Krav Maga

Krav Maga Clubs
in Peterborough

Krav Maga: (Hebrew lit. contact combat) is a military hand-to-hand combat system developed in Israel, which assumes no quarter will be given, and emphasizes maximum threat neutralization in a “real life” context. It came to prominence following its adoption by various Israeli Security Forces. The word maga means “contact” or “close” and the word krav means “combat”. It refers to combat involving physical contact as opposed to combat using a weapon from afar (although Krav Maga does teach the use of modern day weapons such as rifles, pistols and common objects integrated with self defense techniques).

It is difficult to categorise this as what we consider to be a ‘traditional martial art’.
In Krav Maga, there are no hard-and-fast rules, and no distinction in training for men and women. It is not a sport, and there are no specific uniforms, attire or competitions, although some organizations recognise progress through training with rank badges and different levels.

All the techniques focus on maximum efficiency in real-life conditions. Krav Maga generally assumes that the individual attacking will give no quarter; therefore, as a response the attacks and defenses are intended only for use in potentially lethal threat situations with the aim to neutralize and escape as rapidly and safely as possible.

Crippling attacks to vulnerable body parts, including groin and eye strikes, headbutts, and other efficient and potentially brutal attacks, improvised use of any objects available, and maximizing personal safety in a fight, are emphasized. However, it must be stressed that instructors can and do demonstrate how to moderate the techniques to fit the circumstances.

While no limits are placed on techniques to be used in life-threatening situations, the legal need to inflict the appropriate minimal damage in other circumstances is recognized and stressed! guiding principles for those performing Krav Maga techniques are as follows:

* Do not get hurt
* Quickly neutralize the attacker
* Quickly transition from defensive to offensive techniques
* Exploit the natural reflexes of the body
* Exploit all vulnerable points on the body
* Use any available objects as aids

These premises were developed in the context of life-threatening situations. Krav Maga Instructors constantly stress the need to match the response to the danger or risk.

In general, Krav Maga requires the user to deal first with the immediate threat, prevent further attacks, and then neutralize the attacker. Actions are carried out in a methodical manner. Krav Maga emphasizes preventing further attack from the attacker. As such, some circumstances may require action in anticipation of being attacked, in order to avoid the development of dangerous situations.

Although Krav Maga shares many techniques with other martial arts, the training is often quite different. It stresses fighting under worst-case conditions or from disadvantaged positions, for example: against several opponents, when protecting someone else, with one arm unusable, when dizzy or against armed opponents. Krav Maga emphasizes rapid learning and the retzef (“continuous combat motion”), with the imperative being effectiveness, for either attack or defensive situations.

Instructors emphasize two training rules: (1) there are no rules in a fight and (2) one must not injure oneself or one’s partner when training.A typical session in a civilian school is about an hour long and mixes conditioning with self-defense teaching. As levels increase, the instructors focus a little more on complicated and less common types of attacks, such as knife attacks, hostage situations and defense under extreme duress.

First, the instructor will run a very intense drill to get the class’ heart rates up.

Then, after stretching, the instructor will teach two or three self-defense techniques. In the beginning the techniques will either be combative (punches, hammer-fists, elbows, and knees) 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, this drill may be at the very beginning or at the end of the class.

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