One of the most frequently asked questions new students ask is “What Does Krav Maga cover?” Great question! When I began training in Krav Maga I didn’t have any sense of the vast number of topics it can cover. As a self-defense system that teaches you how to prevent and protect against various types of assaults, it has to be comprehensive. Very comprehensive! After all, real-life assaults can happen in so many ways.
Krav Maga offers programs for Military, Law Enforcement, Security, Kids. For this blog, we will focus on adult programs. Future blogs will address these other fields.
Despite the innumerable array of topics we have to engage in classification. Biology, for example, offers various classifications to try to facilitate our comprehension of millions of species. There are the broader categories of mammal, reptile, bird, insect…etc… Of course, each of these categories or further broken down into more specific ones. Comprehension requires categories.
Classification is a somewhat arbitrary process but here goes!
Awareness. Where are the exits? What is his body language telling you? What is your body language telling him? Is there anything in this room I can use to protect myself. Essentially, what is happening in your surroundings?
Prevention. Is there anything I can do to prevent an assault? Can I talk calmly yet firmly? Do I yell? Can I run? Can I prevent his choke, grab, punch from reaching me.
Escape and Evasion. This is not simply running away. Where do I run? How do I exit in the most effective way that gets me to a safer place?
Striking and Defending Strikes. Punches, elbows, kicks, knees, hammer strikes, forearm strikes, etc… Strikes need to be performed, to quote our Kravolution curriculum, with fluidity and logic. Essentially, this means using the “right tools for the job” (e.g. elbows short distance) and using them efficiently. Defending strikes requires a similar logic.
Escaping Hold and Grabs. Chokes, shirt grabs, shirt grabs, bearhugs, headlocks, etc… How do you prevent these attacks? If you can’t prevent how do you escape?
Defending on the Ground. Many assaults end up on the ground. We teach you how to prevent being brought to the ground, break falls, defending strikes and weapon attacks on the ground, chokes, and headlocks on the ground, etc….
Surviving Armed Attacks and Threats. Sharp objects like knives, blunt objects like hammers, baseball bats, firearms – guns, rifles. A vital part of this training involves when to physically defend and when to comply. If, for example, giving a knife-wielding assailant your wallet can appease him please do so!
Combat. Essentially this is learning how to fight. Sparring/slow fighting.
Of course, each of these categories involves numerous topics but our wee human brains need to compartmentalize to comprehend. In future blogs we will explore many aspects of these topics.
As always, feel free to suggest blog topics. We love to write!
Stay safe!
Christopher Gagne
Toronto Krav Maga Academy (Tkma.ca)
Proud member of Kravolution
Image by Sophie Janotta from Pixabay
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Be the first to comment.