# Similarities of Kung Fu San Soo and Krav Maga?



## ItstheFNG (Apr 6, 2013)

Hey everyone, first post, good to be here and hope that being part of a community of martial artists is as bad *** as I would think! 

So a little of me first as backstory for my question. I'm 18, live in a small redneck town in Idaho, graduate in a couple months, and am a first degree black belt in Kung Fu San Soo. Or, more accurately, I have been training for almost 7 years. I received my black belt a year and a half ago and was recently promoted. Unfortunately, it will be my last promotion in San Soo for a very long time.

My parents recently divorced and I live with my mom. But upon graduation, both of my parents are moving, mom to New England and dad to NC. I will be going with my dad. And as far as Google can tell us, there are no San Soo schools in the Raleigh area (we will be near there). But, it has also told us that there is a Krav Maga school there. I am eligible and actively teach and can actually open a school where I want, but near the end of the summer I will be going to Air Force basic training, so just taking a different art is much more sensible. 

From what I have seen, Krav Maga is quite similar to San Soo in many ways, but the biggest is practical self defense. At the risk of offending people, I really don't want to be taking a sport. From my biased opinion coming from a background like mine, many arts are sports to me. That is awesome in its own right, but I feel that they can't compare to a (for the lack of a better term) street-defense art, at least in my hands. 

Raleigh is a large area, so obviously there are many martial arts taught around the area. A well-known school that teaches Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu intrigued me, but thanks to a recent shoulder surgery, I don't think that Jiu-Jitsu would be healthy for the shoulder repair at this stage in recovery. 

I realize that I have pretty much led away from my original question, but I have many. So guys and gals, any input on the similarities of the two and other things I have talked about? 

As a side note, anyone know what hand-to-hand combat system the AF uses? I am aware that Army uses Modern Combatives and Marines us MCMAP, but I don't know about the AF.


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## Drasken (Apr 6, 2013)

I believe that you will find many similarities between Krav Maga and many styles as it was developed using many techniques from multiple styles. HOWEVER, the foundation was first and foremost Boxing and Wrestling. So while you may find similarities, it really is very different and has become a style very different from anything else. Especially in training methods and philosophy it is very much along the lines of modern combatives.

I would suggest Krav Maga, but I'm very biased since it is my primary style. I would also offer up some caution as well if this is the direction you are going.
1. Make sure you explain your shoulder in detail to the instructors. I can tell you, from experience due to A rotator cuff injury myself, that some techniques and training can be very painful on an injured shoulder. And the more your instructors know, the better they can help you in training. But thankfully MOST actual grappling comes in at later belts. 

2. Be very careful when choosing a Krav school. Make sure that they are certified and it is with a Krav organization with a good rep. There are a lot of instructors that are cashing in on the popularity of Krav Maga and what they teach is NOT Krav Maga. In some cases it is nothing more than kickboxing.

Do a little bit of research before committing to this school, and often the schools will give free introductory courses. If you find a legitimate school with good instructors, then have fun.

As far as hand to hand in the AF I'm not sure. I don't think they focus on it as much as Army or Marines obviously, though I base this on discussions with my friend who joined about 2 years ago. But it probably depends on what you're going to be doing for the AF. I would imagine that it would be modern combatives. However, I am definitely not the expert on that subject and this is only a guess on my part. But I'm sure there is info on it online somewhere. I'll look as well and see if I can help you come up with an answer.
Though if you really want to know for sure, I'd say to ask your recruiter as they probably know 

Welcome to the forum.


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## ItstheFNG (Apr 7, 2013)

I suppose I am pretty lucky in that my school is really small (50 students inculding kids and teens) and I am family friends with the instructors, so it is easy to let everyone know about my shoulder and they all have avoided doing any leverages or throws using that arm. It will be more of a challenge in a bigger school, but I will also be 6 months recovered by that point. Labral tear by the way. 

I may be ignorant in this, but I can mostly assume what kind of things that would be done to the shoulder/arm in Krav Maga thanks to my training, but I could be wrong.


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## Drasken (Apr 7, 2013)

ItstheFNG said:


> I suppose I am pretty lucky in that my school is really small (50 students inculding kids and teens) and I am family friends with the instructors, so it is easy to let everyone know about my shoulder and they all have avoided doing any leverages or throws using that arm. It will be more of a challenge in a bigger school, but I will also be 6 months recovered by that point. Labral tear by the way.
> 
> I may be ignorant in this, but I can mostly assume what kind of things that would be done to the shoulder/arm in Krav Maga thanks to my training, but I could be wrong.



You would likely be mostly right in your assumptions. Though you might be surprised as well.

Hey, training prepares you and will help you pick up another style more easily in some cases, but be warned it can hinder your progress as well. Go into it with an "empty cup" . What I mean by that is, try to forget the previous experience in martial arts you may have while in the new school. It makes it more difficult to learn the new style if your brain constantly tries to compare it to what you already know.

It sounds hard to do, but in reality.... it can be darn near impossible @_@
But it's easier in the long run, as constantly comparing can stop you from picking up the important little details that make a new style, or ven just a new technique, work.


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## TheArtofDave (May 27, 2013)

Also check out Ryukyu Kempo and Combat Hapkido. Both are very practical street defense but I don't know if NC offers those since I don't live in the area. But it is something that you can check out to see how you like it.


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