I was thinking about taking classes in Krav Maga, the fighting system designed by the israeli’s, this summer. I basically want defend myself without having to keep the four four with me all the time. Does anyone have any experience with Krav Maga and if they feel it would be worth taking to learn self defense.
Yeh i know what you are talking about. they actually have 2 fighting systems Krav Maga is the less popular one but probably as effective as the other. man, i cant think of the name of the other. but personally i wouldnt take up Krav Maga its ok but a long way behind most other arts. NO 1 would be Muay Thai, its the easiest form to learn and quickest, it really is a good art. it covers all areas of defence, it is a very very clinical fighting system and thats important in being practical. the only downside is that its not too strong once the fight is taken to the ground. but combined with somthing along the lines of Brazilian Ju Jitsu, its complete. actually you sound like you are looking for somthing a little different yeh? if you are look into Russian Sambo. also check out this site- www.geoffthompson.com. if your talking reall world fighting systems and self defence youll get a clearer picture of the different arts there, good luck.
I’ll check out the site but why would you say that krav maga is behind other fighting sytems? It is my understanding it is designed to be taught quickly and allow for the trainee to get a good amount of bang for your buck in time spent and transfer to real world scenarios. Then again everyone says that about the martial art they take. Would you say Muai thai transfers to real life situations?
Maybe im not to clear in my post. Krav Maga is everything you said, i too think it is a good art, i shouldnt really say one art or system is better, they all have their place. personally i think there are 3 catagories, reall life, sport, and arts. like you said it was designed for real life situations so straight away its a good choice. but just because somthing is designed for a particualar perpose doesnt mean it doesnt have any gaps. i think it has less gaps then most, but more than some. but hay every one is like that. but yes it does trasfer itsself to real life senarios and has good bang for your buck.
Though i just think somthing like thai is a good choice because: Its so easy to learn, really is the easist art/ syatem, probably even easier than Western boxing,
But having said that its very effective, even when taught only as a ring sport it carries across into real life well. i think its bang for buck value is probably the most.
And yes it transfers across to reall life very well. Kicks and punches knees and elbows. you can fight at a distance, kicks and punches, or in close, elbows and knees, aswell as throws, so it covers most grounds except for ground work.
but the best reason i like it is, you learn quickly because it emphercises the strongest punches, kicks, elbows, etc. in a relativly short time period and then you get to start sparring, to what ever intensity you want really, so you get a closer picture of what its like in reall life, that side of things is overlooked very often these days, but remains in Thai.
But i have to say, i feel bad about saying one is better that another, they all have their place. and really this is just my thoughts, the more i learn about this stuff i see that i know less and less than what i thought i did. and i have never studied Kava Maga. Most important thing though- a good instructor, that will make choice a good one. tell me what you think.
I agree with you almost 100%. Thai and BBJ. Except I would put BBJ first. No fist of the eagle standing on an egg while the monkey pulls the vine stance bull shit. 
I see what your saying I became mainly interested in Krav Maga after I heard about it on the net and that a school was opening up some a school in las Vegas next to my house this next spring and of what I read about the instructor he seems high quality. There is also a thai kickboxing school near my house but I haven’t looked into it yet. I like almost everyone took Karate as a kid and learned jack shit from it (which suprised me as I did get all the way up to camo-belt). I’ll look into Thai and krav maga and make my decision off the instructor more than anything. Hopefully I will be able to obtain my goal of gaining 80 pounds of muscle and winning the UFC heavyweight title within one year. Okay probably not. By the way what is BBJ? Is it brazillian jiu jitsu?
Krav maga is a hybrid style that includes elements of all styles, including jiu jistu and muy thai. It is more like Bruce Lees Jeet Kun Do. It also incorporates filipino knife and stick fighting. It is a good system if you want a no-nonsense learn how to mess up an attacker style. I have studied both Muy thai and jiu jitsu, they are great styles but by themselves lack certain elements, which is what makes the hybrid styles so appealing.
Really you would put BJJ first Nkeago, how come?
HAha, 80 pounds of muscle, winning UFC. yeh man, i think if you do what you said in finding a school, style and instructor, youll have no problems. BJJ? yep, Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, the whole story behind it it really cool. but bascilally two brazillian famillies have taken the Japanese form and and made it there own, for generations now, and they are the reall thing. some of their earlier fights are completely without rules, no time limits, they are outweighed by 40 pounds, and still win. without rules. Roycie Gracie, the Gracie familly, won ufc a few times, when it was at its peak in terms of no rules fighting. but they are always at the top. i think the other familly is the Machado familly. on the side, one of the Gracies, i think it was Rhorion, he weighs about 180 pounds if that at about 6’1, he’s had been challanging anyone in the world to no rules fights for years, he challanged mike tyson a few years ago before he lost it, winner take all, but tysons camp turned him down. thats why every one is more concerend with fighting styles that fight on the ground now, untill the BJJ guys started coming out and winning every body trained standup styles only pretty much, so these guys came along got them on the flore and just dominated things. BJJ is really good for people that are small or not very strong because it is all about angels and technique, where things like Thai are more strength and speed orientated, so its a really good combination, ground fighting-standup fighting, angels and technique- strength and speed, its beautifull isnt it? it makes me want to cry.
Hay Ko, what do you think lacked in Thai and JJ? Like the cross over type stuff? do you think hybrids are more complete than say somting like Thai and BJJ??
Does anyone know if Thai Kickboxing and BJJ is being taught in Sydney?
Fighting is made up of a series of ranges, long, medium, short, the clinch, and the ground. Karate, tae kwon do are good for long range as they depend on powerful kicks and punches that can cover a great distance. medium range is where i feel Muy Thai is great because of the leg kicks and the powerful roundhouse kicks to the head, it also works well in the short range where the elbows and knees can come into play. I Western boxing is great for the short range because of the punching, hooks and upper cuts are great when someone is trying to get into your kitchen, this is where I feel Muy Thai is lacking, also Thai boxers tend to leave their mid section unprotected. The clinch and the ground is where BJJ comes in and i do think that the Gracies have a great system here which is why i study it. Good old wrestling is also good for the ground game but it lacks the finishing techniques of BJJ such as chokes an arm bars. One other thing is that you need a way of tying all these ranges together, that is why the hybrids are superior if there are well balanced in all ranges. They teach you to transition from range to range .
I work for a med-sized (1,500 sworn)police department on the East Coast and our training staff sent some instructors to a Krav Maga seminar in PA. PDs usually look for a system that is easy to use, easy to apply and most of all-effective. There is an increasing number of police recruits who are not only unfit, but lacking in fighting skills and experience. The instructors concluded that the system was easy to learn and very effective-mind you the training staff only has the recruits for 6 months and a very small amount of this time (3 days or so) is dedicated to defensive tactics. They need the easiest, most effective system available. Krav Maga has not been implemented yet, but it is given to those recruits (as a remedial) who lack aggressivness and/or confidence in physical situations. I think that if your plate is really full (time restrictions) this would be a good idea. I’m not sure how much groundfighting is addressed, as most streetfights I’ve seen go to the ground. I believe the system is a series of low-line kicks and close knee/elbow strikes. They have a website (Krav Maga.com). Good luck.
Yeh man, im in Brisbane, Sydney has heaps of good places, check out the Bob Jones schools.
Thanks for the info:)
Sorry for the late reply. I would put BBJ first as I think it’s better regardless of the size and strength of the opponent. Plus once you get the person down their in your court so to speak. That’s it in a nut shell. Hope I don’t start a war on here.
I have been watching Thai boxing the last few nights. Those guys are incredible athletes. They must have super jocks on or no nuts, cause I swore numerous times they got bagged with knees and kicks but it didn’t seem to register.
Thai boxers have special steel cups - plastic ones are known to break from a good knee.
Muay thai, is a sport, not a self defense system. Thats about all i am gonna say.
For real? I would think so though. If I was there I would have made my own jock out of tungsten steel with a few titanium carbide spikes on it!!!
ANY JUDGE OR GOOD LAWYER (DO THEY EXIST?) WILL TELL YOU THE BEST SELF DEFENCE IS A GOOD PART OF TRACK SHOES.
Having a jury sit there and listen to some DA tell them how you could have walked away (when you were cornered and there were four of them)
and being hit with a Felony for defending yourself is not worth it.
Stay alert and in control. Even Chuck Norris will tell you WALK AWAY!!!
Thai kickboxing and bjj are a great combination, but the transition from stand up to the ground also has to be adressed. This is where wrestling and judo help immensely. It’s no accident that many ex colligiate wrestlers are doing so well in the ufc and pride recently. Looking at the top fighters in recent years, most are well versed in several different fight styles and techniques. Even bjj guys who are famous for espousing the superiority of there sport are learning to strike and take down.
One other thing you need to consider in choosing a style is your body type and inherent strengths and weakness’. For example I am 5’9, 220 lbs.( shorter, short reach, stocky) Standing back and trading punches with a taller opponent is suicide for my type of build. For me I must close the distance quickly, strike with elbows (kicks are ok too but punches and knees are not a short guys strong point)get a quick take down and roll till I can get a choke or submission hold. I participate in mma at a recreational level, but it’t the best workout and the most fun I’ve ever had in a sport. I only took it up one year ago at age 34 and wished I had gotten involved much earlier. Mma really is a T-man sport, not for the macho fighting, but because you truly challenge yourself everytime you get on the mat. It’s a good way to learn respect and to get to know yourself. peace