List of Krav Maga Techniques
This section provides details for many of the techniques used in Krav Maga. This list includes martial arts kicks, punches & strikes, grappling & ground fighting and assorted other self-defense techniques.
Click on the techniques below for instructions and/or videos. These pages are meant to reinforce and supplement what you have learned in your Krav Maga classes. To properly understand these techniques, you need to learn them from a Krav Maga instructor who can give an in-depth explanation of the technique, correct your mistakes and detail how the technique should be utilized. Moreover, be aware that there are a variety of Krav Maga schools and associations so you might learn variations to these techniques.
Section supported by Krav Maga Books
Krav Maga Stances
Krav Maga Punches & Strikes
Defenses Against Punches
Krav Maga Kicking Techniques
Defenses Against Kicks
Krav Maga Knee Techniques
How To Fall If Knocked To The Ground
Krav Maga Groundwork & Grappling Techniques
Krav Maga Ground Fighting Techniques
Krav Maga Defenses Against Weapons
Defenses Against Bear Hugs
Defenses Against Chokes
Defenses Against Headlocks
Defenses Against Wrist Grabs
Defenses Against Hair Grabs
Defenses Against Other Grabs
Defenses Against Carjackings, Hostage Situations, etc.
Defenses Against Multiple Opponents
The main weapon of Krav Maga is punches and kicks.
Preference is given to working in a stance and fighting at a long or medium distance (i.e., the distance of a kick or the distance of a direct punch with a fist). Most often, a closed stance is used: the position of the hands is approximately the same as in boxing, the knee of the front leg is slightly turned inward so that the thigh can cover the groin, the head is tilted forward, the chin is down and protects the throat. Even when striking a blow, the fighter remains as closed as possible. It is worth mentioning that when people who have studied karate come to Krav Maga classes, for the first few weeks they usually play the role of living punching bags for their partners (with approximately the same training experience), until they stop standing with their chest to the enemy and take hand to the thigh when hitting and do not adopt the method of striking, adopted in Krav Maga ( self-defense, self-defense). The blows are directed only to the vulnerable parts of the body, the most preferred targets are the groin, throat and eyes, then the solar plexus, chin, knees, temples, etc. Sweeps and throws, painful holds on hands can be used as auxiliary techniques.
In close combat, not only elbows and knees are used, but also head strikes, bites, etc.
There is a rich arsenal of grapple reliefs, mainly based on traumatic techniques. There is also a section of fighting on the ground, but, unlike judo or sambo, there are practically no wrestling techniques proper, instead of them strikes are used (primarily in the groin), poking with fingers in the eyes and throat, bites, etc. : the fighter's goal is to get rid of the enemy as quickly as possible and get back on his feet, since in a battle with several opponents, fighting on the ground with one of them is tantamount to suicide.
The technique of protection against cold weapons (knife, stick, rifle with a bayonet, etc.) and against the threat of firearms (pistol, rifle and even a grenade with a pulled pin) is well developed.
In addition to the technique of fighting without weapons, Krav Maga studies work with a knife and a stick, as well as the use of improvised items as weapons: any item can be classified into one of five groups - "like a knife" (this includes screwdrivers, chisels, broken bottles , scissors, ballpoint pens, forks and other items that can inflict a stab or cut wound on the enemy), "stick-like" (umbrellas, canes, fittings, shovels, adjustable wrenches and other items that can poke or hit the enemy from afar), " like a shield "(this category includes large objects that can be exposed to the enemy's attack, stopping him - backpacks and bags, chairs, lids from trash cans, boards, etc.)," like chains "(chains, belts, wires , ropes, dog leashes and other items,which can whip, bind or strangle the enemy) and "stone-like" (throwing "weapons": stones, bottles, billiard balls, dishes and other heavy objects, throwing which can injure the enemy, as well as various small objects that can be thrown at the face of the enemy to distract him from your attack or flight (watches, coins, keys, sand, tea, which can be thrown into the eyes of the enemy, hairspray, which can be sprayed into his face, etc.).tea that can be thrown into the eyes of an opponent, hairspray that can be thrown into his face, etc.).tea, which can be thrown into the eyes of the enemy, hairspray, which can be thrown into his face, etc.).
In training, they teach not the use of specific objects, but the principles and techniques of working with any objects of each of these categories.
In addition to this, the army program includes a section in which they study bayonet fighting, as well as the use of all types of firearms as cold weapons in case the cartridges run out.
The technical basis of Krav Maga (self-defense, self-defense) is the so-called "core"; it includes basic techniques, principles that combine these techniques into a single system and allow you to create new techniques, methods of training and psychological preparation, tactical principles, etc.
On the basis of the "core" training courses are built in 6 areas:
self-defense and hand-to-hand combatsection for "civilians", designed primarily for adult men (although women can also engage in this program): includes self-defense techniques (release from grabbing and strangulation, methods of defense against attacks with weapons, etc.), technique and tactics of maneuvering combat with one or more opponents and methods of using improvised items as weapons.
self-defense for children : the essence of this section can be summed up in the two words "get out and run"
self-defense for women this section includes common self-defense techniques and self-defense techniques when attempting to rape.
army hand-to-hand combat includes fighting without weapons, working with a knife, bayonet fighting, countering an attempt to disarm,
hand-to-hand combat for police - disarming and pain control techniques, handcuffing techniques, methods of escorting, working with a baton, countering an attempt to disarm, as well as self-defense techniques that allow you to gain time to draw a pistol in the event of a sudden armed attack,
special hand-to-hand combat systems: this section includes technique and combat tactics.
Training methods developed for a particular category of security professionals, for example, bodyguards are trained to fight, protecting first of all the client and only then themselves, fighters of anti-terror squads learn to neutralize a terrorist who is hiding behind a hostage or threatening a grenade with a a pulled out check, etc.
For each of the directions, courses of varying degrees of complexity can be conducted from basic one-day or two-day courses to a program designed for several years of study, but they are all built on the basis of the "core". Due to the fact that Krav Maga is primarily a system of military hand-to-hand training, the Krav Maga technique is designed to be learned in a short time, it is simple enough so that from the first lesson it would be possible to give techniques that a student can use in real life.
This martial art allows you to quickly and effectively prepare for a fight with an "ordinary" opponent - boxer, karate, "hand-to-hand", fighter, street fighter, etc.
However, it should be noted that simplicity is at the same time a kind of disadvantage of Krav Maga: it lacks complex training methods designed for many years of practice (such as qigong), typical for traditional oriental martial arts, therefore a person who practices only Krav Maga will never be able to reach that almost supernatural level that the masters of Chinese wushu or Japanese budo demonstrate, however, only a few people strive for such skill, ready to devote their whole life to perfecting the martial art; those for whom the mastery of the martial art is not the goal of life, but a means (preserving life, usually quite satisfied with the level of training attainable within the Krav Maga.
Many Krav Maga techniques are based on natural movements for humans. For example, if you swing a stick at an unprepared person, it will be natural for him to bend down and cover his head with his hands, defending himself from a blow, the same movement is used in Krav Maga, but now it is somewhat modified: one hand, rising, withdraws the stick, and the other fist sticks into opponent's chin or throat.
Another example is protection from hair grabbing followed by knee striking. Many martial arts teach to intercept the opponent's hand at the moment of capture and press it to the head to prevent him from pulling the hair, and then counterattack with a blow or painful technique. Similar protection exists in Krav Maga, but what if the enemy has already managed to pull the hair?
Yes, the same thing that an unprepared person would do to walk, obeying the jerk of the opponent, towards a knee blow in the face. But with a slight change: the fighter is slightly ahead of the snatch and thus gets rid of the pain, substituting the elbow with one hand, he stops the opponent's knee, and with the palm of the other hand strikes in the groin.
The realism of Krav Maga is ensured primarily by the fact that it is one of the few martial arts that have undergone massive testing in real hand-to-hand combat in the 20th century. For 50 years, the Israeli army and police have been trained according to the Krav Maga system and, unfortunately, they were very often given the opportunity to test the effectiveness of the skills they received: six wars, an intifada, periodic unrest among the Arab population of Israel, numerous terrorist attacks, committed up to the mid-90s. mainly with the use of knives, axes and other edged weapons in such conditions, really effective methods of hand-to-hand combat were selected.
The Krav Maga technique is mostly non-forceful, aimed at hitting vulnerable parts of the body and allowing you to confidently work against a superior enemy. For example, if an attacker grabs a fighter by the throat and begins to choke, a typical Krav Maga defense may look like this: the fighter sticks the fingers of one hand into the opponent's eyes, at the same time grabs the base of the opponent's thumb on the throat with the other hand and rips capture - then, if the opponent is still a threat, the fighter can continue the counterattack by striking a series of punches and kicks on vulnerable parts of the body or by performing a painful hold on the opponent's grabbed hand.
Krav Maga training is carried out in a realistic manner, students practice in casual shoes, sneakers, army boots, etc., often in ordinary clothes. An important part of the training of a fighter is "simulations" in the hall or on the street, a scene from real life is played out: "robbery", "group attack", "terrorist with a knife", "rape", "hostage-taking", etc. Since Krav Maga is a realistic martial art originally created for combat of destruction, there is no Krav Maga competition.
Krav Maga practitioners joke: "If the Krav Maga championship were held, the winner would receive a payment from the intensive care unit as a prize, the runner-up would get a wheelchair, and the third prize would be a free funeral." The joke is not far from the truth: all those mutilating techniques that are prohibited in any competition, including the famous "no rules" fights poking fingers in the eyes, bites, punches to the spine, throat and groin, pulling out an Adam's apple, broken fingers, etc. are an integral part of Krav Maga, the favorite methods of incapacitating the enemy. Stanislav Leikin. |
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