Misunderstanding Krav Maga

Often I will come across questions like the following on the Web:

• “Is Krav Maga good for MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)?”
• “I want to take up a martial art. Should I take Muay Thai, BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu), Aikido or Krav Maga?”
• “Does Krav Maga have a good form of ground fighting?”

This is the classic comparing apples to oranges scenario. The philosophy and training for a Kravist is very different from the philosophy and training for a traditional martial artist or a sports-oriented martial artist.

Krav Maga is not a martial art. It has been described as a “defensive tactics system”—a tactical and logically sound approach to dealing with violent confrontations. Krav Maga addresses a wide variety of aggressive acts which include punches, kicks, chokes, bearhugs, headlocks, grabs, as well as defenses against multiple attackers and assailants armed with a firearm, edged weapon, or blunt object.

Traditional martial arts and sports-oriented martial arts have rules. There are no rules in a violent confrontation. During a violent confrontation, you must do anything and everything to defend your life or your loved ones.

If a BJJ practitioner is attacked and ends up on the ground... his world... he may see an opportunity to apply a triangle choke to an assailant’s neck. What he hasn’t trained for is the fact that while the assailant is in his triangle choke, the assailant pulls a knife out of a back pocket. The assailant is now able to stab the BJJ practitioner to death. The Kravist... not wanting to remain on the ground... would have forgone the choke and gotten up to escape the danger.

If a Muay Thai fighter is attacked and is on his feet... his world... he may be able to defend himself quite well in a fist fight, but he hasn’t trained for the assailant’s accomplice that has snuck up behind the Muay Thai fighter and has placed a handgun in his back. The Kravist... on the other hand... has trained for that scenario until its burned into muscle memory.

I enjoy watching MMA fighters, grapplers (BJJ, Wrestling, Judo, etc.) and strikers (Muay Thai, Boxing, Kickboxing, etc.) compete in their sports. I also enjoy watching traditional martial artists compete in kumite and perform their katas and forms. They are excellent athletes; they train hard and are great at what they do.

However, Kravists train to do what they do and that is to defend themselves or loved ones against armed and unarmed attackers. Traditional martial artists and sports-oriented martial artists train to do what they do and that is to defend themselves, in a controlled environment, against an opponent... real or imaginary... in a ring, cage or on a mat.

Krav Maga means contact combat not contact sports. The two worlds are at opposite extremes.