The essence of Krav Maga

For me, the essence of Krav Maga is very simple and boils down to just a few concepts. One should always keep in mind these principles when practicing Krav Maga, and should progress from closed skills to more a open skill set. This means that one should progress from practicing the techniques and the combination of those techniques to practicing the application of those techniques in reality scenarios concentrating on the principles. 

There are three sets of guiding principles for me. The big picture, if you will. The first set has to do more with the way you fight and the second two sets have more to do with the design of the techniques.

First set: there are basically three stages of a fight. 1) stop, remove, or disable the immediate threat while giving simultaneous counterattack if possible. This most likely is the hardest part of Krav Maga to learn. 2) Control the weapons and perform combatives as necessary. 3) disengage and get away.

Second set: there is nothing all that complex about the techniques in Krav Maga. Krav Maga takes what is usually a natural movement and tries to make it better. This is key. It is also a very efficient fighting system. Many times you will see blocks built into the strike and simple one step movements. You don’t see a lot of complex movements.

Third set: in Krav, one always tries to blend two defenses in order to lessen the likelihood of receiving damage. A common technique involves the application of a block and a slight movement of the body, such that each defense will stand on its own but putting the two of them together offers redundant protection. This is not a sport. In a ring there are gloves and rules. On the street there are not and even getting hit once can mean a very bad day.

Next up: taking apart and clarifying some of the principles….