Krav maga is Hebrew for "contact combat" or "contact fight." It is a hand-to-hand combat system used by the Israeli military, police and security forces. It also has become a popular self-defense-oriented martial art in many areas outside Israel including the United States, Europe and Australia.
Origin
Krav maga was founded by Imrich Sde-Or. He actively resisted anti-Semitic groups in Europe where he lived in the late 1930s and fled to Palestine to avoid the Fascist authorities in 1940. Four years later, Sde-Or was teaching Jewish fighters in the Hagana and Palmach elements of knife fighting, wrestling and physical fitness. After Israel was founded, he became Chief Instructor for the Israeli Defense Force's School of Combat Fitness. For two decades, he refined his system of self-defense or Krav maga for military and police use. Following his retirement, he modified the system to meet civilian needs and so created a system suitable for people of all sizes and ages.
Guiding Premises of the System
Imi Sde-Or and Eyal Yanilov reviewed the basic premises of krav maga in their book, "Krav Maga, How to Defend Yourself Against Armed Attack." First, avoid injury by becoming proficient in the martial art. If you do become injured, know how to adapt and respond. Second, be modest. Demonstrate modesty by mastering your ego, controlling your thoughts and avoiding unnecessary confrontations. Third, act correctly by doing "the right thing at the right place and the right time." Finally, avoid unnecessary killing by becoming proficient in self-defense but be prepared to kill if your life depends on it.
Principles of Krav Maga Techniques
The guiding principles of krav maga are outlined according to Sde-Or and Yanilov. First, use defense techniques to avoid injury. Second, develop your body's natural reflexes to maximize your ability to defend yourself. Third, defend and counteract efficiently using the quickest, most direct strikes and responses. Fourth, make your response proportionate to the seriousness of the attack or threat. Fifth, correctly strike any vulnerable point on your attacker. Sixth, use items in your environment to defend yourself. Seventh, your choice of techniques should not be limited by rules or sportsmanship and finally, advance through training from mechanical responses to fluid, improvised responses as required by the fast, unpredictable nature of combat.
Popularity of Krav Maga
Physical conditioning is an important element of self-defense and krav maga training contains a significant element of conditioning drills. Because of this and the effective, intuitive self-defense techniques that characterize the system, krav maga has become popular in Hollywood. It has been featured in films like the Bourne and Matrix trilogies and in the television program 24.
References
- "The Way of the Warrior, Martial Arts and Fighting Systems from Around the World"; Chris Crudelli; 2008.
- "Krav Maga, How to Defend Yourself Against Armed Attack"; Imi Sde-Or and Eyal Yanilov; 2001.
- Krav Maga IKMF The Official Website: About
Member Comments