Do guys think something like Krav Maga works?

aceventura

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I'm just curious, I want to hear your guys' opinions on this.
 
Krav-Maga was created by a guy who was a wrestler and boxer who dealt with fascist gangs in Europe and felt the limitations of convetional martial arts.
 
Krav-Maga was created by a guy who was a wrestler and boxer who dealt with fascist gangs in Europe and felt the limitations of convetional martial arts.

I watch videos of it, and it just seems so rehearsed, and scripted.
I mean I hope it works, i'm interested in it, but still.
 
so what is it, wrist locks, groin strikes, throat strikes, small joint manipulation, elbows, knees, chokes, close quarters combat?

I figured there wouldn't be any sparring cause someone can really get injured..
I mean how hard can someone go in a krav maga session? so you guys like practice a few moves for awhile?
 
so what is it, wrist locks, groin strikes, throat strikes, small joint manipulation, elbows, knees, chokes, close quarters combat?

I figured there wouldn't be any sparring cause someone can really get injured..
I mean how hard can someone go in a krav maga session? so you guys like practice a few moves for awhile?

Well, it's whatever get you home safe. Besides all the techniques that may help you ,it's a mindset too. If the best solution is to run away, then do it.

Striking wise, KM tends to be more similar to boxing and MT, since it's quite straightfoward.

Well, the locks and such can be trained with more intensity. It hurts but as long it doesnt break the bone,the pain goes away fast.
 
I've been to a few KM seminars in the past and I think it'd work fine in a "Street" situation. As a disclaimer most of focus of the seminars was on knife fighting but we learned quite a bit of other stuff too. I think it's successful in street situations cause the big focus is overwhelming force and attitude. There was a whole lot of "Best Defense is a good Offense" Ideas going around which works in on the street but kind of hard to recreate in a practice. I'll tell ya right now I don't think those guys knew anything about ground work which I guess isn't a huge deal cause they train ya to try to stay off the ground but still I think they oughta teach a sweep from guard or two.

The do spare though and it's kind of funny. They were wearing these full body suits that reminded me of a cross between a dog training bite suit and TDK competition pads.

Bottom Line for Knife Defense and Weapons Retetion they're the best around in my mind. As a Self Defense Art it's probably the best but against someone who has had some time training Boxing, Muay Thai or Jiu-Jitsu you're probably in trouble, unless you can just overwhelm them early. That's of course just my opinion as someone who's been to more mediocre self-defense seminars than he'd like to admitt. (Dad was a Police Defense Tactics instructor and took me to all the crap he had to go to.)
 
The answer to your questions largely depends on what context you are defining where Krav Maga 'works' - street, ring, ?

I trained in Krav Maga in the 90's before getting into MMA. And there was certainly limited sparring contrary to what some people are posting, including some limited multiple attackers scenarios.

Secondly, Krav Maga's general mindset is to simply do enough damage/distraction to ensure you can get away safely and then run like mad. It is for street safety/survival, not for winning in sport. (The battlefield variation is likely a bit different in that regards, but this was civilian instruction). Nut shots, eye pokes, nostrils as a handle, etc. are all taught. Its strikes are a very basic subset of boxing and MT (elbows and knees), and they brought in basic BJJ for the ground.

I would say it was the most 'realistic' of any martial art I have taken (i.e. compared to TKD, Tang Soo Do, Karate, etc), so if that is your question regarding 'does it work', then yes.

Its very much designed to take advantage of natural instincts, minimal training and ensure you can at least get away from a dangerous encounter forced upon you. Example - they found that by researching police reports that most rapists get the mount position and then choke the victim to force submission...hence, they spent a lot of time drilling basic mount escapes esp. with male trainees on the women to make it more realistic (i.e size and weight disparity).

And with regards to the whole 'rehearsed' aspect - after we learned a choke defense, we had a water break. While I was waiting in line for the water fountain and talking to someone, the instructor jumped me from behind with the choke we had been working on breaking out of, and applied it hard and full force until I got out using the defense we just learned. My throat was bruised for about two days, but the point of my mentioning this is to show they take it pretty seriously and will force completely unrehearsed suprises on you as part of your training.

That said, if you get into a hardcore MMA gym, the focus and intensity is going to be a whole different level, in exchange for a lot more training commitment. There were a lot of housewives and relatively out of shape people in my Krav Maga classes and thats more their target audience - normal people, not athletes and street survival, not taking someone out within the context of sport specific rules.

Anyway, that all said, you really should go watch or try out a class instead of making decisions based on postings here.
 
I did Krav Maga for 2 years, and I believe it works.
It is partially watered down here in the US, as compared to Israel, but it's just two different cultures. Here there isn't a lot of crazy stuff as you may have seen on TV, but it is a realistic fighting art. It really is meant for your average folk, as the guy above mentioned, there was a lot of wives, overweight people, etc. in the class.

Having did it for 2 years, I wouldn't feel comfortable taking a knife or gun from someone in real life, but we were taught worse case scenario. The message at the end of the day was if the guy wants your wallet, give it to him, don't get yourself killed.
 
Krav Maga is self defense. It incorporates strikes from Muay Thai, boxing and the ever popular groin kicks. Also, it teaches wrestling defense and jiu jitsu chokes.

However, the first thing taught in KM is that you should never stay on the ground in a street fight. Sounds harder than it is, but a good Krav Maga instructor shows you ways to always stay on your feet, and defend yourself just enough so you can run away.

Yes, run away.
That is the most basic principle of Krav Maga...staying alive. This isn't a sport combat where you showcase your skills and spar and prove you're the #1 KM fighter in the world. This art was invented for the streets where staying alive is doing whatever is necessary and then running away to safety.

Kicks to the groin and elbows to the back of someone's head is heavily encourage, most people think this hybrid martial art is a joke, but quite simply it's not.

The most difficult aspect of Krav Maga is finding a legit school and teacher. Once you do, however, you'll be pleasantly surprised ( like I was ).
 
so hypothetically speaking...if an mma guy is gonna attack me on the street or try to rob me or something ? is the person that knows krav maga screwed? because mma is superior??


I figured krav can really hurt anyone, because of the training they have is very deadly, quick and effective, its not a long drawn out take you down, get mount, etc, etc..
 
No, not necessarily. A Krav guy in a ring vs an MMA guy with MMA rules is going to lose, but a Krav guy vs an MMA guy in the street is going to win, that's the Krav guy's ring.
The MMA guy isn't going to expect kicks to the groin, and the overwhelming attacks from a Krav guy.

Fighting in the street for your life is different then fighting in a regulated match in a ring.
 
No, not necessarily. A Krav guy in a ring vs an MMA guy with MMA rules is going to lose, but a Krav guy vs an MMA guy in the street is going to win, that's the Krav guy's ring.
The MMA guy isn't going to expect kicks to the groin, and the overwhelming attacks from a Krav guy.

Fighting in the street for your life is different then fighting in a regulated match in a ring.

I've always believed in jigoro kano's method of teaching stuff you can practice instead of pantomiming attacks. not to say that it's useless but why not put the time into stuff you can actually practice and know will work instead of stuff you hope works.
 
so hypothetically speaking...if an mma guy is gonna attack me on the street or try to rob me or something ? is the person that knows krav maga screwed? because mma is superior??


I figured krav can really hurt anyone, because of the training they have is very deadly, quick and effective, its not a long drawn out take you down, get mount, etc, etc..

Too many variables for the hypothetical. Depends on the experience, size, skill of both fighters. I've done Muay Thai kickboxing for 8 years, BJJ for 3 years and Krav Maga for 2 years. I think I would fair well against an "MMA" fighter.

Both skills are also different. Krav Maga teaches to neutralize your opponent as quickly as possible with whatever it takes; eye gouge, soccer kick to groin, knee to groin. Not to sit and exchange. A Krav Maga fighter isn't going to stand their and exchange blows. They would either diffuse the situation, get the hell out of there or fight.
 
Too many variables for the hypothetical. Depends on the experience, size, skill of both fighters. I've done Muay Thai kickboxing for 8 years, BJJ for 3 years and Krav Maga for 2 years. I think I would fair well against an "MMA" fighter.

Both skills are also different. Krav Maga teaches to neutralize your opponent as quickly as possible with whatever it takes; eye gouge, soccer kick to groin, knee to groin. Not to sit and exchange. A Krav Maga fighter isn't going to stand their and exchange blows. They would either diffuse the situation, get the hell out of there or fight.

after 8 years of muay thai you didn't know to kick someone in the groin? did you not learn in you bjj that you can grab fingers and turn them the wrong way?
 
after 8 years of muay thai you didn't know to kick someone in the groin? did you not learn in you bjj that you can grab fingers and turn them the wrong way?

No, I was never taught how to kick/knee someone in the groining. On the contrary, I was taught technique how NOT kick/knee people in the nuts. My first lesson on how to soccer kick someone in the nuts was in Krav. I've never gotten a lesson in BJJ about grabbing fingers and turning them the wrong way. You'll have to show me that move on YouTube.

We can speculate and guess that if it came down to it, someone who has trained in a kicking art, should be able to deliver a blow to the nuts on purpose. BUT, when the shit hits the fan and your ass is puckered up to your throat, you execute technique that you've trained. If the only training someone has ever done is watching Videos on YouTube and surfing Sherdog, bad things will happen. Just because you hand someone a gun, doesn't mean they'll instinctually draw it when the shit hits the fan or know how to shot it. Like all thing physical, there has to be some muscle memory on executing a technique.
 
i'm not trying to be an asshole i just don't honestly understand the need to take a class on how to kick someone in the nuts. I would think a muay thai class on how to get the most power from your kicks would help more and then when your in a street fight and you have bad intentions you just adjust your aim a little. I also don't know why you need a technique video to show you how to break someones fingers just grab a couple of them and bend them the wrong way it's easy and effective. I really think it comes down to a difference in our perspectives. I think an accomplished martial artist such as yourself would be able to make small changes to his techniques to knee the balls instead of the abdomen if in a fight you seem to think you need special classes.

and i looked at that knife defense on the internet and it seems to rely on your opponent freezing after you punch him and not doing anything with the knife after you put your forearm in the way. It reminds me of this YouTube - Jim Carey Self Defense - Not a Dekiti Tirsia Siradas video
 
i'm not trying to be an asshole i just don't honestly understand the need to take a class on how to kick someone in the nuts. I would think a muay thai class on how to get the most power from your kicks would help more and then when your in a street fight and you have bad intentions you just adjust your aim a little. I also don't know why you need a technique video to show you how to break someones fingers just grab a couple of them and bend them the wrong way it's easy and effective. I really think it comes down to a difference in our perspectives. I think an accomplished martial artist such as yourself would be able to make small changes to his techniques to knee the balls instead of the abdomen if in a fight you seem to think you need special classes.

and i looked at that knife defense on the internet and it seems to rely on your opponent freezing after you punch him and not doing anything with the knife after you put your forearm in the way. It reminds me of this YouTube - Jim Carey Self Defense - Not a Dekiti Tirsia Siradas video

I love that video. I use it for training all the time.

Regarding the KM 360 Knife Defense. I'm not a big fan of the technique and I have learned better techniques. However, training in something, is better then training in nothing.

It's difficult to execute a technique without getting your body to do the movement. I've been involved in altercations where a knee to the groin would be effective/allowed, however I instintually delivered the knee to the chest and head.

Have you ever seen those videos where dudes are attacked. Not consensually fighting, but one dude is attacked by another dude. It's always the samething, dude takes a punch, both dudes starts swinging arms widely, dude grabs other dude, they both fall to the ground, rolling around begins.

Most people look at those videos and are like; I would grab that dude by the neck and start delivering knees to his balls or I would stick my fingers into that guys eyes. You know why that shit never happens? Because they've never trained it. When the shit hits the fan, instinct takes over. Instinctually people want to protect their face/head. They do this by swinging arms or grabbing bear hugging the other person. Saying you would grab/kick/gouge eyes, balls, shins is different then actually doing it.
 
I disagree that instict takes over. My instructor goes over and over again on how i shouldn't punch people in the throat and kneeing people in the balls is frowned upon in kickboxing but those 2 things are my go to moves when in a fight. I honestly don't understand why you need to train for selecting different targets in different situations. I also disagree about training no technique is better than training a bad technique. That technique is going to get people hurt badly if they ever try it. I'm sure krav has better techniques but that one is garbage and should never be trained.
 
Does KM use all out sparring?
The reason why wrestling, boxing, muay thai and mma are proven and work is because they've been practiced and fought. The techniques that I have seen on youtube of KM lacks the all out sparring that I am talking about which would quickly reveal the weaknesses in techniques. For example that ice pick knife defense of punching the guy in the face and blocking his wrist/knife. I understand there is a follow up, but most people adrenalized enough to use a knife are not going to respond in slow motion to being punched in the face. The defender transitioning to the modified thai clinch is a bad technique. He didn't isolate the weapon. The elbow is free, allowing the wrist and hand to move...potentially allowing the shoulder to move = knife being pumped into defender.
 
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