Krav Maga is not considered a sporting martial art but a military and personal self-defense system that incorporates many traits of different martial art styles and disciplines. Over the last eight decades, many traditional martial arts practitioners have downplayed the effectiveness of Krav Maga in a self-defense situation. Those who practice it and have been on the receiving end of Krav will know just how lethal it can be. Perhaps you have wondered why Krav Maga is so deadly?
Krav Maga is so deadly because you can quickly and willfully end an attacker’s life without the use of a weapon. Because Krav Maga is not classified as a martial art but a self-defense combat system, your focus in training is how to neutralize a threat in the shortest amount of time. Using Krav Maga, you train to inflict the maximum damage to the attacker as fast as possible.
Krav Maga was developed by the late Imi Lichtenfeld out of necessity to defend his vulnerable Jewish neighborhood in Czechoslovakia against racist attacks. After Imi immigrated to Palestine and showed Krav Maga and its effectiveness, it was applied and taught to young students at the beginning of the IDF. The Krav Maga we learn today has been perfected by the early students and now masters of the discipline. It can take you several decades to become a Dan-level black belt practitioner. The belts are used purely for identification of rank and not in a sporting or competitive arena. Let’s look at aspects that make Krav Maga so deadly;
Why Is Krav Maga Effective?
Krav Maga is not a martial art that engages in a sporting arena but a well-developed and tested military-style self-defense style. The decades it has taken the original students of Imi to perfect the criteria, and the course has been well documented.
There are a few reasons why Krav Maga is highly effective in any threat situation or if you need to defend yourself in an attempted mugging or even in a domestic violence situation.
The top things that make Krav Maga effective are;
- Mental Conditioning and Training – In Krav Maga, you will be subjected to intensive mental readiness training, also known as aggression training or aggression drills. This is to condition your mind to react even when exhaustion takes over in a combat situation.
- Physical Training – Being cardio fit will not be enough; in Krav Maga, you become fighting fit and gain muscle memory in the moves and techniques you learn.
- Self Defense And Combat Readiness – In Krav Maga, you are trained to always be on alert. You learn how to read situations and how to react to certain people. It is always a defense system and not an offense system. Most importantly, you know how to neutralize a threat rapidly and effectively. In essence, you become a weapon.
- Lifestyle – Krav Maga is not something you learn and forget. It is an essential part of the student and master’s life. With Krav Maga, you are always ready for anything.
- Military Level Techniques – In Krav Maga, you learn how to hurt, neutralize and even kill somebody that threatens your life or that of your family. You do not need a weapon like a gun or a knife to be able to do it. IT is for this particular reason that Krav Maga is not only practical but deadly.
The 5 Deadliest Moves In Krav Maga
In Krav Maga, there are many levels you need to work through before you can become a brown, black, or even a Dan-level Black belt practitioner. From your first class, Krav Maga already empowers you to become less vulnerable and defend yourself.
There are several moves or techniques inside Krav Maga that are potentially deadly if applied correctly. For the purpose of explanation in this article, I am not instructing on how to perform any moves or techniques. I have practiced Krav Maga for 2.5 years, and specific techniques need to be done and learned under a professional, as are the requirements.
Let’s look at some techniques that make Krav Maga so deadly:
- Hammer Punch To The Heart – A full force hammer punch strike to the heart area can be forceful enough to render a person immobile. A hammer punch in Krav Maga is applied with the outer part of the fist like a hammer and not forward motioned with the knuckles like in boxing. A powerful enough strike to the chest and heart is excruciating and can stop the heart, making it fatal.
- A Hammer Punch Or Elbow To The Temple – The elbow is one of the main body parts used as a weapon in Krav Maga. It is one of the most rigid bones in the body, and if applied correctly and hitting the temple with sufficient force, this could be fatal. Typically a hammer punch in succession to the temple of an aggressor can neutralize the threat as well.
- Elbow to the throat area – Any force you put behind a strike or a blow with the elbow to the throat can effectively neutralize somebody. A blow to the throat is excruciating and can cause the trachea to collapse. This collapsed trachea will stop the air supply to the lungs and can be fatal.
- Hammer Punch Back Of The Head – Hammer punches are violent and excruciating. Applying a series of these to the back of the neck or head will neutralize the threat quickly.
- Submission Holds – These are extremely dangerous grips of the head and neck and will 100% of the time result in unconsciousness or death either by asphyxiation or a broken cervical spine.
- Weapons – In Krav Maga, you are trained on using several weapons other than your hands. You are also trained on how to disarm your attacker—then using their weapons to neutralize them in a matter of seconds.
The purpose of Krav Maga is not to inflict pain on the assailant. The goal of Krav Maga is to do maximum damage to the attacker. Anyone feels pain; it just depends on their individual pain levels, resistance, and mental fortitude.
When you train in Krav Maga, you start to see a threat differently; instead of a person, you immediately see only the weak or soft spots where you could inflict the most damage in the shortest time. These would usually be;
- The eyes.
- The knees.
- The throat.
- The groin.
These are the striking targets you will concentrate on in a threat situation.
Is Krav Maga Deadlier Than Other Martial Arts?
Krav Maga almost always reaches the top of the list for the deadliest form of self-defense in the world. Usually, it gets ranked with martial arts forms, but it’s not a good comparison to make.
Even though certain martial art forms are highly effective in combat, it is not applied in police forces and military units worldwide like Krav Maga.
These are the top self-defense systems in the world;
- Krav Maga- Israel
- Systema – Russia
- Silat – Brunei
- Combat Sambo – Russia
- Fairbairn-Sykes – Shanghai
- Keysi – Spain
- Eskrima – Philippines
Conclusion
The application of Krav Maga is a self-defense system that has enough literature and physical proof to verify it. Krav Maga is s deadly because it puts the hard-core training and skills into the hands of ordinary citizens who feel the need to be empowered.
It is knowing that you can defend yourself or your family in any situation that gives a certain sense of calm. It is not the purpose of Krav Maga to train people to use the training against others irresponsibly. Still, it takes the responsibility of empowerment in combat-style self-defense very seriously.
No criminal out there will give you any priority treatment when they want to rob or hurt you. They will want to hurt or kill you, but if you are trained in Krav Maga, your chances of survival are significantly raised.