What is Krav Maga?

What Is Krav Maga? Anyone who has gone looking for a sport to defend themselves has surely come across Krav Maga. So, is Krav Maga a sport, a martial art? Who can do Krav Maga? What is Krav Maga?

Let me try to summarize briefly.

I won’t go into its history; to give a rough overview, it is a self-defense discipline developed by Israel. It was created by selecting the most effective methods from all combat sports. The goal is to neutralize the opponent within 3 seconds. It has no rules, no doctrine, no mercy; the movements are savage and ruthless. It is not a sport but a fighting discipline. For this reason, it has no competitions and no federation.

So why should I learn Krav Maga? Because while walking down the street, someone could attack you with a knife for no reason (did that sound too exaggerated? see.)

Someone you argue with in traffic could get out of their car with a bat and attack you (no way, did you say it won’t happen to me? see. ), etc., etc. We come across many news stories like this. This is exactly where Krav Maga comes in: no other sports branch tells you what to do when someone attacks you with a bat, knife, handgun, or rifle, but Krav Maga is a fighting discipline created so you can get out of these situations.

• To start doing Krav Maga, you don’t need to have done a combat sport before,
• Your age doesn’t matter,
• It doesn’t matter whether you’re a woman or a man,
• It doesn’t require strength. (The part about not requiring strength may sound exaggerated to you, but it really is true. Applying a little force to the right points at the right time lets you achieve effective results.)

Comparison of Krav Maga with other combat sports

Krav Maga VS Kickboxing, Krav Maga VS Muay Thai, Krav Maga VS Boxing

Friends, Krav Maga is not a sport and cannot be compared with any combat sport. In Krav Maga there are no rules; you can gouge out your opponent’s eye, kick them in the groin or kneecap. To hold competitions, you’d have to remove these, and then it wouldn’t be Krav Maga anyway.. When you remove those, my personal assessment is that it most resembles Muay Thai, I’d say.

On the internet, there will be comments from people who have never experienced this discipline or who experienced it with the wrong instructors; don’t be prejudiced, definitely try it. Some write that the movements are theatrical. Remember, actually doing these moves would be serious enough to cause injury or even death to the person opposite you, so of course they should be theatrical 🙂

The training sessions are quite enjoyable and lively. You can walk in knowing nothing, and by the end of the first lesson you’ll be able to do something.

Again, my personal opinion: everyone, especially women and children, especially nowadays, should definitely learn Krav Maga.

For those who want to experience it, I recommend Bülent Hoca on the Kadıköy side of Istanbul.

I’m also sharing a few videos below from some of the masters of this field.

I hope my article has been useful.