Why Is Krav Maga So Effective?

Krav Maga is recognized by law-enforcement agencies and military units worldwide as one of the most effective self-defense systems in existence. It has a reputation for being quick to learn, and easily recalled under the stress and duress of a real-life violent attack. But what makes it so effective and straightforward to learn? In these seven short videos, you will be introduced to some of the ideas and concepts upon which Krav Maga is founded, and able to see for yourself why it is such an effective system of fighting and self-defense. You can also read Gershon Ben Keren's Blog, by clicking here

When Imi Lichtenfeld was growing up in Eastern Europe he saw how people naturally responded when attacked (this was in the 1930’s when fascist street gangs were targeting members of the Jewish Community in Bratislava, where he lived). He noticed that even individuals who had trained in boxing, wrestling and other martial arts, didn’t respond with trained and learned movements when surprised. As Krav Maga was being developed, natural and instinctive movements and responses, were used as the basis for the techniques. This means that rather than suppressing defenses that have naturally evolved over time, Krav Maga works with them. This makes the system quicker to learn, and more likely to be effective than other martial arts and fighting systems, which teach people how to fight and defend themselves in a prescribed way.

Often, it is impossible to identify and distinguish a knife attack from a punch/strike, as the arm moves so fast, and the weapon is relatively small. This is especially true when surprised. To deal with this problem, Krav Maga’s blocking system is based on responses to movements, rather than having to recognize and identify the nature of the attack. This means that a Krav Maga practitioner needs to only learn one blocking system, that is effective against both armed and unarmed attacks.

Real-life violent assaults are messy affairs, and usually catch people by surprise i.e., one person attacks another with little or no warning. A real-world violent encounter differs from a combat sports competition, in that you don’t know when it will happen, who it will involve, and/or when the fight will actually start (there is no referee involved). This means you are likely to perform sub-optimally, and Krav Maga techniques and solutions account for this. In most defenses there is a “hand defense”, and a “body defense” e.g., to block a punch you both intercept the incoming fist (hand defense), and move off-line (body defense). Each one on its own – and without the other - can deal with the attack. This means that if each part is only performed 50% well, together they make a 100% - and complete – defense.

One of the issues when dealing with an attack is identifying what is happening, and recognizing how you should respond. Krav Maga helps practitioners reach decisions and responses quickly by not only using reflexive movements but by categorizing attacks as either being “life threatening” or “non-life threatening” and directing the initial response that should be made based off of this. If the attack is a choke or strangulation the attack itself must be cleared, before doing anything else e.g., if a rear-strangulation was applied blocking off air to the lungs then the obstructing arm would have to be pulled away so that you can breathe, before you made an attack to your assailant's groin and/or eyes etc.

Non-Life Threatening attacks include things such as pushes and shoves, wrist grabs, lapel and clothing grabs etc. Krav Maga has a common solution for these attacks: attack the attacker. This could involve punches, open-hand strikes, hammer-fists etc. This is because it is not so much the danger of the initial attack that you need to be worried about but what is going to happen next e.g., a wrist grab in and of itself is not a dangerous thing, but if it's a precursory move before an assailant pulls a weapon such as a knife, it creates a problem. Rather than put effort into dealing with it, the idea is to disrupt and shut down the attacker before they have a chance to pull a weapon.

Because Krav Maga has to provide solutions to striking and grappling when standing, seated and on the ground, and against weapons (short barrel guns, knives, sticks, long barrel guns etc.), and against single and multiple attackers, if there was a unique solution/technique to deal with each potential threat and attack, it would take a lifetime of training just to see each technique, let alone have the time to practice them to a level where they can be remembered and relied upon in a real-life confrontation. To deal with these issues, Krav Maga uses a few core movements to power its various techniques and movements. Techniques are grouped into “families”, where there are common movements, and taught alongside each other. This cuts down what needs to be learned, increases training time, and means there is less to remember and recall when attacked.

Krav Maga’s ultimate goal, is to deal with a violent attack in the shortest possible time, and then get to safety. The longer you stay engaged with an assailant the more opportunities there are for things to go wrong. Real life differs from combat sports, such as MMA, Muay Thai and BJJ in that the way to “win” a fight is to exit from it. Within combat sports, the way to be successful is to keep engaging with the other party, whereas in real-life encounters disengagement signals success. In fact, if you keep engaging and attacking when the other person is no longer an imminent threat, you may lose your legal claim/right of self-defense and find yourself being charged with excessive use of force.