In many of these self-defense articles, the term “Krav Maga” will be used quite a bit. What is it? Why use it over any of the other, more traditional martial arts?

To start with, Krav Maga is not a martial art.

Why? Consider, for a moment, some of the major martial arts. Tae Kwan Do has been referred to as a sport by even black belts. Or even Karate, with their kata routines that have about as much to do with an actual fight as ballet

There is penjakt silat, an Indonesian martial style; while it can be practical, it can also be overly complicated for the average user.

Why not MMA, now that is it legal in New York? That, too, is "merely" a sport; high kicks are nice, but MMA fighters don't have to deal with being kicked between the legs, and MMA has a lot of grappling, which doesn't seem like a reasonable proposition for thrashing around on concrete.

Krav Maga is simple, straightforward, it deals with weapons and it's very practical—a kick to the groin is a standard strike, one that's practiced repeatedly. Eye gouges are another tactic, practiced very, very carefully.

One generally does not see either in MMA tournaments.

MMA is nice, and the fighters are all true athletes, but television has yet to witness the MMA match that requires having participants defend themselves against a knife, or one where someone is bleeding from bite marks.

Initially developed as a quick and easy way to train the budding Israel Defense force in 1948; and it had to be trained really, really quickly (as in: “Good News, Israel is now a country. Bad News: everyone around us has just declared war.”)

Since then, Krav Maga is … pretty much everywhere, in police and military circles. It includes Scotland Yard, Australia, even Norway and Sweden. And even celebrities are getting on the Krav band wagon (Jennifer Lopez, Hillary Swank, Lucy Liu, John Mayer, Matt Damon, Anna Kournikova, Jennifer Garner, Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher and Charlize Theron, to name a few.)

What it does

Again, Krav Maga is not a martial art –there is no "art" to it. It's typically referred to as a self-defense system. While “Krav Maga” is Hebrew for “close combat,” one could translate it as “whatever works.” If there is anything from any martial system that can be adapted into a practical situation, it will be absorbed into the system—Krav Maga has yearly seminars on how to modify the system.

While there is no art, form is important, at least in terms of body mechanics. How so?

For example, there is the act of throwing a right cross. You see boxers throw these all the time. Try throwing one now—do not punch out your computer screen, please. How much of your body is in it? Just the arm muscles, yes?

With Krav Maga, just a simple punch involves the entire body. Krav practitioners will actually put a slight pivot on the back foot, which helps throw the entire body mass behind a strike. Even a standard ninety-pound grandmother can throw a Krav strike, because the entire ninety pounds will be concentrated on an area about one square inch—where the fist meets the impact area.

As noted above, the system is practical, and was originally developed for the quick training of civilians for all-out warfare. What does that mean? It means you don't have to be an athlete for this system to work.

How easy is Krav to learn? Some friends and family of Krav Maga practitioners have have been complimented on their skill level within the system, even though they have only observed what people have brought home.

Other Differences.

Martial arts tend to be very heavy on belts. In Krav, there are levels. And yes, there are belts that come with the levels, many go by the numbers. There are, technically, eight levels. Levels 1-5 are standard, and by level 5, combatants are trained how to defend themselves against a full array of weapons at close range. Up to and including “long guns” (everything from a shotgun to an assault rifle.)

After level 5, there are three “expert levels,” which have been described to as: Multiple attackers. Multiple attackers with weapons. And multiple attackers with multiple weapons.

Unlike most martial arts, in Krav Maga you do not have to wait level five hundred and sixty-two before you can use it in practical situations.

Allan Yoskowitz, black belt in Tae Kwan Do and Great Neck native, has witnessed several Krav Maga level certification tests, and concluded that some material in level 1 and 2 (it took this author merely four months to get to level 2), were considered advanced techniques in several martial arts.

To quote Mr. Yoskowitz, "I've seen what they do in level 1 classes. I couldn't do it."

In level 1 of Krav Maga, there are multiple defenses against being choked, headlocked, or punched. And everything learned in level 1is the foundation for what comes later.

For example? There are standard defenses against a straight punch, cross or jab. All it requires is a simple deflection, and a twist of the body.  So, one day, a Krav instructor wanted to encourage his student's defenses by giving each attacker a practice knife. It was amazing how fast the defenses improved.

Again, this is not a sport in any way, shape, or form. There are rules all over the sports world – those will not allow you to break peoples arms; there is no biting, scratching, gouging, or kicking them between the legs.

Krav Maga only has one rule: Win. The standard philosophy is that participants play by street rules, where all things are possible. Hair pulling, eye gouges, arm breaks, biting, etc.

As for “When to defend yourself,”...There have been more than a few classes that begin “there are laws out there that say you cannot do X, Y, or Z. Be sure to be perfectly reasonable until they throw the first punch. That way witnesses can tell the cops later that you had ample reason to put your opponent on the ground / in the hospital / in the morgue as needed.”

Also, Krav Maga has standard rules on lethal force: save it for when a weapon is in play, for when there are multiple attackers, or when your opponent just won't stay down with any other strike.

Culturally, considering the potential for catastrophe during practice, the students tend to be friendly, most everyone is cautious, and those who are neither friendly nor cautious rarely last very long. Many of them are professionals, or have graduate degrees, and some even own their own businesses. There are athletes, there are men and women of all ages and fitness types.

Fighting wisdom learned from Krav Maga. 

1) Sorry, MMA, but in a standard street fight / bar brawl, going to the ground to grapple with someone is a Very Bad Idea … so are high-kicks to the head. If you must kick them in the head, put them on the ground first and kick then do so.

2) When someone is attacking, do not retreat, go at them. Stepping back only allows them to recoil and strike again. This also applies to being attacked with a weapon. PS: DO NOT RUN INTO THE WEAPON.

3) Krav Maga also teaches the laws of self-defense: the threshold of proportional force, for one. For example, lethal force is something only for occasions of multiple attackers that need to be cowed, or for someone who pulls a weapon.

Where to Find Krav Maga in the New York City Area

There are multiple locations within Manhattan for Krav Maga courses in self defense. However, this author cannot comment on any of them.

However, once one gets outside of the Manhattan area, it becomes more difficult to find a Krav Maga place. In the Eastern end of Brooklyn and Queens, it would be easier to go into Long Island.

On “the Island” there are four places that utilize Krav Maga. The author has been to the first three establishments. This is not a review, nor even an order of preference. A review can be a different article for another day.

Kombat Masters of Long Island (KMLI): The first Krav Maga establishment on Long Island.

Protection Fitness: run by a former instructor at KMLI.  Protection Fitness offers a great workout and excellent defenses. The classes are smaller, and fewer, but some people might prefer the atmosphere of a smaller place. The schedule is on their site.

Top Gun Karate – a “Krav Maga” place where the “Krav Maga” classes are run together, with all levels taught on the same mat at the same time. Despite being larger than Protection Fitness, and having a shinier website, their class schedule is a little anemic.

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