# Krav Maga



## Bob Hubbard (Aug 12, 2001)

From the rec.martialarts FAQ

(Contributor: Peter Muldoon - muldoon@bway.net)

Intro:          The Israeli official Martial Art

Origin:         Israel

History:

The Krav Maga was developed in Israel in the early forties when the
underground liberation organizations were fighting for the
independence of the State of Israel. At that time, it was illegal to
possess weapons. The inventor and developer of the Krav Maga was a
champion heavy weight boxer, a judo champion, and an expert in
jiu-jutsu.  In addition, he was as a trapeze acrobat and a well known
dancer.  The knowledge he thus obtained, contributed to the
development of the Israeli martial art of self defense. There is no
hidden meaning behind the name Krav Maga, and literarily means
"contact fight / battle".

The Krav Maga was put into practice originally by the fighters of the
liberation organizations that often went to battle armed with knives
or sticks and with the knowledge of Krav Maga, and they were very
successful. After the establishment of the State of Israel, Krav Maga
was adopted as the official martial art taught in the defense forces,
and especially in the elite police and army units.  Krav Maga was
integrated into army training by Imi Lichenfield, a career IDF officer
and chief instructor at the armys physical training facility at the
Wingate Institute. Imi is still active involved in the Krav Maga
Association and maintains the role of president.

Over the years, the Krav Maga has turned into an integrated part of
training in many disciplines such as educational institutes.  Krav
Maga is taught in many public schools in Isreal.

Description:

The Krav Maga is not an ecletic martial art system, rather, it was
developed with the perception that the classic martial arts were
lacking various elements.  The defense needs in the eras that the
classic martial arts were developed were different than those of
today.  New unique techniques for defense against pistols, guns and
hand grenades were considered needed, and therefore developed.

Krav Maga has no katas or specific sequences that must be followed.
Students use the basic moves in conjunction with any one of a number
of other moves to fend off an attack, the key idea being adaptability
to new situations through improvisation. Emphasis is put on speed,
endurance, strength, accuracy and co-ordination especially for

intensive Krav Maga training.

Training:

Since the Krav Maga by definition is for self defense, it does not
have any constitution and judicial rules and therefore there are no
contests and exhibitions.  The training is for practical usage in the
every day reality. There is a colored belt system with a Black Belt
typically granted after 8 to 10 years of practice.  Spiritual and
philosophical aspects are studied only at the Black Belt level.

Get information from this website:
http://www.bway.net/~muldoon/km.html and/or write to:

Krav Maga Academy
57 West 84 st.
New york, NY 10024
(212) 580-5335

Another website:
Brazilian Association of Krav Maga: http://www.kravmaga.com.br

Sub-Styles:     None.


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## arnisador (Apr 9, 2002)

Here's a good site: http://www.kravmaga.com/

I note that they're doing flight attendant seminars now.


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## Battousai (Apr 9, 2002)

I don't know about Krav Maga schools in general, but the one near where I live is just like a mix between bare minium karate and TKD. Nothing new there. They have video tapes they sell about gun self defense and such. They are the highest priced school in my area. 
 Why is it called Israeli if its just a combination of jujitsu and boxing? Nothing historically Israeli there. The only reason it could be called such is its present use in Israel. Should Japanese martial arts taught in America become historically American? I don't think so. Just my opinion though.


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## KumaSan (Apr 9, 2002)

> _Originally posted by arnisador _
> 
> *Here's a good site: http://www.kravmaga.com/
> 
> I note that they're doing flight attendant seminars now. *



Ah, crap, not another "Optimized for Internet Explorer" website. When will people learn?


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## KumaSan (Apr 9, 2002)

They also claim to have taught UFC's Bas Rutten and Oleg Taktarov. Hmmmm... I thought that Bas was a Muay Thai/BJJ guy and Oleg was a Sambo/Judo guy....


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## arnisador (Apr 9, 2002)

> _Originally posted by KumaSan _
> 
> *Ah, crap, not another "Optimized for Internet Explorer" website. When will people learn? *



This drives me crazy too.


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## Kirk (Apr 9, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Battousai _
> 
> * Why is it called Israeli if its just a combination of jujitsu and boxing? Nothing historically Israeli there. The only reason it could be called such is its present use in Israel. Should Japanese martial arts taught in America become historically American? I don't think so. Just my opinion though. *



American Kenpo could potentially fall into your description.  But
it's source was modified drastically, to match the honor, or lack
thereof, of American street fighting.  In addition, the system was
designed to teach it's concepts in a fashion that 20th century
students can adhere to.  Meaning, you can have a job, a family,
other hobbies, etc, and still study the art.  Many feel that it was
optimized for quick learning of the art as well.  Is that enough
of a modification to call it an American art?

JKD on a lot of websites is credited to China.  Bruce Lee, was 
American born, and raised in Hong Kong, which 100% of that
time was own by Great Britain.  How did China get the credit
for this art?  It was created on American soil
(using the Chinese and Japanes influences of course), by an 
American, who's parents came from Hong Kong.  You'd have to
go back 2 generations at least ( I don't know where Bruce's
grand daddy was from) to hit China.


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## Battousai (Apr 9, 2002)

Well I think it comes from who taught who the art, and what art was taught to the originator of the new style. Bruce Lee was taught Gung Fu by a chinese master. His influence was primarily chinese.  
 Now American Kempo didn't change the name "kempo." They didn't call it something like "Krav Killer Do" and say it originated in America. 

Do people teach American Kempo outside America? (I don't know) 

 But the origin of American Kempo is not America, its originally kempo from Japan. Yet here is Krav Maga claiming an origin of Israel, yet historically their is no Krav Maga in Israel, historically the background of Krav Maga is in Japan, and all the places around the world that box. What influences the creator had, these are the origins of the art, not were that art is practiced.


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## Chiduce (Apr 11, 2002)

I see that the system leans more toward weapons defenses! There will be a seminar in marylandin june i think. Yet this sensei spelled Karv Magen. This seminar will be hosted by Sensei Guy Dar; former isreali soldier and 4th Dan, Karv Magen (Kimi Method). For info, the contact is Beverly Sotile Dragon Kenpo Karate Academy, Rochester N.Y., or bevsoltiledkka@earth.net ! Sincerely, In Humility; Chiduce!


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## arnisador (Apr 11, 2002)

Is Karv Magen (Kimi Method) a substyle of Krav maga?


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## Kirk (Apr 11, 2002)

There's quite a bit of negativity associated with Krav Maga schools
in this country.  Enough to make McDojos look good.


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## Damian Mavis (Apr 12, 2002)

Whats the reason behind the negativity?  I know all about the mcdojos but what about krav maga?

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD


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## Cthulhu (Apr 12, 2002)

I think the source of negativity is due to the way a lot of people get their Krav Maga 'certification', which is basically by attending a seminar or two.  After only a few hours of training, suddenly they've 'mastered' the system and market themselves as such.

In essence, it's the same issue as with McDojos: it's not a bad system, it's bad people exploiting the system.

Cthulhu


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## Damian Mavis (Apr 12, 2002)

Ya thats a good reason for the negativity.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD


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## Chiduce (Apr 12, 2002)

> _Originally posted by arnisador _
> 
> *Is Karv Magen (Kimi Method) a substyle of Krav maga? *


 I don't think that it is a substyle; i think it is Karv Maga, just a different spelling. Bev has a Dragon kenpo Site at http://www.bevsotiledkka.homestead.com/index.html    She has a state of the art studio, check out the photos as well as the seminar info. She wiil be able to answer your question on whether it is a sub style or not! Sincerely, In Humility; Chiduce!


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## Battousai (Apr 12, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Cthulhu _
> 
> *I think the source of negativity is due to the way a lot of people get their Krav Maga 'certification', which is basically by attending a seminar or two.  After only a few hours of training, suddenly they've 'mastered' the system and market themselves as such.
> 
> ...



 This may be the case with Krav Maga, that a group of people malign an entire system. But what should be taken into account is that Krav Maga gives these certificates out in the first place, what are they? What do they say? Are people lying or do the certificates really give the impression of "mastery?" 

 The thing is, if a system is being hyjacked by fakes with certificates calling themselves masters, why doesn't the system do something about it? Should they still be giving out these certificates, holding seminars for anyone everywere for the money? 
 Its that they do nothing about such things that destroy the credibility of the system. 
 I know that my local Krav Maga school is mcdojo fodder, I would not recommend it to anyone, do people have to go to Israel to get good Krav Maga training?


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## Cthulhu (Apr 12, 2002)

I've seen ads in magazines advertizing Krav Maga teaching certification in what amounts to a weekend of training.

That just smells wrong.

Cthulhu


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## Ty K. Doe (Apr 19, 2002)

> After the establishment of the State of Israel, Krav Maga
> was adopted as the official martial art taught in the defense forces,
> and especially in the elite police and army units. Krav Maga was
> integrated into army training



I don't know anything about this style so I can't claim knowledge on anything about it, but I had heard that this is not true.  It's great if it is true, but has anyone else heard this?  If it is true why would certain people claim this?  Would it have to do with the certification issues?


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## arnisador (Apr 19, 2002)

It's subtantially accurate--I don't know if it's accurate in every respect. The founder of Krav Maga was in the Israeli military service, as head of HTH combat training, at the time, and it did become their official training system.


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## Rainman (Apr 19, 2002)

I saw an interview with the founder... I believe it's origins began in europe with wresting as part of its foundation.  I've seen it take on the appearance of muy tai and most recently locking and breaking for anti terrorist police training.  The techniques really are starting to take a kenpo flavor from what I have seen.  

:asian:


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## mantis (Oct 3, 2005)

actually krav maga was born in 1926 in czechoslovakia...
it was put to test, and got mature in the 30's and 40's in combat..


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## Loki (Oct 8, 2005)

I realize that this thread was started almost three years ago, but I'll attempt to correct a few misunderstandings nonetheless:

 * Imi Lichtenfeld not only integrated Krav Maga into the army, he invented it. He's the founder of the system. This fact isn't disputed.

 * I know of no philosophy studied at black belt and higher.

 * www.kravmaga.com is the website of Darren Levine, who pretty much the American Krav Maga market. Peter Muldoon, who supplied the source material for the original post in this thread, is an instructor for Krav Maga Inc. (www.kravmagainc.com) and isn't associated with kravmaga.com as far as I know. 

 * The way KM seems to be practiced in America reeks of McDojo to me as well. Certification requires, from a professional standpoint, that you have a black belt or higher in a striking art. People with two weels acquaintance with Krav Maga passing off as instructors? Very fishy. My grandmaster jokes that most people who learn KM abroad probably study under Golani soldiers (Golani is a IDF infantry division). I can cite a certain organization (a rather large one) that reeks horribly of McDojo, but I came to understand that this isn't what the site is for. I'll PM anyone interested.

 * Professionally, I haven't heard too many good things about foreign Krav Maga either. Krav Maga is NOT a combination of boxing and Jujitsu, boxing and TKD, green eggs and ham or anything else. It is its own style. In fact, Krav Maga has very little grappling.

 * When the original Krav Maga Association was disbanded, it was effectively recreated in four different organizations. Krav Magen is one of them. I'm guessing the differences are analogous to Parker and Tracy Kenpo: it's the same system, but here and there there are a few minor changes. "Kimi" is probably "Kami", which is short for Israeli Krav Magen in Hebrew. Another name for the same thing.

 * People don't have to go to Israel get good training, they have to go to NYC. Checkout the link to Muldoon's site.


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## masherdong (Sep 24, 2009)

Here are a couple of links for the International Krav Maga Federation (IKMF).  Hopfeully, these links will answer your questions.

www.krav-maga.com

http://www.kravmaga.co.il


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## mvcoburn (Sep 5, 2013)

Guys, I know little about Krav Maga.  I have read a few of your links and the Wikipedia page, but I still have very little understanding.  Do they have an official belt system?  I read on one site that instead of "belts" they have levels (1 through 5).  One site stated that it takes 1 year to get to black belt.  Is all of this typical? I come from the TKD world where everything is measured in belts and it takes a while to get to black belt.


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## hungryninja (Sep 5, 2013)

Depends on the organization, but in general, it has a belt system with equivalent levels.  It takes many years to get to black belt (invitation only).  There is usually a one year minimum requirement at brown belt before you are eligible or invited to test for black belt.



mvcoburn said:


> Guys, I know little about Krav Maga.  I have read a few of your links and the Wikipedia page, but I still have very little understanding.  Do they have an official belt system?  I read on one site that instead of "belts" they have levels (1 through 5).  One site stated that it takes 1 year to get to black belt.  Is all of this typical? I come from the TKD world where everything is measured in belts and it takes a while to get to black belt.


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## K-man (Sep 5, 2013)

Unlike so called 'traditional' arts like aikido and karate which take years to master, KM is designed to have people ready for combat in a matter of weeks. Black belts in all systems mean different things. In Krav a black belt is an indication that you have completed the syllabus to a certain level of competence. To suggest that it should take years to get a black belt in Krav would mean the system was not doing what it is designed to do. If the Jews in Poland had to train for five years to be competent, the war would have finished before they were ready to fight back. Krav is a simple system, built on reflex reaction, like Systema. It has certain principles that apply across a range of attacks. It applies gross motor skills and it is not designed for grappling or the ground. It assumes multiple attackers at all times so the finishing moves are quick and brutal.

I am not saying that there are no McDojos in Krav but really it is the demonstration of competence that leads to the grade and the ability to teach that leads to higher qualification. Time between grading depends on the number of classes attended.  If someone has a grounding in Muay Thai they will pick it up quicker than someone from say aikido even though there are similar principles across all systems. Personally, my martial art background equipped me well for Krav and I am now teaching bits of Krav to my karate class. 

Perhaps the hardest part with Krav is knowing when to stop hitting. That is, if your attacker is no longer a threat, you need to have the ability to use self control. For that reason I don't want any guys under 18 training, unless they are my existing karate students (two only under 18, one being my grandson )

:asian:


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## sinthetik_mistik (Feb 24, 2018)

ok I'll put my two cents in. a lot of people seem to be under the impression that Krav Maga is just a bunch of dudes kicking each other in the balls and sticking their fingers in each other's eyes. this does exist in Krav, but there is much, much more. the stamp of legitimacy in Krav Maga in America is Krav Maga Worldwide, founded by Darren Levine, who trained directly under Imi Lichtenfeld, the creator of Krav Maga. Krav Maga gyms in America that are not certified by Krav Maga Worldwide may or may not be legit I'm not sure. My first question is this, if Krav Maga is so simplistic, how come each belt test takes 3.5-4 hours, sometimes more than that? I took Brazilian Jiujitsu for over two years, and I came to Krav Maga early one day and watched one of the more advanced classes, and saw them practicing several submissions that I recognized from Brazilian Jiujitsu. it also incorporates Judo and Wrestling. so that is my response to people saying Krav has no ground game. in my first month of taking Krav I learned like 8 different ways to escape from various types of choke holds, I learned 7 different types of elbow attacks, I learned how to defend against multiple attackers, I learned Boxing footwork, palm strikes, punches, roundhouse kicks with both the shin and the foot, all types of different drills, and more. and i'm still a white belt! yes, i learned several ways to attack the groin, I learned the most efficient way to eye gouge, and so on and so forth. Krav Maga is and has been continuously evolving. started off just Wrestling and Boxing basically, now it incorporates like a dozen martial arts. Krav Maga may not always win in a fair fight, but it is not designed to fight fair! i would say it is a way to become a professional at fighting dirty, but that is just one aspect.


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## Kababayan (Feb 26, 2018)

sinthetik_mistik said:


> ok I'll put my two cents in. a lot of people seem to be under the impression that Krav Maga is just a bunch of dudes kicking each other in the balls and sticking their fingers in each other's eyes. this does exist in Krav, but there is much, much more. the stamp of legitimacy in Krav Maga in America is Krav Maga Worldwide, founded by Darren Levine, who trained directly under Imi Lichtenfeld, the creator of Krav Maga. Krav Maga gyms in America that are not certified by Krav Maga Worldwide may or may not be legit I'm not sure. My first question is this, if Krav Maga is so simplistic, how come each belt test takes 3.5-4 hours, sometimes more than that? I took Brazilian Jiujitsu for over two years, and I came to Krav Maga early one day and watched one of the more advanced classes, and saw them practicing several submissions that I recognized from Brazilian Jiujitsu. it also incorporates Judo and Wrestling. so that is my response to people saying Krav has no ground game. in my first month of taking Krav I learned like 8 different ways to escape from various types of choke holds, I learned 7 different types of elbow attacks, I learned how to defend against multiple attackers, I learned Boxing footwork, palm strikes, punches, roundhouse kicks with both the shin and the foot, all types of different drills, and more. and i'm still a white belt! yes, i learned several ways to attack the groin, I learned the most efficient way to eye gouge, and so on and so forth. Krav Maga is and has been continuously evolving. started off just Wrestling and Boxing basically, now it incorporates like a dozen martial arts. Krav Maga may not always win in a fair fight, but it is not designed to fight fair! i would say it is a way to become a professional at fighting dirty, but that is just one aspect.



I respond to this respectfully, as many people respond to threads just to counter and disregard what commenters say.  This isn't intended for that, but to rather share Krav philosophies with people who are not familiar with them. I don't know how to quote individual sentences, so I am just going to copy and paste.  This is not intended so much for sinthetik's sake, but more to inform readers who are not familiar with Krav.  I am certainly not an expert on all things Krav but I am in my sixth year of Krav after transitioning from traditional martial arts, and have pretty much jumped into Krav with both feet. I have mostly trained with KMWW and IKMF, and have some experience with IKMA.

"the stamp of legitimacy in Krav Maga in America is Krav Maga Worldwide".

KMWW is great and much of my training comes from them. There are a few other Krav associations that are just as legitimate.  Many Krav associations tout how different they are from each other,  but from my experience the techniques are very similar.  KMWW, KMG, IKMA, IKMF, and KMA come to mind for being legitimate.  They are all very good.   Generally speaking there is the commonality between them that they don't want the term "Krav Maga" to turn into a generic term like "Karate".  They want the techniques and lineage to all go back to Imi.

"if Krav Maga is so simplistic, how come each belt test takes 3.5-4 hours?"

Krav Maga techniques should be simple.  The purpose of it is to protect oneself and go home to their family.  Krav Maga is not a martial art and doesn't claim to be one.  It is a system of self defense. A person should only have to remember as few techniques as possible so they are more effective in a high-stress situation.  An outsider may look at Krav and say "All of the techniques look the same."  It should be that way, as practitioners shouldn't be weighed down with a multitude of techniques to have to remember.  The core of Krav is 360 blocking, a few punches, a few kicks, plucking, and escaping. For the most part, the techniques are based on that.  Not all Krav tests are long, but mostly it is to put students into stress-test scenarios.  To be fair, most higher level martial arts testing is in the 3-4 hours range and longer.

"...that is my response to people saying Krav has no ground game."

There is an inaccurate perception to Krav not having a ground game.  I always saw Krav's groundfighting philosophy as this: If I am on the ground trying to out-wrestle someone, then I have failed as a Kravist.  Krav's overall philosophy is to survive and go home.  If I am engaging in a grappling match then something failed on my end, which ultimately led to me being taken to the ground.  I'm generalizing, of course, as I could have been sucker-punched or completely surprised, but my main focus, as a Kravist, is to get back up and run away.  Most of Krav's ground techniques have the focal point of getting back up to run. There is focus on groins strikes, eye rakes, etc, anything to create an opening to allow an escape.  IKMA has implemented quite a bit more grappling techniques in their curriculum.  As a bjj practitioner myself, I look at Krav's grappling like this:  A Kravist could not out-grapple a bjj practitioner if they are just grappling tournament style, but a Kravist is very hard to take down and very hard to keep down because they are not trained to "wrestle back" (which would give the bjj practitioner the advantage.) Kravists are taught to keep moving and keep fighting (retsev).

"in my first month of taking Krav I learned like 8 different ways to escape from various types of choke holds"

I say this respectfully, and more for clarification for non-kravists, but if it's KMWW curriculum you probably learned one way to escape 8 different chokes.  You probably learned single and double plucking from the front, side, and rear. If it's on the ground you probably learned shrimp-to-pluck.  Headlocks and guillotines would fall into different category, so you were probably including those as well in your count of eight. 

"Krav Maga is and has been continuously evolving"

Yes it is, within parameters, and I think this is where some people take liberties and just create random stuff and call it Krav Maga.  Sometimes I am guilty of Krav-Fu, which is essentially blending Krav Maga with other martial arts.  Krav Maga is evolving within most of the main Krav Maga organizations, but the new techniques all fall within the Krav parameters.  It's not a random martial artist blending what he/she learned at a Krav Camp with his/her existing martial art...at least it shouldn't be.

"Krav Maga may not always win in a fair fight, but it is not designed to fight fair!"

I had this exact conversation with a Kenpo-guy the other day when he asked who would win in a fight between a Kravist and a Kenpo-guy.  My explanation was that the fight would never happen in the first place.  Krav Maga, by definition, is a system of self defense.  Their entire philosophy is to defend, survive, and go home.  If a Kravist gets into an altercation it's because he/she was attacked and not because he or she decided to put fists up and engage in a fight.  An agreed-upon contest (a fight) wouldn't happen for a true kravist.  A lot of Krav's self defense philosophy is based on element of surprise or breaking the OODA loop (something Kravists are aware of.)  If a kravist is attacked, then they go into Krav-mode, but a true kravist would never put up their fists and agree to a fight.  

I hope sinthetik doesn't mind me elaborating on some of his points.  Many people don't understand Krav philosophies so the intention of my response was more for their benefits.  I was talking to a Hapkido-guy once and we began to talk about Krav.  He said, "Those Krav guys are crazy."  I think that's the perception (that we are crazy), and if it keeps us out of altercations, I'll take it.  I think Krav fills in the self defense gaps that some traditional martial arts have.  After 30 years of traditional martial arts, Krav was a really cool change of style for me.  

This weekend I was at a gun and knife threat defense seminar put on by a former police officer and someone who was contracted by KMWW back in the day to help with weapons defenses.  He said this about weapons defense: "It's not about the disarm, it's about the beating." His point was to constantly attack and fight to create the opening for escape (whatever that escape will be.)

I've been to many Krav school where the instructor makes fun of traditional martial arts, and I also have talked to many traditional martial artists that don't understand Krav.   As both a kravist and a traditional martial artist I can say that Krav is it's own animal.  There are things, however, that traditional martial arts teaches that Krav can't teach because Krav is not a martial art.  

Sorry about this response being so long.  Thanks sinthetik for being up some great points.


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## sinthetik_mistik (Feb 26, 2018)

Kababayan said:


> I respond to this respectfully, as many people respond to threads just to counter and disregard what commenters say.  This isn't intended for that, but to rather share Krav philosophies with people who are not familiar with them. I don't know how to quote individual sentences, so I am just going to copy and paste.  This is not intended so much for sinthetik's sake, but more to inform readers who are not familiar with Krav.  I am certainly not an expert on all things Krav but I am in my sixth year of Krav after transitioning from traditional martial arts, and have pretty much jumped into Krav with both feet. I have mostly trained with KMWW and IKMF, and have some experience with IKMA.
> i'll respond to this in depth later i have class
> 
> "the stamp of legitimacy in Krav Maga in America is Krav Maga Worldwide".
> ...


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## sinthetik_mistik (Feb 26, 2018)

I'll respond to this in depth later i have class


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## sinthetik_mistik (Feb 26, 2018)

Sorry about this response being so long.  Thanks sinthetik for being up some great points.[/QUOTE]

thank you for the elaboration. you made some great points as well.  I agree with some of the things you said, and disagree with others. Krav Maga Worldwide is the only form I've worked with. You sound like you are more advanced than me. At my gym, all belt tests take at least 3 hours usually more, even the early tests. plucking is one way to escape from a chokehold, but it is not the only way. I have learned ways to escape a chokehold that do not apply plucking. About ground game, I understand that the Krav philosophy is to avoid going to the ground at all costs, but sometimes the fight goes to the ground whether you like it or not, so learning to defend against submissions can be valuable. that being said, if you fight hard and dirty they will have a hard time submitting you (just my opinion). As far as Krav not being a martial art, most or all martial arts start out as a system of self defense. The difference is that most of them turn into sports. There is no sport aspect to Krav whatsoever... so yeah I think Krav Maga is a martial art... not a sport martial art, but a martial art nonetheless. Yes, Krav says to avoid the fight if at all possible... but as soon as someone grabs you or throws a punch you are in your rights to fight back. as soon as he stops attacking, it is no longer legal to continue. anyway thanks for your elaboration... feel free to elaborate on my posts as you see fit.


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## TheArtofDave (Mar 25, 2018)

They don't use ranked belts in class but Krav Maga does have a belt system in place. There are Krav black belts out there. I found that interesting. 

From KMWW it's Level 1-Yellow, Level 2- Orange Level 3- Green Level 4- Blue and Level 5 is brown and black testing. You can excel pretty quick depending on the testing times. I think it's a year between each. And it's by invitation only.

To get to black belt in Krav you need to have trained with a brown belt. So that would be how to get it done. You could ask your instructor if you wanted that tma feel in your Krav training


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## sinthetik_mistik (Mar 27, 2018)

Kababayan said:


> There are things, however, that traditional martial arts teaches that Krav can't teach because Krav is not a martial art.



i would say that Krav is not a "traditional" martial art because it has no forms to memorize and it does not have any competitions or sporting aspect to it. I think of it as more of a modern martial art. I think most martial arts were invented as a form of self defense, which is exactly what Krav is. i might be repeating myself a little here, but I think this is an important point.


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## sinthetik_mistik (Mar 27, 2018)

TheArtofDave said:


> There are Krav black belts out there. I found that interesting.



yeah actually the Krav gym I train at both of the head instructors are certified black belts under Krav Maga Worldwide. they are also certified as instructors. the funny thing is they are husband and wife


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## macher (Apr 15, 2018)

sinthetik_mistik said:


> i would say that Krav is not a "traditional" martial art because it has no forms to memorize and it does not have any competitions or sporting aspect to it. I think of it as more of a modern martial art. I think most martial arts were invented as a form of self defense, which is exactly what Krav is. i might be repeating myself a little here, but I think this is an important point.



Traditional MA weren’t created as a form as self defense per se, they were created with the intention to engage in combat.


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## sinthetik_mistik (Apr 16, 2018)

macher said:


> Traditional MA weren’t created as a form as self defense per se, they were created with the intention to engage in combat.


well in any case I think Krav Maga is indeed a martial art. it isn't a traditional martial art, it isn't a competition martial art, and it isn't a sport martial art. but it is a martial art


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