Krav Maga
September 5, 2007 by nopstar
Any of you guys still watching Human Weapon? I have to admit for all of my bitching I’m still watching it. I still think the one host Bill Duff is an absolute tool though. I’m sure that colleges across America have invented a drinking game around all the meat head comments he makes. Drink a shot every time he says’s he’s going to “Wrap’em up and slam ‘em”
I caught the Krava Maga episode the other night. Many thanks to Romeo83X for the upload. I have to admit was impressed. I’ve been aware of Krav Maga for quite sometime. For those of you who don’t know… Krava Maga is a combat system that was developed by the Israeli Defense Forces. They’ve adopted bits and pieces from Muay Thai (Knee’s, Elbows, Strikes) Ju -Jitsu (locks, grappling) etc. and have incorporated into a no frills, combat and self defense system. Krava Maga emphasizes “Real Word” scenarios and practicality.
I’ve often wondered how effective Muay Thai would be in a self-defense situation, and if I’ve been lulled into a false sense of security. Personally I feel my boxing and Muay Thai skills are adequate enough to keep someone off me long enough to run like hell. However I think I would be completely unprepared to deal with anyone wielding any sort of a weapon. Nike’s don’t fail me now.
I did a post on street fighting months ago, I spoke to several accomplished Muay Thai fighters (Lumpini, Raja, Champions etc) What I found was pretty surprising, not one of these fighters recalls ever throwing a single kick during their altercations on the street. Loads of boxing, a smattering of elbows, and a pinch of knees, were all that were used.
The reason I’m convinced Krava Maga is effective, is that it’s ugly and lacks any grace whatsoever. There appear to be a barrage of elbows, knees and punches to the throat. There’s nothing particularly pretty, graceful or stylized about it, just really straight to the point. I guess it doesn’t really matter to me as long as it keeps me from getting stomped.
Any of you guys have any experience with Krav Maga?
I’ve no direct experience with Krav Maga. There was a bit of controversy over how it was set up here (Ireland) and there is no single KM form to the best of my knowledge.
Still…I’ll give this episode of human weapon a watch on your recommendation. The muay thai one was funny. :D
I’ve been studying Krav Maga for quite a while, and I love it. But that said, I love Muay Thai a hell of a lot, too. You have to understand that Muay Thai is a sport, while Krav Maga is self defense. Punching, kicking, kneeing, and elbowing is a BIG part of Krav Maga, so if you’re solid at Muay Thai, that can only help you. But those 4 elements are just a small part of self defense, especially in Krav Maga. If you want to be good at Krav, or self defense in general for that matter, you have to be of the mindset that there are NO rules. You can train for years and years to look stylish at Krav, but if biting, kneeing to the balls, poking in the eye, pulling hair, ripping off an ear, etc. is wha’t's going to save your life, you have to train your mind that you’re prepared to go that far, and truly use whatever means necessary to survive. I hope to god I never have to do any of those things, but I’m at least prepared now mentally to take myself there if necessary.
The Krav Maga was one of the best episodes of “Human Weapon”. I was utterly disapointed in the MT episode but kept watchin’ em anyway, the Savate was cool, except for that whack ass fight at the end. Judo, was good and Karate was good too. Oh the Eskrima was good too….they made up for it. So far it’s been Muay Thai, Eskrima, Karate, Judo, Savate and Krav Maga….I think they doing (Greek) Pancrase next.
that last comment was from me.
You know, I actually enjoy the show. Even with the way that one of the hosts are supposed to “get it on” at the end of each show with a supposed “master” of the art. Anyway, I really like the history portrayed about each art on the show, and the training disciplines shown. I figure that the show is not supposed to show the program’s hosts as tough guys, but more as 2 guys wanting to show the tv audience more about the art. The fact that they are both experienced fighters (at least Jason is) just makes it easier to explain.
The main tactic of Krav seems to be the groin strike and other “dirty moves.” Give ‘em the ole one-two and then kick them in the balls. A lot of palestinians could have their lives saved by wearing cups.
Jason’s ego seems to always show during the show…always comparing himself to Bill Duff by asking the instructor ” who did it best, me or him?”….Why must u asked that question….and at the end when it comes time to pick who will fight he always have excuses on how he should be the one…”I’m faster”, “got better footwork” and such….the Krav Maga episode really pissed me off at the end cuz it seemed like he was almost putting Bill down. That’s wrong!!!
“A lot of palestinians could have their lives saved by wearing cups.”…dat was kinda funny!
I trained in Krav Maga and reached the belt/skill level of 3 (out of 5) until about a year ago, when I started training Muay Thai exclusively. In theory, Krav is very effective for the street (the groin kick is the first thing they teach you). HOWEVER, as anyone who trains in combat sports knows, a huge part of surviving a fight is knowing how to take a hit and avoid being hit in a high pressure situation. Most Krav students can throw a mean groin kick, but most of them wouldn’t know what to do with an opponent who had any kind of fight training (i.e. someone who can parry, block, counter, and has footwork). Having said that, it’s very easy to learn and an effective defense system for people of all athletic abilities (esp. women).
And on another note, Jason Chambers trains out of my gym in Hollywood and while I have never sparred with him myself, the consensus among the pro fighters/trainers there is that he is a very tough guy with excellent MMA skills.
Is Jason as small as he seems on tv?
He’s not small. I’d guess 5’11″, maybe 175 lbs.
That’s an excellent point, Dave. A lot of people have really special looking technique, until they get popped really hard in the grill the first time, and then their whole demeanor changes. The same can be said about Muay Thai, too, for that matter. There are lots of guys who look great on the pads, but I don’t see too many of them in the ring.
I’ve got to say that the sparring at the Krav gyms I’ve trained at has been a lot scarier than MT gyms. Mostly, that’s because I’m almost always the smallest guy in class. At ~150 pounds, I’m average size at most MT gyms, but at Krav I’m almost always the lightest, and usually the shortest. But that’s realistic, you know? In the street, I’m not worried about a guy my size attacking me; I’m worried about some giant beefed up roid rager going all nuts. So, it’s not uncommon to be sparring against a guy 220, 230, or even heavier.
That’s when stress management comes in HUGE. The Russians I train with have it down pat. They NEVER seem flustered, and they hit HARD. And when I hit them hard back, they rarely react at all. Haha! We joke with each other afterwards how some of them are straight out of a Rocky movie, but they are really good role models on how to keep your cool in scary situations.
As I wrote earlier, sparring at Krav is more about survival and less about sport. It can get ugly, but that’s sort of the point: how do you survive an ugly situation?
I have limited experience with Hapkido and it is similar in the disarms and the overkill ideologies. Someone above commented on mental toughness and that is a principle our instructor constantly addresses in class. Be sure you have the warrior mindset because all of the technique in the world won’t do you any good if you are so shocked that you just got punched in the face that you freeze up.
I figured jason wasn’t small. bill is just huge! also, like tyson said, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
I don’t know what some of you are saying but I have been able to defend myself on the street using muaythai thechniques. I think when youare attacked on the street. first you have to come to terms with that and accept the situation then you have to deal with it. how about some logic.
from the clip I just saw there are so many ways to stop that guy.
and second who where a fully padded protection suit in a fight.when thother guys has nothing on.
why not push kick his face or stomp kick his kneecap. I could give real examples of defense just againts what I saw I could tell you guys multitudes of stories on how that guy can be stopped. I think it is just best to say that when we learn martial arts we should really thinkabout what we are being thaught what are it limitations and strenghts.
because from what I am seying here any none trained person could defete a well trained fighter in few seconds. in my opinion that is
“Bull crap”
Maybe cause I have also a background in Jkd
And have sparred with some of those guys that deal mostly on realoty based combat.
now I am not saying it is not effective.
BUt those gys are usally out of shape have no core strenght or real explosive power.
while while some of the stuff that has been said and that has been shown on that show ccould happen it does not mean that that would somehow ultimately be the result.
I don’t know if I made any sense. hope I did
Hi Guys,
Krav Maga is a very effective system, but, the most important part when looking for a Krav Maga instructor is their back ground and the way they teach it. In Tactical Krav Maga we use alot of full contact pressure drills to bring out the stress of reality. 2 good books to read are Itay Gils surviving suicide attackers and Lt Col Dave Grossmans on Combat.
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