Israeli krav maga system. Krav Maga is a martial art that originated in the Jewish ghetto Israel Self-Defense

Krav Maga is one of the most effective and toughest self-defense styles. Athletes who practice Krav Maga do not seek entertainment. Points, types of shots and other components of almost any competition do not play any role here. There is only one goal worthy of attention: to neutralize the enemy as quickly as possible so as not to suffer any significant damage.

Until now, very few people practice this type of martial art. First of all, because good coaches little Krav Maga. But if you have already set out to master a few tricks that will allow you to get out of any situation with honor, then Krav Maga is exactly what you need.

In the early 1930s, a certain Imi Lichtenfeld decided that the Jewish people needed at least some kind of weapon against the growing unrest in society. Lichtenfeld began teaching his new martial art (although it's a stretch to call it Krav Maga) in Bratislava. The goal was to teach basic principles self-defense in the shortest possible time. Boxer and gymnast Imi quickly realized that none of the sports disciplines principles are not applicable in real life. He began to train people in a completely new and completely immoral way in terms of honor and valor.

The birth of Krav Maga

Ten years later, Imi discovered that almost all of Europe already existed as a puppet Nazi regime, and decided to move to Palestine to fight for the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel. In 1942, he joined the Haganah paramilitary organization, whose leadership quickly noticed Imi's outstanding ability as a combat instructor. Former athlete almost immediately becomes the head of the training center for elite units of the nascent Israeli army. His art begins to be taught to parts of the Palmach, the Palyam naval commandos, and then gradually passes into the category of compulsory training for every soldier, regardless of gender.

The rise of Krav Maga

After Israel finally became a state in 1948, these separate combat units merged into the Israel Defense Forces. Lichtenfeld also became the chief combat instructor of this structure. It was in this role that he developed what is now known as Krav Maga. Imi's system was perfect for untrained recruits. In just three weeks, a competent instructor managed to teach the wards the basic principles of attack and defense, which allowed them to honorably get out of the most difficult situations. To create a system that works in real combat conditions, Lichtenfeld combined the most effective methods boxing, aikido, judo, wrestling and jiu-jitsu.

Basic Principles of Krav Maga

Krav Maga is a tactical, mixed martial art. The instructors initially set the main task of the fighter as efficiency: the threat must be neutralized as quickly as possible. This general goal governs all the other principles of Krav Maga - no etiquette towards the opponent and, of course, no showmanship, only functionality.

Workout

Keep it simple - that's what the instructors say to the beginner, confirming the words with actions. No kata and other practices familiar to oriental martial arts. Only blocks sharp blows, short but very effective ligaments aimed at hitting the most vulnerable parts human body. In addition, Krav Maga was designed in such a way that the beginner could put into practice as soon as possible: competent instructors really achieve these results in just a few weeks.

Focus on vulnerable parts of the body

The main principle of Krav Maga is focusing on the weak points of the enemy. Many counterattacks involve blows to the throat, eyes, and groin. Not masculine? So what. But you are guaranteed to emerge victorious from the fight, or at least get time to retire from the battlefield as quickly as possible. Krav Maga has only one goal: the person using it must survive, period.

Krav Maga and weapons

In essence, Krav Maga involves the simplest integration of any weapon into action. Gunshot or cold - it does not matter at all. An athlete who trains Krav Maga knows how to use generally everything that comes to hand. This allows trainees to react as quickly as possible, almost without thinking, to an unforeseen attack. Keys, goggles, belts and chairs can be used to shock or completely neutralize an opponent.

Defense and attack

Many martial arts use the operating time of individual defensive and offensive movements. The disadvantage of this approach is that if the enemy is faster and more prepared than you (as often happens in the real world), all your actions will be reduced to a continuous attempt to cover vulnerable parts of the body. Krav Maga, on the other hand, involves a combination of offensive and defensive movements: the fighter not only disrupts the enemy’s attack, but also counterattacks at the same time. Again, there is only one goal - to neutralize the adversary as quickly as possible.

Krav Maga in Hebrew קרב מגע means “contact fight”.

Krav Maga is Tactical Close Combat System (TTSBB) effectively combines self-defense and hand-to-hand combat. A practical and time-tested melee system designed to effectively counter aggression based on combat experience.

Krum Maga consists of technical actions and techniques that have been "run-in" in real combat conditions. The emphasis in training is on quickly neutralizing the threat in a real situation. Krav Maga is studied modern views weapons combined with self-defense techniques and hand-to-hand combat. The system became famous after it was adopted by special forces around the world.

Technique in battle

The main difference between Krav Maga and other types of self-defense is that all techniques are concentrated on maximum effectiveness in real conditions. Based on the assumption that there will be no pity or leniency when attacked, the response is to neutralize the threat and rescue as quickly and safely as possible.

Emphasis is placed to hit vulnerable points (including poking in the eyes, hitting the groin, biting, screaming, hitting the head), as well as using any available items (stick, stones, sand - all this can be a weapon of self-defense). At the same time, the training shows how to soften the techniques adequately to the situation and emphasizes the need to respect the limits of necessary self-defense.

Video: Principles and techniques of Krav Maga

How are the workouts

In battle, the one who survives wins ... Therefore, the emphasis in the study is on fighting in the worst conditions and disadvantageous positions, in particular: against several opponents, with one hand or protecting a third person (for example, a child), as well as against armed opponents.

Trainings are carried out in conditions as close as possible to the reality of the street.

For example, for realism, loud music, electric shockers, artificial smoke devices can be used, which allows you to learn to ignore distracting conditions and focus on analyzing the situation. To increase realism, exhausting physical exercise, training can take place on terrain with different terrain (asphalt, water, chilly sand), in cramped conditions, with a blindfold.

The emphasis is on simulating real combat as much as possible under training conditions.

How Krav Maga strengthens the human spirit

The greatest value in this system is the section of psychological preparation, which allows those involved to strengthen the spirit. For this, special methods are used, the purpose of which is to recreate a situation in which a person must fight for his life. Training includes developing the ability to assess the situation, terrain and potentially dangerous circumstances even before the start of the battle. Students are shown physical and verbal methods of avoiding violence where possible.

Video: demonstration performances krav maga

In Krav Maga, there is no difference between training for men and women, young and old people, since the training focuses on the natural reflex movements of the human body.

Therefore, the training is built very simply and logically, which allows you to absorb the material being studied unusually quickly. The self-defense system has earned positive reviews and recommendations from martial arts experts and professional fighters, as well as from army and police officers for its unusually practical application, BUT, at the same time, it is suitable for beginners with its simple, logical and realistic approach to ensuring personal safety.

Krav Maga- an excellent way of self-defense for men and women, young people and the elderly, regardless of their level of physical fitness and capabilities.

Shimon Peres, President of Israel:

Two main dangers today are rocket warfare (missiles don't respect boundaries) and knife fights (because terrorism also doesn't respect borders). In a missile war, technology is the determining factor; in a confrontation with terrorism, it is individuals.

Imi Sde-Or, may his memory be blessed, developed the Krav Maga fighting method and strategy for it. This strategy makes self-defense possible even for people who are not necessarily on duty. Therefore, even if you are alone on the battlefield, the battle will not necessarily be lost. In today's era of escalating violence, this strategy is unbeatable.

On request for the word " krav maga » search engines Internet give out an average of 15,000 hits. Approximately half of them lead to two articles by Alex Levitas - “ krav maga Yisraeli: Israeli Style of Hand-to-Hand Combat" and " krav maga: use what is at hand. Another hundred or two links will lead you to various reprints of articles by Stanislav Leikin from the site of St. Petersburg cravers pro-krav.ru; a thousand, if not more, celebrity sites will tell you exactly what krav maga studied Jennifer Lopez for the filming of the film "Pretty" ...

The remaining 6-7 thousand links lead to various forums dedicated to martial arts, where fierce disputes between the blind and the deaf boil (because the participants in the disputes, as a rule, krav maga they didn’t practice and didn’t see it, but only heard or read about it - see all the same excellent articles by A. Levitas) on the topic “bullshit, this is your Jewish hand-to-hand combat or the super special forces and Mossad training system.”

Thus, it can be stated that the interest in krav maga in the Russian-speaking part of the Internet is very, very high, and the amount of available information is negligible. This has led to the birth of a mass of myths and misconceptions about krav maga. With the ten most popular myths, we will try to figure it out below.

Myth 1. Krav Maga is an Israeli martial art.

Israeli - yes. Combat - yes. Art is not.

Krav Maga is about as different from traditional martial arts as a hammer is from a rapier. And this is not about the effectiveness or advantage of a hammer over a rapier (all modern systems oppose their "applied, real, street, total, deadly, etc." style to "obsolete, unviable, mossy, etc." traditional systems) is about the scope.

I'll try to explain.

The rapier is a weapon that appeared in a certain historical period (16-17 centuries), as an evolution of more ancient weapons(sword) as a result of changes in society (lightening, and later - the disappearance of armor), and lost all meaning with the invention of multiply charged handguns (capsule revolvers).

A hammer is a tool consisting of a handle (wooden, plastic, metal) and a head (stone, plastic, metal, wood) mounted on it. Appeared in the Stone Age and is still used today, changing in every possible way.

Foil fencing developed as a system of stances, movements, strikes, defenses and feints in many European schools, which led to the emergence different styles- French, Italian, Spanish, German. Much later, sports fencing appeared. But all these schools are united by several general principles: the battle is fought with the help of a rapier, a certain stance is used, a set of techniques and tactical maneuvers characteristic of this school. This is what allows us to consider rapier fencing as a martial art, where it is unacceptable to replace a rapier with a katana, a fencing stance with a boxing stance, and a flanconade with a brush lever outward. Of course, no one forbids doing all this in a real fight - but then it will no longer be rapier fencing, which has been studied in the halls since the time of Talgofer and Marozzo, but some kind of system of "total real applied combat on rapiers" - i.e. the notorious "dirty street kenjutsu".

The hammer, in turn, will always remain a hammer. A blacksmith's sledgehammer or a dentist's hammer, a carpenter's nail puller or a mallet, an inertialess hammer or a psychotherapist's hammer, a combat pick or a hammer, an alpenstock or even a pneumatic jackhammer - it's still a hammer. A tool designed to solve specific problems. Changing its size, shape, method of application, depending on the tasks. And still remaining at the same time a hammer.

Krav Maga This is not a martial art. Krav Maga is a problem solving tool. Core krav maga- basic principles and a basic set of tactical and technical actions - allow you to adapt this tool to solve a wide range of problems.

The army needs to teach soldiers the basics of hand-to-hand combat in a month and a half of training - please, army krav maga: "kicked and shot." The police need to twist the criminal - here's the police krav maga: "lie down, goat." Do civilians want to live too? civil krav maga: hit and run. Self-defense for women is based on the task of “get off me, freak”, and melee for bodyguards is based on the “take the client away” scheme. But there are still developments krav maga for children, for taxi drivers, for stewards of the El Al airline, for ambulance attendants and employees of mental hospitals ...

Wherein krav maga still remains krav maga(and a hammer is a hammer)! The task changes, but not the means of its solution. External signs change (not a single instructor krav maga will not argue to the point of hoarseness on the topic “is it possible to tear off the heel in zenkutsu-dachi”), the basic principles remain the same (“threat point”, “recoiling” and many others).

It is the presence of these principles (as well as the presence of a handle and a head that defines the concept of a "hammer - a hand-held percussion instrument") that allows us to talk about krav maga as a specific tool for solving problems in the field of personal security.

And that brings us to myth #2.

Myth 2. Krav Maga is another mixfight, or just an ordinary melee

The first synthetic hand-to-hand combat system, combining the techniques of different styles, arose in Europe in 1898. Its author was the English engineer Edward William Barton-Wright. The system was called Bartitsu (the name was formed from the surname of the author "Barton" and the traditional "jiu-jitsu") and included techniques from the classical schools of jiu-jitsu, judo, English boxing, savate and cane fencing school of the Swiss professor Pierre Vigny. It was with the help of bartitsu (erroneously called "baritsu") that Sherlock Holmes cast Professor Moriarty into the abyss of the Reichenbach Falls.

Bartitsu did not outlive her creator and is practically forgotten now; but it was she who paved the way for lovers to compose tricky words and invent synthetic styles. In the twentieth century, many such styles were born. I will list just a few of them: jukado, kajukenbo, jitkundo, wun-hop-kuen, ukidokan ... Domestic authors prefer abbreviations: UNIBOS, SPAS, IZBOR, ISRB, RUB, SRUB ... But there is also A. Taras’ “Fighting Machine” and “ Fighting Machine” by V. Schlachter, “Boibo”, “Steel Falcon”, Da-jie-shu and many, many others.

History of creation krav maga, at first glance, forces us to attribute this system to the category of synthetic ones. There is one author - Imi Lichtenfeld, it is known that he was seriously engaged in wrestling, boxing and jiu-jitsu, therefore, krav maga there is a synthesis of boxing, wrestling and jiu-jitsu techniques.

This conclusion is not correct. History of creation krav maga much more reminiscent of the creation of Soviet sambo. And in fact, and in another case, there was a place to be His Majesty the State Order. Krav Maga was originally developed not at the whim of the Founding Father, but for the needs of the army and police. Krav Maga focused not on the abilities of the Founding Father, but on a simple unprepared person. Finally, krav maga was created "from scratch", and not by borrowing techniques.

First, I. Likhtenfeld developed theoretical principles krav maga. They were superimposed on the motor base - stances, movements, strikes, defenses, pain controls. Yes, the stance is like a stance from boxing, and pain controls are like from jiu-jitsu, but only because all people have two arms, two legs and one head, and a punch will always remain a punch - at least externally, because at the core a simple blow the fist may lie on the principle of "shuttle", "hikite", "wave", "center line" or, in the case of krav maga, "recoiling".

Therefore, we can only talk about external similarity krav maga with boxing or jiu-jitsu. At the level of the engine base krav maga is a unique system, which brings us to the debunking of the second part of this myth - " krav maga"It's just a normal hand-to-hand."

The so-called "noname" hand-to-hand combat (or Army hand-to-hand combat - ARB) is usually understood as a mixture of boxing, karate and sambo techniques taught in the armed forces of the USSR since the mid-1980s - and the proportions of these techniques, as a rule, are determined by the previous one, up to - military experience of the instructor: former boxer relies on strikes, the sambo wrestler relies on throws, and the karateka is indispensable when breaking bricks on Paratrooper's Day. Army instructions for physical training(NPRB-38, NFP-59, NFP-66, NFP-78, NFP-87) allocate a maximum of 20-25 pages to the preparation for hand-to-hand combat, practically unchanged over the past 60 years.

difference krav maga from ARB or "noname" melee weapons are visible to the naked eye: tricks krav maga recognizable, in contrast to "kickboxing in camouflage." They are recognizable mainly due to the presence of "crowns", or specific techniques that are characteristic only for krav maga- this is the capture of the pistol bolt, and the capture of the armed hand with the elbow bend, and the entrance to the attack with the "beak" ...

Of course, these techniques can be found in jiu-jitsu, sambo, and aikido. But the system is determined not by the presence of certain techniques, but by the general motor base and the theoretical principles underlying them.

Therefore, it can be said with certainty that krav maga- this is not another mixfight, and certainly not the fruit of the individual creativity of army or police instructors.

Myth 3. Krav Maga is just a set of "scum"

There are techniques that allow you to quickly and effortlessly disable the enemy.

All "lethal", "super-efficient", "striking" strikes and strikers have one huge drawback. Even the most deadly blow can fail in the most elementary way. Any, the most cunning "podlyanka" may not work. The enemy may react negatively to your intention to gouge out his eye. He can dodge or parry your killing blow.

And then what? And then the fight starts. A fight is a dish in which blows to the eyes, throat and groin play the role of spices that give the dish a flavor and a special piquancy. However, a dish cannot be prepared from spices alone. We also need meat.

Meat in krav maga enough. Much has been said above about the principles krav maga, about the freedom to transform techniques to solve specific problems.

But the receptions krav maga is also there. Or rather, not techniques, but technical actions - strikes, defenses, pain controls, release from grips. And they are worked out to the seventh sweat, to full automatism.

But at the same time, it should be remembered that it is impossible to learn a trick for all occasions - just as it is impossible to learn foreign language by conversation. Technical actions are "words", theoretical principles are "grammar". Knowing the "words" and "grammar", you can make "sentences" yourself.

But training begins precisely with “mom washed the frame” or “this is a table” - it is repetition, working out certain connections, combinations of technical actions until a conditioned reflex is developed, which allows not only to understand in theory, but to feel in practice the principles underlying them - and move to the level of “self-invention of techniques”, i.e. free fight.

And here we turn to the fourth, most popular myth.

Myth 4. There is no sparring in Krav Maga.

IN krav maga sparring is.

Myth 5. If Krav Maga is so cool, why is it not seen in MMAs? And why are there no competitions on it?

The “fights without rules” that arose 10-15 years ago (in many variations and with a lot of names - “Octagon”, “Pankration”, “Valetudo”, UFC) at first really served as a place to find out “whose kung fu is cooler”. Fighters of different styles fought with each other according to minimal rules, in fact, finding out which technique had an advantage in close combat and which in long-range combat, and what to do with a sambo wrestler on the ground.

However, over the past time, fighting without rules has become an independent (and commercially profitable) sport. Athletes, preparing to enter the ring, no longer run from room to room, learning low-kicks from the Thais, putting their hands on the boxers, and the stalls on the wrestlers. Now, focusing on the experience of his predecessors, the "fighter without rules" is initially engaged in a style known as "free fighting" - a new, synthetic martial art that combines boxing, wrestling and Muay Thai.

Where is krav maga? See myth #1. Fights without rules were born as an attempt to find out what is more effective - a katana or a rapier. It is a perfectly healthy desire for a swordsman or any martial artist to test his weapon in action. But krav maga This is not a martial art. This is a tool.

Can you imagine a blacksmith who would come with a sledgehammer to an interstyle tameshiwari competition? No. Not because he will win everyone there (but most likely he will lose - firstly, he never learned to break bricks with a sledgehammer, and secondly, the rules forbid using a sledgehammer), but because he does not need it. He is not an athlete, he is a blacksmith. He swings the hammer for a pressing need, he does it for a living. It doesn't matter to him whether his hammer is heavier than that of the blacksmith from the neighboring village, or longer. This is his personal tool, and not an occasion for boasting and comparisons.

And an instructor krav maga he will never get into any "Octagon" - firstly, he will surely lose, because he did not study "free fighting", and secondly, this is not his job. He is well paid as it is.

The reverse process is observed: at least three former MMA champions spoke very highly of krav maga- and although they won in the ring thanks to jiu-jitsu (Itai Gil), sambo (Oleg Taktarov) or Muay Thai (Khaim Peretz), they did not consider it shameful for themselves to study (and Khaim Peret - and teach) a system that is fundamentally different from any combat sport.

After all, the difference between sports and life is not in the rules - they can be completely canceled, and not in the equality of forces (one on one, or three on one, with weight categories or without), and not even the absence of the factor of surprise (the gong sounds at the same time for everyone).

The difference is in the goal. In sports, people fight to win. In life, to survive. Krav Maga- not a sport. krav maga is a survival tool.

The second half of the myths about krav maga refers not so much to krav maga how much to the realities of Israeli life. So…

Myth 6. Krav Maga is studied in the Mossad

Since the beginning of the 80s of the last century krav maga actively studied by law enforcement agencies and army special forces in the United States and Europe. But in Mossad krav maga not being studied.

Myth 7. All Israeli soldiers study Krav Maga.

This myth is propagated by our former compatriots who served in the Israeli army. It sounds like this: "This garbage is yours krav maga, we had an instructor in training, so I stuffed his face - boxing rules!

Under the law of the State of Israel, every citizen is required to serve in the military. This is common knowledge. Less well known is the fact that the Israel Defense Forces is divided into two unequal parts - combat troops ("kravi") and labor troops ("jobniks").

In order to get into the "kravi" and take part in military operations, you must at least volunteer and meet a fairly strict list of requirements (for example, not to be the only child in the family). As a maximum, you need to prove in practice your desire to serve in the combat troops. How? Yes, very simple. One of my friends, by the way, is an army instructor krav maga, applied three times to be transferred to the elite Golani Infantry Division. Having been refused for the third time, he voluntarily went to the guardhouse, telling his superiors that he would spend the rest of his term in prison - or in Golani. A week later, he was transferred.

The IDF is, perhaps, the only army on the planet that, from the moment of its formation to this day, has been in full combat readiness and has been waging an ongoing war against guerrilla gangs and terrorist groups. Of course, it is impossible (too expensive, and pointless) to maintain the entire army in such a state - those who are fighting are training, “the blood”. Those who serve in the “jobniks” take a 90-day “young fighter course”, and, having received the necessary three lessons krav maga and after serving their term of service in the deep rear, they begin to judge the system from the point of view of a veteran expert.

In Israel itself, no one takes such experts seriously - there are enough real experts, with combat experience, but outside of it they sometimes manage to promote their business on a popular brand " krav maga».

Myth 8. There is only one style of Krav Maga.

So what krav maga is it different? Yes, sometimes.

The phrase "krav" (fight) and "maga" (contact) can be used in Hebrew in two ways. The first is to refer to the hand-to-hand combat system created by Imi Lichtenfeld and developed by his students. The second - to refer to any martial arts. The sign "Krav Maga Tae Kwon Do" or "Krav Maga Aiki" is quite a normal thing on the streets of Israeli cities, as well as signs " martial arts karate" or "martial art of capoeira" - we have.

To eliminate this confusion, several organizations have been created to develop and promote krav maga Imi Lichtenfeld. These are Eyal Yanilov's International Krav Maga Federation, Darren Levin's Krav Maga Association of America, Richard Dueb's Federation European Krav Maga, Chaim Gidon's Israel Krav Maga Association... After Darren Levin tried to register the term " krav maga"as a trademark (in the USA the idea failed, but in Canada it was a success - now there those instructors who do not want to pay tribute to Levin do not teach krav maga, but the “Imi system”) and sued Yanilov, many instructors began to change the name itself. This is how Krav Magen Israel, Commando Krav Maga, Tactical Krav Maga, Operational Krav Maga and others appeared. There were also author's styles krav maga Lieven and Maor.

Meanwhile, the IDF returned to the name Kapap (Krav Panim el Panim - face-to-face combat) and Lothar (lohama be terror - the fight against terror), and in parallel such systems as Haganah, Dennis Gisardut, Gadi Kenpo, Abir arose in Israel.

However, the topic of fragmentation krav maga on individual styles and trends deserves a separate article. As for myth number 8, in Italy, for example, “fitness krav maga". Here, as they say, no comment.

Myth 9. Krav Maga is just a hyped brand on which cunning Israelis make money.

This myth is almost true. It is only necessary to replace "only" with "more and". Like this: " Krav Maga“It’s also a brand name that cunning Israelis make money off of.”

Courses krav maga all over the world are expensive. For the knowledge underlying krav maga The Israelites paid in blood. Now they (and not only them) make money on it. On all five continents. Dozens of different countries.

And since their product is bought all over the world, it means that the demand for personal security tools is still higher than the supply.

And not to make money on it is just stupid.

Myth 10. Krav Maga will make you invincible.

The Israelis themselves, when it comes to developments in the field of security, say this about themselves: “We are not the smartest, not the coolest, and not the most invincible. We just have more experience than others.” Experience, please pay attention, both positive and negative.

One of the mottos krav maga is the phrase "Welcome to reality!" But the reality, alas, is that invincible does not exist.

And showing the release from a choke hold from behind, the instructor krav maga he will definitely tell you that you most likely will not have time to free yourself - someone else's forearm on the Adam's apple is so dangerous. And when practicing knife defense, they will definitely let you feel what it is - a real attack with a knife, with a lot of sharp, fast and unpredictable blows.

The desire to become invincible will be dispelled at the very first training session. IN krav maga illusions are not fed. Instead, the desire to survive will come. And it is in this area krav maga can greatly improve your chances.

No more - and no less.

Until now, very few people practice this type of martial art. First of all, because there are few good Krav Maga trainers. But if you have already set out to master a few tricks that will allow you to get out of any situation with honor, then Krav Maga is exactly what you need.

In the early 1930s, a certain Imi Lichtenfeld decided that the Jewish people needed at least some kind of weapon against the growing unrest in society. Lichtenfeld began teaching his new martial art (although it's a stretch to call it Krav Maga) in Bratislava. The task was to teach the basic principles of self-defense in the shortest possible period of time. Boxer and gymnast Imi quickly realized that none of the principles used in sports disciplines are applicable in real life. He began to train people in a completely new and completely immoral way in terms of honor and valor.

The birth of Krav Maga

Ten years later, Imi discovered that almost all of Europe already existed as a puppet Nazi regime, and decided to move to Palestine to fight for the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel. In 1942, he joined the Haganah paramilitary organization, whose leadership quickly noticed Imi's outstanding ability as a combat instructor. The former athlete almost immediately becomes the head of the training center for elite units of the nascent Israeli army. His art begins to be taught to parts of the Palmach, the Palyam naval commandos, and then gradually passes into the category of compulsory training for every soldier, regardless of gender.

The rise of Krav Maga

After Israel finally became a state in 1948, these separate combat units merged into the Israel Defense Forces. Lichtenfeld also became the chief combat instructor of this structure. It was in this role that he developed what is now known as Krav Maga. Imi's system was perfect for untrained recruits. In just three weeks, a competent instructor managed to teach the wards the basic principles of attack and defense, which allowed them to honorably get out of the most difficult situations. To create a system that works in real combat, Lichtenfeld combined the most effective methods of boxing, aikido, judo, wrestling and jiu-jitsu.

Basic Principles of Krav Maga

Workout

Keep it simple - that's what the instructors say to the beginner, confirming the words with actions. No kata and other practices familiar to oriental martial arts. Only blocks, sharp blows, short but very effective ligaments aimed at hitting the most vulnerable parts of the human body. In addition, Krav Maga was designed in such a way that the beginner could put into practice as soon as possible: competent instructors really achieve these results in just a few weeks.

Focus on vulnerable parts of the body

Krav Maga and weapons

Defense and attack

Many martial arts use the development of separate defensive and offensive movements. The disadvantage of this approach is that if the enemy is faster and more prepared than you (as often happens in the real world), all your actions will be reduced to a continuous attempt to cover vulnerable parts of the body. Krav Maga, on the other hand, involves a combination of offensive and defensive movements: the fighter not only disrupts the enemy’s attack, but also counterattacks at the same time. Again, there is only one goal - to neutralize the adversary as quickly as possible.

Krav Maga is quite popular in the world combat direction Israeli origin. Studying it, one can come across two diametrically opposite assessments: adherents sing praises and talk about how it is the best and most universal combat system, opponents call it nonsense, a commercial project and a divorce. Let's try to figure out what it really is, and whether it will be useful in a theoretical street fight.

History of occurrence

Imrich Lichtenfeld, creator of Krav Maga

The term Krav Maga is translated from Hebrew as "contact combat", and the system itself was created for the needs of Israel. The author of this system is Imrich or Imi Lichtenfeld, who was born into a Jewish family in Budapest in 1910. His father was Samuel Lichtenfeld, of whom it is known that at the age of thirteen he joined a traveling circus and traveled with him for twenty years. During this time, he learned circus wrestling, and we recall that it was at that time that famous wrestlers often performed in circuses.

Samuel fell in love with weight lifting and acrobatics and often talked with representatives of various martial arts of the time, from whom he learned a lot about self-defense. As a result, he settled in Bratislava and served in the police, becoming famous for the large number of arrests of criminals.

In the same place, he founded the Hercules weight lifting club, in which he began to train his son, Imrich, who became interested in wrestling, then boxing and acrobatics, and got so carried away that he became the country's champion in all these areas and even got into the National team. All this did not prevent them from being a versatile person - he adored the theater and even played Mephistopheles in one of the amateur performances.

Everything changed in the mid-thirties of the 20th century, when Nazi groups began to form in Bratislava under the influence of events in Europe. Jewish pogroms began and Imi created an organization from Jewish boxers and wrestlers that protected the Jewish community from Nazi attacks. From 1936 to 1940 Lichtenfeld participated in hundreds of street fights with the Nazis, and it turned out that his boxing and wrestling training was not always enough, since sticks, knives, bottles and other improvised items were used.

Imrich Lichtenfeld

In these fights, a specific art of survival in difficult street conditions began to emerge. Using his father's police skills, wrestling and boxing skills, Imi gradually came to one of the basic principles of the future Krav Maga: "use natural movements and reactions for defense, combine them and go on the counterattack."

In 1940, when Nazism finally won in Slovakia, Imi left home and, joining the Czech Legion, fought on the side of Britain until 1942. After the war, he retired to the reserve and moved to Israel, which was then a territory under the protectorate of Great Britain. There he began to train his art in the fighters of the Haganah, a militant Zionist organization operating in Palestine. After the formation of the State of Israel in 1948, Imrich served in the army, training fighters, and after his retirement in 1964, he adapted the system and began to teach it to civilians.

Imrich Lichtenfeld

After Krav Maga arrived in the US in 1981, the system began to gain the attention of people all over the world. Today it is used in the army, special forces and police of Israel, as well as in various private security agencies.

Principles and arsenal

Krav Maga was created in the conditions of street conflicts and fights with the Nazis, and polishing took place in the Israeli army and police. Therefore, the main principle of the system is ease of learning, because often they had to train either young people who did not know anything, or already elderly veterans, so he chose the most simple and natural movements and techniques.

An important component of Krav Maga training is its versatility, that is, specialization is substituted under the general model of movements - military, police or civilian. The goal of Krav Maga is to end the conflict as soon as possible, and how this is achieved depends on the specifics. If in the army system it is easiest to shoot the enemy, then in the police system it is required to detain and deliver to the department, and in the civil system it is completely cut down and run away.

Krav Maga is taught to people of any gender and any age. The technique includes various grips, creases, throws, strikes with any part of the fist, palm, elbow, head, legs and knees. Blows are allowed to any vulnerable points of the body: groin, eyes, throat, nape. They teach how to work against a stick, a knife and a pistol, and, of course, they also teach how to work with them.

An important component of Krav Maga is situational and stress training, when people act out different situations in different conditions: on the street, in the stairwell, in the car, against several opponents. They also teach how to break up a fight, protect a girl or a child. Girls, in turn, are trained to fight off a rapist or a robber trying to snatch her purse.

In addition, trainees are constantly subjected to stress in order to learn how to function in a difficult environment. For example, they are yelled at, pulled, pushed, or blindfolded. Much attention is paid to psychological preparation and the ability to think and plan one's behavior. For example, to cross to the other side of the street if a crowd is moving towards you, not to get into cars with strangers, etc. There are similar courses and trainings for children.

Recently, it has developed and sports direction krav maga. According to it, competitions are held according to the rules resembling hand-to-hand combat. And some representatives of this direction participate in competitions in other types of martial arts.

outdoor application

But it is precisely in the street orientation that the main problem of this discipline lies. And its foundation lies at the very beginning of the appearance of Krav Maga, when its creator blew the Nazis on the streets of Bratislava.

All those techniques that allowed the students of Imi Lichtenfeld to survive in fights, that is, blows to the groin, eyes, back of the head, cannot be trained to a combat level in a gym, as sparring partners will run out very quickly. Well, if you hit nearby or not with all your might, then it will never be a hard and correct blow that will never work out to automatism.

If soldiers and police quickly work out their techniques in practice, during real conflicts and detentions, then civilians cannot afford this. A dangerous illusion arises when fifty-kilogram girls and chubby boys, who have never run a hundred meters and never lifted anything heavier than a gamepad, after a couple of trainings, they begin to think that they will overwhelm the master of sports in wrestling or boxing weighing a centner with a blow in the groin.

Of course, the instructors say that they have full-contact sparring, but it's hard to imagine that they hit each other in the groin or in the eyes. If it's sparring with gloves and sports rules, then how are they different from boxing or wrestling? Only the worst level of combat training. Well, it’s impossible to imagine competitions in real, and not sports, Krav Maga, otherwise it will be like a joke: “If there were world competitions in Krav Maga, then the winner would receive payment from the intensive care unit as a prize, who took second place - wheelchair and the third is a free funeral.”

Thus, the absence of full-contact competitions deprives the system of the most important thing - the ability to work out and fix in the body memory all movements and techniques in the most realistic stressful situation, when the opponent really wants and tries his best to defeat you by knocking you out, strangling or slamming into the wrestling mat .

But there are undoubted pluses for the street in Krav Maga - this is learning to use our evolutionary advantage - the brain. The ability to plan your actions first, and then get into a fight helps people not get lost in a negative environment and correctly assess the chances. After all, it happens that even eminent athletes die on the street at the hands of hooligans, simply because they overestimate their capabilities.

What is the result? Krav Maga is a combat system created from street brawls and polished by the military and police, and is great for those who already know how to punch or throw and want to diversify their skills. For the rest, it’s better to start boxing or wrestling in order to get rid of dangerous illusions at the same time, getting in the nose or sticking your head into the carpet.