Krav Maga?

Hi, just to start, this is my first post on ATS so I apologize for any mistakes. I've been reading of some sorts of Israeli fighting called Krav Maga. I'm looking into it currently and just wondering if anyone practices this fighting style and if you would recommend it to a 15 year old person such as myself. Thanks in advance!

reply to post by lastbleedingvictim


Krav Maga is very effective and designed with the military in mind using weapons like rifles and knives as well as had to hand. It is similar to many other fighting styles and very hard to find a specific gym for it.

The closest you will probably get would be an mma gym which also does self defence disarms for knives and guns etc. What do you want to learn it for exactly? Self defence, fun, military prep or all these?

I would always suggest mma as I love the combination of grappling and striking. Most mma gyms have a great mixture of skill sets too so you can learn from all kinds of different skill sets.

Originally posted by clintdelicious
reply to post by lastbleedingvictim

 

Krav Maga is very effective and designed with the military in mind using weapons like rifles and knives as well as had to hand. It is similar to many other fighting styles and very hard to find a specific gym for it.

The closest you will probably get would be an mma gym which also does self defence disarms for knives and guns etc. What do you want to learn it for exactly? Self defence, fun, military prep or all these?

I would always suggest mma as I love the combination of grappling and striking. Most mma gyms have a great mixture of skill sets too so you can learn from all kinds of different skill sets.

Surprisingly enough, I actually have a Krav Maga gym very close to my house! Thank you for the help! Also, as i asked in my post, would you recommend this fighting style to a 15 year old? I understand that it can be a very difficult training, so I'd like to make sure I'm not getting into a room full of 20-30 year old ex-marines that could kick my a$$

How is your physical condition? For your age, I would not have much concern. If you are not in good condition, start with a softer art like Judo or Aikido.

reply to post by sonofliberty1776


My physical condition is okay. I am about 180 lbs, but I like to push myself and I would think my will would help me out a lot. The only sport I currently do is some occasional snowboarding, but I used to play football and lacrosse.

reply to post by lastbleedingvictim


By all means go for it then mate! Dont worry about thatm these kinds of gyms all have beginners and they are always more than helpfull and aware that you will need to start at the basics. Dont worry if there are a lot of big guys there, they will be used to training with different skill levels and will take it easy on you, if they are all massive guys thought it might be a bit difficult learning the techniques, Im not a very big guy and used to go to a gym with a couple very tall guys and although it helps you learn how to fight against much bigger opponents it limits you to the techniques you can use.

15 is a great age to start. Even though many start much younger there are plenty of world champs in many martial disciplines who started in their teens or sometimes even later. My main tip would be dont worry about muscle and strength, focus on cardio.

reply to post by lastbleedingvictim


180lbs at 15 is good mate, you will probably be around the same weight as others in the gym. At my last gym all the pros were 155 pounders for example. We had lightheavy weights as well, but the smaller, more skilled fighters are much more intimidating to fight.

I love Krav Maga! I've been teaching my 10 yr old krav maga for a while now and he is quite the formidable opponent for a little squirt of 65 lbs. Krav maga isn't the same as the other martial arts when it comes to a certain way to block and strike like karate and tae kwondo etc.. It really teaches you instinct and let that natural instict run. I am a fan of the style because it sorta reminds me of jeet kun do. where your movements all are simple and effective. I'd prefer it more for an defensive form of martial arts than most others. I practice 5 forms of martial arts and compare it mainly to mma style of fighting. Don't worry about the ex marines in class either. you all are there to learn not kill eachother and maybe it is better to train with guys that are bigger and tougher because it means that you have to try harder.

Despite what others seem to be saying there are plenty of Krav Maga studios in every major city. Krav Maga is very popular and effective but trains more on a militarized end of fighting, knives, sticks and firearms. If you want to learn how to kill, than this is the martial art for you. If you want to learn how to kill but also properly defend yourself, take Wing Chun.

Ensure that whatever studio you decide to train with, is a recognized studio by the major associations.

Krav Maga information www.kravmaga.com...

Wing Chun information www.cheungswingchun.com...

6 months of hard training in Wing Chun and you should learn how to kill a man with your bare hands in seconds, but you have to apply yourself, delve deeply into the biu gee forms as that's where the killing strikes are found.

Krav Maga will teach you to be an urban rambo,

Heres a vid link to a Human Weapon episode that will give you a really good idea about the history, techniques, training and application of KM
www.youtube.com...

Originally posted by lastbleedingvictim
reply to post by sonofliberty1776

 

My physical condition is okay. I am about 180 lbs, but I like to push myself and I would think my will would help me out a lot. The only sport I currently do is some occasional snowboarding, but I used to play football and lacrosse.

You will be fine then. Go for it.

Thank you all for the help! I don't know what i'd do without some friendly help! Have a good day, everyone!

reply to post by lastbleedingvictim


I had a Russian friend who moved to my city. He was a skinny guy. Started taking Krav Maga, and literally four months later he was in the best shape out of all of us.

He fell off of a thirty foot cliff in the hills, laid there for 8 hours with a collapsed lung and fractured skull/legs.

Got out of the hospital after 2 months.

They say that if he wasn't in such good shape, he would have died.

So yes. Sign up. Today.

Edit: You are 15? No big deal. Do it anyway. Don't kill yourself at it, but go a couple times a week. You won't regret it.

Pretty good comments here. Krav mega is one of the best self defense forms to learn. Unfortunately if you are looking to spar and learn "technique" in a competitive manor it's not as good. It all depends what you want. If you want a good in-between try brazillian jiujitsu. Most bjj gyms also offer muay thai which will cover aggressive striking to go along with ground fighting and submissions. Chances are you will find a comradery and competition form very useful for personal growth.

If you want to learn to defend yourself in combat situations, guage peoples soft tissue, and control your adrenaline krav mega is amazing. I use it to strengthen my anaerobic exercise in mma by being overwhelmed by an aggressor and fighting my way out to secure a better position. But I personally wouldn't take it as a stand alone art unless I wanted strictly self defense in say an urban enviornment. There are better forms for integrating poise and conditioning into your lifestyle.

Just my opinion

reply to post by lastbleedingvictim


Do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it's the best.

reply to post by NephlimKilla


I love bjj, but I find that you need to also train a more strike intensive fighting style as well. Boxing is a good idea as well as the gyms are by far the cheapest and for self defence your average joe wont stand a chance against a boxer. I find grappling more fun when sparing, but in a real self denfence situation you want to avoid the ground at all costs. Its not good being on top of a guy when his mates are kicking your head in.

Also a strong striker is very imtimidating for a group of opponents. If you connect with just one of them the others will quickly shy away. A good mate of mine who is a fine boxer displayed this once and saved us from getting an awful kickin just because eveyone was so shocked by his power when he landed his first punches, I was very relieved to say the least!

reply to post by clintdelicious


That's Actually absolutely false. What would a 180 lb kid do against a 215 pound guy or guys. If you YouTube Gracie jiujitsu there are many videos of dismantling strikers by jiujitsu fighters. To defend against bjj you need to know bjj. To defend against strikers you need to be bigger, faster, or lucky. A boxer has many times been defeated by bjj. Trust me I am an all around fighter with many more years of striking. I am much more concerned about good bjj and wrestlers.

It's a fact most fights end up on the ground. Bjj was devoloped in a country rife with street figts for a smaller guy to brat a larger opponent. Boxing won't do a thing to a bigger guy with a little bit of skill.

Most bjj gyms offer muay Thai or Thai boxing which is a great combo with bjj. Take it from a fighter bjj is better than boxing for self defense and every expert will tell you so.

Krav maga is better still but has less sparring and competition options.

I would add as well bjj can quickly dismantle an opponents limbs, teach you how to throw opponents, and win after you have reached the ground or end up on your back. Before reaching brazil and being adapted to modern urban combat bjj was the mother art of all japenese fighting systems. It incorporated every art the Japanese have today from judo to shotokan karate to akido.

I have nothing against boxers but the chance you will end up in a space large enough to box and not say knocked off your bar stool, pushed over, pinned against something or grabbed by your clothing are very slim.

They didn't have boxers train marines, they had judokas, akidokas, and bjj guys help come up with modern military combat. Combat systems like sambo in Russia, krav maga in Israel and the special forces rely quite a bit on grappling knowing you will most likely be grabbed, tripped, or pushed to the ground. Jiujitsu isn't only ground fighting it's a mentality of playing possum and striking when your opponent doesn't expect.

I used to love watch rorian, and rickson take on the worlds best strikers with ease. Either on the street, inthe dojo, or in a ring.

reply to post by clintdelicious


I understand wanting to have stand up offense...I've been boxing since I was 16 (about to be 25) I just recently starting training in San Da (Sanshou) you should look that up, Cung Le is a Sanshou fighter...The Chinese military uses this art, it is like Muay Thai but with throws and take downs...I must say, I am addicted to this since my main focus has been BJJ for the past two years and I can incorporate everything with San Da/Sanshou


Edit: Not trying to make you decide differently on anything, I've seen some Krav Maga classes and one of the guys that trains at the BJJ gym I am at trains Krav Maga also, any form of defense to learn is good.