How hard is it to reach an elite skill level in Krav Maga?

I'm gonna start krav next week and I was wondering how long does it take to master Krav?

 

Well I guess not master or elite but I guess to be someone better than the majority of the population...

I know I'll never reach the levels of some masters...I probs wont even reach the level of most MMA fighters in terms of skill but I just want to be better than your average joe.....say better than 80/90 of the population.

 

Yeah go do Judo.

 

You will be better than the majority of the population at Krav Maga after training for a week.

 

You cynic you.

 

Do good Krav Maga schools have sparring.

 

It also depends on your definition of "home training". You might consider lifting weights and stretching as included as martial arts training, some don't. (I don't)


I shadow box A LOT though.

 

first you need a more effective system that's actually real.

 

Krav Maga gets a bit of a bad rap. Not too long ago it became the "new thing" which means all kinds of people hop on the train and try to sell a false product. It's not any different than seeing MMA gyms that have nothing to do with MMA and are simply a building that teaches multiple MA through different instructors, who decided to call it MMA in attempt to get more students based on popular MA culture.

I think the mindset and techniques I've browsed from Krav Maga discussions and videos are very sound albeit a little inappropriate and impractical for most physical conflicts (most of us here on MAP aren't walking down the street wondering if an ethnic gang is going to try and murder you). It doesn't seem all that different from the Isshinryu Karate I started out with, or what the instructors tried to instill in their students. Krav just doesn't have that karate spin to it.

 

I have seen and trained with some good Krav clubs that had plenty of pad work, sparring and scenario/reaction drills and also some that were not as good, its not the system its down to individual clubs and how they train and implement their training.

I agree that milage does vary on club quality but I can say that of a majority of systems.

Have you had any experience of any KM systems to base that remark on or are you just going by what you have read/seen on the internet?

Try saying that at the Wingate academy in Israel and I suspect you would be in for a rough ride.

 

I know what you mean, my old Krav group used to activily promote a very aggressive mindset in terms of finishing off an opponent as quickly as possible and not legally sound in SD terms.
It took me a while after stopping KM training to recalibrate this mindset mostly after almost ending up in jail because of it when faced with a self defence situation where my old training kicked in and I ended up hurting my assailant pretty bad, which I regret pretty much every day since it happened (I wrote about it a while back in the SD section).

The mindset is not suprising due to its roots (you more than most would be more aware of this being a ex Marine) and it seems to be constant with the clubs I trained with.

 

I remember the thread! The mindset I tend to have, which is in line with Krav Maga, is the reason I tend to not try and provoke a fight or be in an area where it's a possibility. I had a fight with a guy in Afghanistan who was in my team (just a small scuffle) where I gained a dominant position but had to keep myself from punching him, got put into a headlock due to the hesitation and then got my way out immediately by biting him. The fight ended because I had his face pinned against the metal grate and doing the ol' high school, "I'm getting up now, don't you dare try to attack me." He ended up bloody from the bite as well as having deep scrapes on his back due to me tackling him into metal grate material (intentionally). It was a weird experience for me because I had to hold back on the "kill/maim/burn" mindset. It didn't help that we were literally prepping for a mission and left 40 minutes later.

I don't have that mentality in the combat sport mindset (which may actually not be in my favor) though. Catch me in a bar or on the street and a confrontation starts brewing and I automatically start thinking of 20 different ways to kill or hurt the person . . . . not exactly appropriate for every day life! I think Krav Maga is good for learning how to be like that when it's true to the system as it's intended to be, but you really have to ask yourself if you NEED that kind of training.

 

you weigh over 200lbs and are a scary looking fella, you dnt need the krav mindset! youd smash most folk with a combat sport one!

 

I'm quite lucky in that I think very clearly when I fight. I know how far is too far in the street, and in a cage I know I'm allowed to go full out and really hurt someone. It's unusual, but I like that I have that.

 

I find this common among you military folks. I have a friend I grew up with, we where like brothers, he moved to Ontario when he was 16 and joined the Canadian reserves, he enjoyed it so much he took additional training at blackwater after getting his wings. I think he took close quarter protection . Anyhow, since then he has joined a Merc group and done a few tours over seas. I've seen him once after he came back and I have to say he is not the same person I remember him being. He genuinely scares me now. I respect you military guys, psychologically it take a lot of fortitude, but I don't think everyone is cut out for it. I'm worried that one day I'll see my buddies name in the paper, lost his stuff and over reacted.

 

So everyone here has downed that system pretty much at least once and then I say something about it and you get on me on it? Get over yourself Simon. It's quite well known that KM is supposed to be the next best thing and while it turns out that it's just another so called MA that is this super deadly force.... most people would agree with this. Like I was once told here, if you want to learn it, then learn it from a REAL Israeli commando instead of from an instructor who learned it watching videos. If everyone learned it the proper way and it was this deadly art... most of students themselves would be dead... no?