Krav Maga..Israeli Combat Style

The krav magá or kravmagá, 1 which in Hebrew means «contact combat» (from krav [קרב] 'combat' and magá [מגע] 'contact'), is the official system of fighting and self-defense used by the defense forces and Israeli security, known in its beginnings as krav.

This form of melee combat includes defense methods against one or more attackers, in response to a wide and varied range of attacks. It covers both assaults without weapons (blows, kicks, grip and strangulation) as well as with melee weapons (knives, pocket knives, machetes, axes) and blunt force (batons, police batons, sticks, bottles, stones). It also includes disarmament and defense techniques against firearms carriers of various types (short, long, military, and civilian).

In the krav magá all kinds of empty-handed techniques are used (punches, open-hand punches, elbows, knees, stomps, low and high kicks, bites, head butts, dislocations, sweeps, throws and strangulations), as well as advanced techniques with simple weapons.

The basic idea is to deal first with the immediate threat (for example, a strangulation against the practitioner), prevent the aggressor from attacking again, and finally, neutralize the opponent. Emphasis is placed on immediately taking away the initiative from the aggressor. It is lawful to flee (tactical withdrawal), if the situation determines. The Krav Maga serves both armed opponents and multiple opponents. It also allows combat in closed spaces, such as airplanes, elevators or automobiles.

The krav magá has many disarmament techniques, and in its practice emphasis is placed on combat, in unusual circumstances, which implies training in narrow spaces, or in poor lighting, cornering, from the ground, defense in position sitting and, above all, defense in individual and group situations of high stress and realism.

In summary, the fundamental principles of combat dictate that any self defense response must comply with all of the following:

In a given situation, defense or attack must be:

the fastest,

the strongest,

the shortest

the most natural and

the most direct

 (For example, if you want to escape, you have to escape; if you want to continue hitting, you have to hit).

The Krav Magá is a combat system created and developed for practical use in real risk situations. It does not have a sports or competitive aspect, its effectiveness cannot be verified on a mat or in a ring, but only in real combat. It is not a combat sport or a traditional or modern martial art, and several of its techniques could be considered anti-sports, but this is because the purpose of the system is not to obtain victory in combat, but to go out with life of a real confrontation, making use of any available means. Also, for the same reason, there is no single program for teaching and evaluating krav magá, although in some federations the traditional system of degrees of belts, or (kyu-dan) taken from judo, is used with the colors of karate;