21
At first glance Krav Maga and Systema seem to be very similar in that they are both very unconventional, no-rules, practical self-defence, martial arts (although Krav isn't technically a martial art) which are no holds barred and generally formless.
However...
Krav Maga is basically a very raw, dangerous situation survival system (including avoidance and ...
13
Am I allowed to use Krav Maga for any case of self-defense?
Of course you are, within the normal parameters. You will only use what you need with the amount of force required in order to defuse and escape from a situation. The amount of force that is considered "legal" will differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction based on current law and precedent case law ...
13
Against knives, that's a terrible position. In bladed arts like kali, escrima, and penjak silat, you see it appear as the briefest of transition phases, usually if you have a blade yourself but it's not a position to hold.
With your arms crossed over like that, it's easy to control and trap both arms with one hand, allowing your attacker's free hand (the ...
13
First and foremost: do not take medical advice from strangers on the Internet! Go and seek professional medical help.
Secondly, from your (very limited) exposition, this clubs seems to encourage bullying and has a clear disregard for basic safety. I would strongly suggest you do not train with them.
Finally, you can condition your body to disregard pain. ...
answered Jun 18 '14 at 8:54
Sardathrion - against SE abuse
14.6k3 gold badges44 silver badges118 bronze badges
11
Wow, that are plenty of questions out there ... let's try explaning it like this:
I'm in Martial Arts for a long time, was very active in Boxing for a long time and been a Krav Maga instructor and bouncer for many years. And NO Martial Art nor Self defense system will bring you in a position to defend yourself against a knife attack - At least not without ...
9
First, Krav Maga doesn't refer to itself as a martial arts. It's more appropriately called "Self defense tactics system." This might seem like marketing fluff, but the idea is that there is no art to it, and it want's to separate itself from traditional martial arts.
Second, there is no sports (also known as competitive) aspect to Krav Maga. Krav Maga ...
9
One class a week is basically nothing. On that schedule, nearly everybody progresses at a snail's pace and takes years to achieve even basic proficiency in the material. You'll forget more from week to week than you'll remember.
Two classes a week is the minimum to make progress. Three or more is recommended for actually picking up the movements.
9
The Journal of trauma and acute care search on stabbings should be a good research starting point.(1) Wikipedia's article on stab wounds have a large reference section you should check out. Turleskin stab armour has a white paper on stabbing targets but clearly is biased towards selling armours. Finally, Prof Sarah Hainsworth has published several papers on ...
answered Feb 1 '16 at 8:38
Sardathrion - against SE abuse
14.6k3 gold badges44 silver badges118 bronze badges
8
As an instructor of Krav maga and Israeli Combat Systems (ICS), I can tell you there are very specific reasons for not turning at the end of a punch.
Krav Maga and ICS are meant to teach people quickly and effectively defend themselves in a street fight. Unlike a tournament or cage fight, anytime you get into a street fight, your skills will deteriorate ...
8
This question about vertical-fist punching might help you. I'd say that keeping the fist vertical for a "jab or "cross" makes it an entirely different punch with a dubious connection to boxing or MMA.
As for this specific situation, I think the salient point is that a fellow student of unknown expertise is giving you advice that contradicts your instructor'...
8
There are pros and cons to only going once a week vs. twice a week. Because of this I am going to set up a list.
Going Once a Week
Pros
You won't learn the system very fast, so it gives you more to do in the long run.
You will find every week a challenge!
Cons
You won't learn the system very fast or effectively.
You will find every ...
7
There's a few things here that I want to address:
I did start thinking about owning a gun and getting a license to carry a concealed weapon after that
I feel for you; no one should have to go through what you went through. Let me say this first off: I am 100% for responsible firearms ownership. That said, many people become victims of crimes and ...
6
How the heck can you walk in a ready stance down the street without the whole freaken place going 'ooooh, aaahhh'.
I was trained in hand-to-hand combat by the IDF, not by a school or embassy, so my perspective may be different than that commonly taught. But I do use the same approach on my home street as I do in Jenin. There are two types of people who will ...
6
Krav Maga is generally run as a business on a for profit basis. Many martial arts are basically social clubs so far as their legal status is concerned.
It's not about popularity
Tae Kwon Do schools karate schools and so on can all have huge numbers of students. I usually only see a dozen members at the local Krav Maga club when I pass by.
It's not about ...
6
This is a standard exercise in Shodokan Aikido (required for every test). We call it either "Randori" or "Jiyu Waza". We don't standardize it the way you're asking.
(In Chinese martial arts, the term may be Sanshou, but I'm not sure that is standardized. Closer to Kumite)
My school used to do 4 attackers, 90 seconds, with each attacker starting their ...
6
Burst and fight close. That is the strength of Krav Maga and the weakness of Tae Kwon Do. Coming from someone who has trained in both. There's no such thing as a counter to any style that doesn't require some level of skill and timing.
Instead of trying to block kicks, if you want to get close, bait him until he fires one without actually committing to ...
6
Yes, most Krav Maga places accept students even as young as 5 years old when they have children's classes. At age 14, you're physically able to be in the adult classes, so that shouldn't be any concern.
You didn't say why you wanted to learn it. But at age 14, I am going to recommend against it for you. And I'll explain why.
There are a number of ...
6
re, Recently
You're new. You're supposed to go easy until the instructor is confident you aren't a hothead and aren't going to hurt his other students. However, with the "wimpy" students, while much depends on the culture of the gym, you could just ask them to go through with more realism. Or, you could approach the instructor, and mention your concerns....
5
There's a number of arts that deal specifically with blades combatively - that ranges from traditional to modern military styles. There's common elements among them all, which kind of tells you there's probably some baseline truths involved if you see parallel evolution across cultures and time periods, especially since knives are among our oldest weapons ...
5
My problem with these internet demonstration videos is that they always feature at least semi-willing accomplices, who know that the purpose of the video is to demonstrate how effective the technique being used actually is.
That being said, the techniques shown can be effective, but they assume a couple of things:
Proximity - The technique presumes that ...
5
Attend a class
As inconvenient as it may be, your best bet is to show up and observe or participate in a class. Almost every legitimate martial arts school I've visited has allowed new students to try out at least one class for free, and all of them allow you to observe general sessions with very little hassle. We are not in the era of "secret dojo ...
4
Am I allowed to use Krav Maga for any case of self-defense? Even a threatening or grave suspicion.
You should never give this any concern in a real-life situation. You neutralize the attacker, and no more. If there are multiple attackers, you should be excessive on the first so that he will not return to the fight, but never do excessive harm to the last ...
4
The "purpose"? To hurt people, relatively quickly.
It's not terribly close to anything you list in terms of stylistic similarities, but it depends a lot on which version of Silat you're discussing. E.g., Maphalindo silat (Guro Dan) is different from a "purer" strain.
My silat training has been mostly empty-hands, but as with kali, most techniques work ...
4
I am not someone who has studied the style, so I cannot give insider information, but my understanding is that Silat as a single martial arts style is about as informative as referring to Kung Fu or Swordfighting as a style. The name actually incorporates a wide variety of styles that only share a few common aspects and otherwise differ greatly.
That said, ...
4
Well depending on the Krav Maga school it may or not be right. As far as I know from attending some IKMF training the punch is not rotated but it is not perfectly vertical either. The way to do it as I have been told was the position the you get when you raise your arm straight in front of you in a natural position and clench the fist. Bas Rutten, a former ...
4
This will depend in large part on what you hope to achieve. Both Krav Maga and Muay Thai have a particular focus. "Which is best" type questions do not work on Stack Exchange. "Which is best for this thing I'm trying to achieve" do work.
I won't discuss the relative merits of Krav Maga vs Muay Thai, since each has a particular focus that it is best at. ...
4
Krav Maga is a relatively new martial art which was developed by Israeli military for military applications, as such it does not have a competitive/sports aspect as with Taekwondo or Seido.
4
That drill exists in a lot of different martial arts, each of which have tailored it to their unique style.
I think each style calls it something different, and some don't call it anything at all, so you might be out of luck there. Schools with a penchant for the dramatic will probably call it "circle of death" or something like that (I'm looking at you, ...
4
It sounds to me like you're describing a phenomenon whereby you experience a larger than expected amount of bruising and pain given the light contact you're being exposed to. This surprised you enough to see a medical doctor, which tells me you're probably experiencing something real, as opposed to just being a hypercondriac. Of course, it could still be ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
