Needed a new hobby, and since I’ve never done anything in the martial arts field I decided to give this a go - the big hype about Krav Maga which was there about ten years ago or so is gone, so I guess the schools that are still around are decent and not just about jumping a fashionable bandwagon. So far I’m enjoying it - I’m not quite sure how effective it would be in an actual fight, considering that some of the training scenarios appear a bit stylised, but it’s surely fun and a good workout. Doesn’t have all this semi-spiritual philosophy around it that the East Asian martial arts have.
Would you describe it as more kicking, punching, or grappling, or something else? Are there exercises they have you do, or is all of the training functional practice?
All I know about it is that it’s Israeli and apparently popular amongst women as a form of self defense.
https://www.kravmaga.com/krav-maga-why-its-the-best-self-defense-for-women/
It’s a bit of everything - kicking, punching, blocking strikes. Training is done in pairs - the instructor demonstrates the technique, people pair up, with usually one of them holding pads that the other kicks, punches or whatever at.
It’s pretty much optimised for efficiency - moves are not choreographed for aesthetic value or anything, all that matters is to practice whatever would be of use in an actual fight, both in terms of defence, i.e. blocking the other’s strikes, and offence. In that sense, it’s a bit mean - very often, the opponent’s most vulnerable body parts such as face, throat or groin are targeted, things that might be out of bounds in a more conventional martial art. I suppose that’s also why there are nop organised competitions in Krav Maga.
I’m not sure what other “more conventional martial art” you are thinking of but aside from stylized ‘light contact’ sparring, sport boxing, or ‘jacket wrestling’ arts like judo, the “face, throat, or groin” are all valid targets in every martial art style I’ve studied. When someone is physically attacking you they generally mean to harm you in some substantial way, and being “mean” in response is necessary and presumably justified. Having applied martial art training in a couple of real world situations I’ll opine that any complex technique or movement that isn’t trained to reflexive instinct goes out the window, and that you want to end any ‘street fight’ as quickly as possible because the longer it goes on the more likely you are to trip over some obstacle and end up on the ground being kicked in the face, or clubbed from behind by your opponent’s buddy, or just get blindsided by some windmill punch regardless of your theoretically superior training.
I have not studied Krav Maga but I’ve seen demonstrations and training videos, and it is a pretty conventional unarmed combat style that emphasizes linear movement and quick, effective strikes over more elaborate techniques, and eschews kata and other stylized practice to focus on application. My concern with Krav Maga is that some of the training (in particular disarming techniques) are frequently taught with far too much confidence in their effectiveness, especially when facing a larger or stronger opponent. These techniques look effective in demonstration but in reality if someone is confronting you with a handgun or attacking you with a knife by far your most effective technique is to create distance and run away if possible because without greater strength and speed the odds are likely that you will be shot or seriously cut, and even if you do manage to disarm someone you are going to have to disable them somehow lest they wrestle their weapon back from you because an attacker who was willing to shoot or stab you is unlikely to just give up because you knocked the weapon out if their hand.
Bear in mind that any time you ‘lay hands’ on someone else you are likely to have to answer for it from a legal standpoint even if you were completely justified in self-defense. I have literally had to hire a lawyer and go to court in response to being sued for defending myself from someone with a long prior history of violent felonies who confronted me with a gun in an unambiguous armed robbery attempt, and even the fact that he failed to show still left me with several thousand dollars in legal bills and court fees that I wouldn’t have been able to recover even if I had countersued. So, if you have to fight someone, you might as well do everything you can to end the fight promptly (short of actually killing the attacker if you don’t have to) because it isn’t as if you get some kind of discount for being ‘nice’.
Stranger
The wisest advice that can be given. De-escalation, when possible, is always preferable to an unknown outcome.