ABOUT
KRAV MAGA
Krav Maga is a self-defence system originally developed for the Israeli military. It consists of a wide combination of techniques sourced from Boxing, Combat Sambo, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Judo and Jujitsu. Krav Maga’s speciality is its focus on real-world situations and its simple, efficient yet brutal counter attacks. Krav Maga is literally translated from Hebrew as “contact combat”.
Krav Maga was founded by Imi Lichtenfield in the 1930s who had a need to defend Jewish quarters against fascist groups in Czechoslovakia. Imi was a proficient boxer and wrestler. Following his immigration to Israel in the 1940s, he began teaching this form of self-defence to the Israeli Defence Force which then became known as Krav Maga. It has also been further developed for civilian and police applications and become a popular global self-defence system. Today, Krav Maga is continued to be taught to the Israeli Defence Force including the Special Forces.
Krav Maga encourages students to avoid confrontation. If confrontation is inevitable, then the objective is to finish the fight as quickly as possible. This is achieved by use of strikes to vulnerable parts of the body and utilising the surrounding environment to one’s advantage. Students learn to defend against a variety of attacks including weapons and multiple attack situations and are taught to counter in the quickest and most efficient way.
Krav Maga has a philosophy emphasising threat neutralisation, simultaneous defensive and offensive manoeuvres and aggression.
Ideas in Krav Maga include:
Counter attacking as soon as possible
Targeting attacks to the body’s most vulnerable points.eg. eyes, neck/throat, groin
Maximum effectiveness and efficiency
Maintaining awareness of surroundings during self defence in order to look for escape routes, help, further attackers and improvised weapons.
Krav Maga also focuses on situational awareness, body language, psychology of
street fights and verbal tactics for potential threats.
