Information about the origin and philosophy of Krav Maga moves and tactics, along with the different Krav Maga techniques, are presented in the article below.
A close contact form of self defense, Krav Maga is widely used by military personnel from across the globe. Developed in Israel, different Krav Maga techniques were derived from street fighting skills of Imi Lichtenfeld. He made use of his wrestling and boxing training in order to develop the Krav Maga fighting techniques. In the period of anti-Semitic activity (between mid and late 1930s) Imi Lichtenfeld used these techniques to defend the Jews in Bratislava. Grappling, wrestling, and striking techniques are mainly used in different Krav Maga moves.
Krav Maga Self Defense Techniques
The name Krav Maga is formed of two words, ‘Krav’ and ‘Maga’ which mean ‘combat’ and ‘contact’ respectively. The different tactics and techniques are classified under following categories: stances, kicks, punches, blocks, head strikes, ground fighting, and throws and takedowns.
The basic idea behind using Krav Maga is neutralizing the opponent and positioning oneself as to suffer minimum injury. Krav Maga is neither a sporting application nor martial art of any kind. It is a simple idea of utilizing basic moves in order to defend oneself. There are no set rules for practicing Krav Maga. Instinctive body reflexes form the basis of learning this art. One can therefore, expect to learn some real moves right from the first day. Anybody can start learning this technique; gender, age, and physical abilities don’t act as a hurdle in the process of learning.
Stances
| Neutral or Passive Stance | Back Position of the Ground |
| Fighting Stance | Bobbing and Weaving |
| Side Position on the Ground | – |
Kicks
| Offensive Front Kick | Groin Kick |
| Knee Strikes | Round Kick |
| Defensive Front Kick | Roundhouse Knee Strike |
| Back Kick | Side Kick |
| Back and Side Kicks with a Spin | Uppercut Back Kick |
| Inside and Outside Slap Kicks | Heel Kick |
| Axe Kick | Inward Angle Knee Strike |
| Sweeping Techniques | Spinning Heel and Slap Kicks |
| Switch Kicks | – |
Punches
| Straight Punch | Eye Strike |
| Palm Heel Strike | Low Punch |
| Throat Strike | Hammerfist |
| Hammerfirst to the Back or Side | Hook Punch |
| Horizontal/Vertical Elbow Strikes | Inside Chop |
| Uppercut | Mouth of Hand |
| Outside Chop | Overhand Punch |
Blocking Techniques
| 360 Degree Defenses |
| Straight Punch Defense with Counterattacks |
| Inside Defense against a Straight Punch |
| Defense against an Uppercut |
| Defenses against a Hook Punch |
| Defenses against a Low Round Kick |
| Defenses against a Front Kick |
| Outside Defenses against a Straight Punch |
| Defenses against 1-2 Punches |
| Defenses against a Heel Kick |
| Defenses against a High Round Kick |
| General Defense a High Kick |
| Defense against a Side Kick |
Groundfighting
| Side Position on the Ground |
| Back Position of the Ground |
| Side Kick from the Ground |
| Front Kick from the Ground |
| Getting Up |
| Round Kick from the Ground |
| Defenses against Punches while Mounted |
| Stripping a Foot Grab |
| Trap and Roll while Mounted |
| Being Choked while Mounted |
| In a Headlock while Mounted |
| Techniques to Escape from a Guard |
| Reversing a Guard |
| Arm Bar |
| In a Headlock from the Side |
| Being Choked from the Side |
| Straddled, with Wrists Pinned |
| Side Mount |
| Guillotine |
| Triangle Choke |
| In a Headlock from Behind |
Throws and Takedowns
| Cavaliers |
| Toe-pick |
| One/Two Leg Takedown |
| Hip Throw |
| Sacrifice Throw |
| One-arm Shoulder Throw |
The different Krav Maga techniques enlisted in the article should give a rough idea of this form of self defense. These techniques can be learned by anybody for the purpose defense. Use of these direct and practical self defense techniques can be of great help in real life.
