Krav Maga

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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.

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Etymology

The generic name in Hebrew is usually translated as "close combat." The word maga (מגע) means "contact". The word krav (קרב) means "fight" or "battle." A translation like "contact combat," though, can be misconstrued as something like "kickboxing" or "full contact karate."

As a historical note, the original name of Krav Maga was Kapap (sounds like "ka-PAPP") which was an acronym for Krav Panim el Panim, face-to-face combat.

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History

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.

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.

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Training

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.

To find Krav Maga classes worldwide there is a website which contains a listing of Krav Maga clubs/schools/classes across the globe as taught by all Krav Maga Associations

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Variants

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Haganah

Image:Minihaga.gif
Official Haganah logo

A variant of Krav Maga, called "Haganah" (Hebrew: defense), claims to be not only a martial art, but a method for enabling someone at a disadvantage to overpower a larger attacking adversary. The system's main goal is to have the combatant enter a "point of reference". This point is a lock/grab around the neck and back of the opponent. Because of this "point", the combatant is focused and already has a plan instead of relying on fancy maneouvers that take time to apply, and are difficult to learn. Simple well-placed counterstrikes are applied to defeat the adversary. In addition to hand-to-hand combat and ground-fighting, the system applies defenses against knives, guns, and multiple weapons and attackers.

Techniques that Haganah covers include defense against punches and kicks, escapes and releases from chokes, bear hugs, firearms, grenades, and multiple attackers. It also covers various hand-to-hand combat techniques such as multiple types of arm blows, and different types of low kicks to the legs, executed with or without shoes. There are some ground survival techniques including combat-neutralizing grappling techniques, pinching, tendon and muscle tearing, and for specialized or advanced trained, tactical knife fighting, combat shooting and counter-terrorist strategies and techniques.

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Israeli Krav Magen

Another branch of Krav Maga in Israel is Israeli Krav Magen (קרב מגן ישראלי), also known by its Hebrew acronym, "KaMI" (קמ"י).

It was created in 1989 by the late Eli Avikzar, Lichtenfeld's protege and the first student to be awarded a black belt in Krav Maga. Kami's principles rely on the natural movements of the human body.

The guiding principles for those performing Krav Magen are:

  • Avoid injury in a fight
  • Act as you are able to, yet act correctly.
  • Use your knowledge only when it is needed.
  • The simple way, meaning, to utilise the shortest, fastest, and most effective action.

Kami is widely used among the Israeli Security Forces Since the death of its founder in 2005 the current head of the system in Israel is Avi Abividon. Eli's son, Judah, went on and created his own improved martial art named ELI ( אל"י - אומנות לחימה ישראלית).

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Who Uses Krav Maga Today

In 1964, Grandmaster Imi Lichtenfeld finished his military service and adapted Krav Maga to civilian frameworks. In Israel, the style is introduced to elementary and high school students on the national curriculum along with being taught at the Wingate Institute, one of the world's leading physical fitness centers, and is taught to men, women, and children under the auspices of the Israeli Ministry of Sport and Education. Krav Maga is the official system of hand-to-hand combat and self-defense employed by the Israeli Defense and Security Forces, the Israeli National and Military Police and its Special Operations and Anti-Terrorist Units. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) including their Special Forces Units, Israeli Police, and Internal Security Branches currently uses this style on a day-to-day basis.

Krav Maga is taught to all ages and abilities, at community centers, schools, and clubs throughout the world. Krav Maga is taught to Sky Marshals, commercial airline crews, and has expanded outside the borders of Israel and is taught in the United States, Canada, Brazil, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Russia, Italy, Poland, Japan, Thailand, Australia, Hungary,Denmark, New Zealand and India. Many United States local law enforcement, federal agencies, state police, SWAT and other special operations teams have been taught Krav Maga.

Law enforcement organizations and their members that have been trained in Krav Maga include, but are not limited to the following:

In addition to the Israel Defence Forces, several other special forces (for example GIGN, FBI, and SWAT) have already adopted this system for their contact combat.

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Krav Maga in fiction

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