how to use it. if you don't and you get in the position that you are attacked on the street, there are to big of a risk that you will freeze.We all know that isn't a good thing.

 

I'm not telling you all to pick up Krav Maga, I bet all your technics are good as long as it fits you.

 

By the way, we don't turn the situation into our fight because we want to kick the * out of someone, we might do it some times to get away as safe as possible. In a selfdefence situation the are no rules, it's ok to bite, pinch, poke an eye and kick your opponent inte groin. As long as it takes you out of the situation alive and not dead.

[wing chun kuen man]

karlberg,

 

Welcome to the KF.

[delta1]

Welcome to the forum, karlberg!

KM is a system that is based on natural reactions such as if you get a puch to your head you put your hand up aginst your head to protct it. The only diffrence is that you hold it further from your head, so that you stop the punch before it hits you.

 

If you get attact my a knife, you still use the same block.

 

Most all the short, quickly learned reality combatives arts rely heavily on the principle of instinctive reaction. But just putting up your hand, especially against a knife, is going to get you hurt. A lot of 'complete' systems, like Kenpo, also use this a lot.

What I try to say is that it is a simple system with as few technices as possible against as many attacks as possible.

 

Again, true of most short combative systems. And a good thing.

We work alot with dealing with stress and how to use it.

 

That, as I said earlier, is one of the things I admire about KM.

 

I'm not just dumping on KM. I'd like to see it done right before making a decission as to its' effectiveness. But what little I've seen was inefective to the point of being dangerouse to the practitioner. Things like traping a knife hand in the crook of your arm as you step in to strike his face. If you don't get cut in his attack, you are forcing him to toa reaction that will certainly cut you if that pin wasn't rock solid- and chances are good that in a real fight it won't be.

 

Could you explain in more detail about the defense against a punch or knife attack where you just put your hand up to intercept it? Do you move the target, or just block? Are there any differences in the punch defense and the knife defense?

[47MartialMan]

So delta1,

 

KM has its cons as well as other arts?

[Master Jules]

KM is a very no nonsense "in close", get it done as quickly as you can type of system. Kind of like close combat jujitsu. Its basically the Israeli version of our military's CQC (close quarter combat) or CQB (close quarter battle).....You would learn for example, whats the fastest and most effective way of taking out 3 guys in an elevator kinda thing. I teach CQB to law enforcement, and have 1 student who was on Bill Clinton's NY detail.

[47MartialMan]

One of my instructors taught this. He did not have a name for it. For testing the applications, we got busted up to say the least.