Krav Maga is a self defense art, which is non-competitive in nature. The martial art form has also found place in military, police and intelligence forces in various countries, like the US, Belgium, France etc.
It is a form of martial art that teaches self defense techniques. Its origin can be traced to Imi Lichtenfeld, a wrestler and boxer, who first used it to defend the Jews against the fascists in Slovakia. Krav Maga in Hebrew means contact combat and denotes various techniques of wrestling, attacking or striking and grappling the enemy, used in this martial art. Unlike other martial arts it does not have rigidly defined rules and thus has no limitations.
It is not ruled or associated with any sporting federation and has no specific uniform or attire symbolic of it. Most organizations teaching this mark the progress of trainees through badges, ranks or belts. The refined system is used by several international defense forces including the Israeli army, Mossad and also American forces like FBI, CIA and US Marshals. It is also learned and practiced by police and SWAT teams in France and Belgium.
An essential principle of this, is to attack the most vulnerable parts of the opponent in a bid to finish the fight as quickly as possible. The main objective of this is not merely to injure the opponent as severely as possible but to ensure end of threat to self by the opponent. A continuous attack on the opponent in order to tire and neutralize their force is a key principle of Krav Maga. Also, akin to other martial arts, It requires the practitioner to be very alert about his/her surroundings. This is required not only to keep an eye on additional attackers but also to look for avenues of escape.
Also it requires one to continuously improvise attacking skills by using tools and things available in the immediate surroundings. Thus this martial art requires a high degree of agility and alertness. Many organizations and institutes train individuals in Krav Maga. Training essentially makes the trainees aware of the various pressure points existing in the body and how to optimally apply pressure on these pressure points of attackers to quickly take them down.
Krav Maga can be learned by men and women alike and techniques taught and used by both are identical. Krav Maga also teaches efficient execution of throws, punches and kicks. Training environment for Krav Maga includes simulations with multiple attackers. Thus Krav Maga is a martial art form requiring a high level of alertness and attacking skills to disengage the attacker before they have time to formulate a game plan.
The author of this article is currently associated with International Krav Maga Federation, a leading organization providing training of Krav Maga.
No comments:
Post a Comment