We are constantly hearing about bad news that happens in our world. It can oftentimes make us scared or wary, and it has us looking for ways to better ourselves and better prepare ourselves for the time where we might find ourselves in danger. With all of that being said, you might be asking yourself, is krav maga effective?
Krav maga is not only effective at teaching you self-defense, but it is also effective at teaching you how to disarm somebody who is coming at you with a weapon. It is effective as a martial art used as a sport such as in the MMA and UFC. Overall, krav maga is most definitely an effective martial art.
In this article, we are going to talk in-depth about Krav Maga and its effectiveness. We are also going to compare the discipline to other disciplines. However, this article’s main topic is whether or not krav maga is effective in different situations. So, for everything that you need to know, keep reading.
What Is Krav Maga?
A lot of people think that the Israelis invented krav maga. This is factually incorrect. It was invented in the 1930s in Eastern Europe. To be more specific, it was invented in Czechoslovakia. Krav maga was invented as a protection for the Eastern European Jews against the Nazi regime.
You would be correct if you were to say that krav maga was perfected in Israel. This is because the martial arts have stuck with the Jewish people throughout the decades. It is used by militaries all across the world, including the Israeli Defense Force.
Is Krav Maga Effective?
Now that we have that little fun fact out of the way, let’s get into the topic of this section. Is krav maga effective overall as a martial art?
Yes, it is effective regardless of whether it is used for self-defense or used in sports such as the UFC and/or MMA. Krav maga teaches you how to anticipate what your opponent or enemy is going to do. It also gives you the knowledge of how to counteract whatever they do and teach you to disarm any weapons from your enemies or opponents.
Is Krav Maga The Deadliest Martial Art?
Krav maga is said to be the world’s deadliest martial art, and if you think about it, if soldiers use martial art in some of the world’s heaviest conflicts, surely there must be something that stands out about krav maga, right?
Even though krav maga is the deadliest or even one of the deadliest martial arts, I don’t really like to think of a specific martial art as the deadliest. However, that is just me trying to sound like a wise person.
See, in my opinion and experience, it is not the martial art that is the deadliest but rather the martial artist.
Is Krav Maga Effective In Real Life?
Krav Maga was not developed for, and it was never intended to be a sport. With that in mind, I do know that there are a lot of MMA and UFC fighters who use krav maga as one of their disciplines, and they do use it in their fights.
With all of that out of the way, yes, krav maga is actually one of the most effective martial arts, if not the most effective when it comes to real-life situations. Remember, it was developed for real-life situations. If you find yourself in a street fight, krav maga can give you a significant advantage.
While most martial arts have a heavy focus on principles, morals, values, and ways of living your life, krav maga is different. The core values that you learn in most martial arts can really help you win a fight. This is especially true if you have martial arts knowledge to back it up.
However, we need to remember that krav maga is developed specifically to get you out of tricky situations when you find yourself in them. While many other martial arts teach you how to subdue your opponent, krav maga is more about inflicting damage on somebody who’s trying to inflict damage on you first.
Having said that, you can use krav maga as a way to subdue your opponent without inflicting much damage to them.
Is Krav Maga The Best Self-defense?
As much as I would like to say that the answer to this is subjective, I have to acknowledge that it is almost a consensus that krav maga is, in fact, the best form of self-defense.
If you are somebody who struggles with bullying at school or feels like you cannot keep your family safe, the best martial art for you to learn is krav maga. Perhaps second to that would be Brazilian jiu-jitsu. However, I know a lot of people who take both classes.
The Navy Seals Are Taught Krav Maga
Here is a fun fact for you. The navy seals are taught krav maga as a form of self-defense. Well, they are taught a form of krav maga. I have to add that the navy seals do implement many of their own techniques, methods, and ways of doing things in a martial art.
I can only speculate, but I think the reason why they implement a lot of their own techniques is to make whatever they are doing less predictable to an enemy if they find themselves in front of one.
Anyway, I just thought that was a great piece of information. If I can make a bold statement, I would say that if krav maga is good enough for the Navy Seals, the Israeli Defence Force, and a lot of other combat orientated organizations, I am sure it is good enough for your everyday person.
The Best Self-defense For Women
We have written an entire article about the best martial arts for women to learn. In that article, I placed a heavy emphasis on self-defense. Before I go further into this section, I just want to say that females in martial arts are the best in the industry.
Having said all of that, the best self-defense martial art for women to learn is Krav Maga, hands down. In my opinion, there is not much competition out there except perhaps for Judo or Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Again, you could do a combination of both.
Is Krav Maga More Effective Than Karate?
This is an extremely tricky question to answer. I guess on the surface you could say that Krav Maga is more effective than karate but effective at what exactly?
Karate teaches you things that you can only learn in karate, and krav maga teaches you things you can only learn in krav maga.
If we are talking about real-life situations, then krav maga is more effective. However, if you talked about martial arts in a sports environment, you might find that karate is more effective.
Karate is also more effective at teaching you things about yourself that you didn’t know. It shows you who you really are and can mold people into upstanding citizens while teaching you how to fight.
Krav Maga: Is It Effective In MMA?
A few fighters use Krav Maga as a secondary or 3rd discipline in MMA or UFC fights. However, it is not widely used in the sport because many of the maneuvers and techniques you learn in krav maga are not allowed in MMA or UFC.
To successfully use Krav Maga in the UFC, you would have to unlearn many techniques that you have been taught. If you do not unlearn these, such as the knee to the groin, you will be disqualified in your first match.
Is Krav Maga Better Than Boxing?
Again, this is a very tricky question to answer. If you want to learn self-defense, then krav maga is better than boxing. If you want to learn how to fight, boxing is better than krav maga. You see, you cannot compare two completely different things to each other; it makes no sense.
As I always say when comparing any two martial arts together, if you are interested in both, why not try both? Eventually, you can drop out of one if you prefer the other. At the end of the day, you will only be walking away with extra knowledge and extra ability.
Is Learning Krav Maga Worth It?
Absolutely!!! I don’t even have to go into too much detail in this section. Krav maga is worth it for almost everyone. Whether or not you are a good fighter or a bad one, you always have more to learn in life.
It can also help you find yourself in a situation where somebody wants to fight you for no reason. Finally, it can add an arsenal of techniques to help you if you are a sports fighter.
Conclusion
That brings us to the end of this article. Hopefully, if you were considering doing Krav Maga, I have convinced you that it is worth it to get into it.