Hi, Just curious as to how many of the MAP'ers currently study Krav Maga? It seems theres always a ton of posts here in the "Other" section about krav but not sure who actually studies it? To those who do also - What makes your style different from the others? Do you recomend your style? Who to? I'm just trying to get some basic info on Krav for those people who are possibly interested in learning but want some opinions before hand. Cheers.
Personally I study KM. I do both MT and KM, it's a weird combination no doubt but it comes inclusive in the price, and the instructor definetly knows his stuff. Though my main focus is MT. The thing that makes KM different than other styles is the fact that it's designed first and foremost for the street - no rules, no games, no protective gear, with a chance for being outnumbered and outgunned. The whole style is built with this always in mind, there is no competition in pure KM, however due to it being tested constantly in real life situations - military, for example - you can guarantee its effectiveness, under one condition (which brings me to your 2nd question): Who would I recommend this to? Basically, to anyone who does sportive FC fighting (and wants to expand it). For the simple reason that some techniques in KM are aimed at the eyes, the groin, etc., you just don't practice most techniques full force - because you can't. However, if you only throw punches an kicks in the air, and practice with a smidgen of seriousness, you're not gonna get much out of it. So basically, if you pair up real, full contact fighting with KM you're gonna get the most you can out of your training.
Hi there, I study KM too. You might enjoy this about Krav Maga, including the "Krav Maga is Different from Traditional Martial Arts" section: www.krav-maga.org.uk/index.php?mod=whatiskravmaga Cheers
There are plenty of different Krav Maga sites out there which can easily be found by Google. That being said what I've seen on a few of them varied quite a bit. And I had a very different impression about Krav Maga after watching a few classes. What makes Krav Maga different from other styles? That's a question I've been considering a great deal lately. Because of some politics in JKD class a few students including myself decided to leave. After checking out a few different schools I decided on Krav Maga. The differences in Krav Maga (at least in the current school) and Jeet Kune Do (at least in the former school) are not that large. The Krav Maga looks kind of like a blend of different styles. The influence of Boxing and Muay Thai is clear. Unless I'm mistaken a little Wing Chun has been trown into the mix as well. And I know we are using BJJ material. The strange part is that I had a couple of conversations with the instructor before taking classes in Krav Maga and was suprised to hear Krav Maga was about concepts not techniques. If something does'nt go outside the concepts which the art is based techniques can be adapted! Where have I heard that before? And I'm not sure how Krav Maga got thrown into the RBSD category as it looks different than other 'self-defense' schools I've seen before. There's lots of variety in technique and how it can be applied. The short version is that I have a whole new perspective on Krav Maga and would recommend anyone to check out a local school.
Hi I have started training in Krav Maga combined with Kickboxing and found it has give me a different dimension to kickboxing. The sport aspect of KB is fun and learning how to punch, kick etc, but I now feel more confident to have thrown the self defense aspect into the mix. My instructor is very good the classes small so feel that I am taking leaps and bounds in Krav Maga. I have also had the ability to use the different parts of the the different arts into one style. Hope this helps, but for Krav maga go for it, wont be dissapointed.
I do Krav Maga in the Northern Virginia / Washington DC area. Based on the martial arts that I practiced before Krav (TKD and Fencing) I would say that the number one difference that I have noticed is how training is conducted. TKD put a lot of emphasis on forms and style, and also had strict codes of conduct (bowing to your master, "yes sir, no sir,") and other Eastern Traditions. It also put more emphasis on competition and the sport aspect of it. The same can be said of Fencing. While I enjoyed it immensely, the main thing that bothered me about it was the emphasis on the sport of it. For example, things such as taking advantage of the foil's flexibility would not hold in a real fight. Nor would the Right-of-way rules that exist for Foil and Sabre. This is not to say that either art lacked merits. Fencing I especially found useful, because it greatly helped my ability to sense an attack and respond quickly to it. But anyhow, on to Krav Maga. Krav Maga's number one difference from other arts, is the way that people are trained in it. While it borrows many elements from other arts, the training is always done to maximize real-life efficiency. As such, we always train in worst-case scenarios. For example, the other day they ran us and had us do push-ups to exhaustion as the warm-up, and then had us work on our strikes. They emphasize that you will likely not be in ideal conditions in a real fight, and have you fight past that. You take into account that you might be tired, outnumbered, on the ground, your opponent might be armed, or there might be peripheral distractions. It is definitely not meant for competition, considering that many of the moves we train in would be illegal in many MMA Leagues. What Krav is about is going from defending to attacking to end the fight as quickly as possible.
