Krav Maga - Superior?

[A.A.K]

!This is not a hate thread! I'm aware of what the title implies but it isn't what it seems.

I'm just considering the "real" capabilities of krav maga compared to 'traditional' martial arts.
Everyone I talk to claims that traditional martial arts is nice to learn and makes you feel like a badass when you go watch one of Jet Li's films, but nothing compares to krav maga or a self-defence course if you're talking street situations.

I'm not claiming kung fu is superior or that krav maga is a load of false advertising, but I'm trying to comprehend why people consider krav maga as an ultimate fighting system.
In my eyes, if you're more skilled at what you do - compared to however skilled they are at what they do - then you should come out top.

I'm a kung fu practitioner and have been for almost a decade, and I've been in a few scraps myself, almost always against armed opponents and most of the time I came out fine.
My dad/teacher said that since I have a "natural affinity for the art" is the only reason why I came out fine, so I don't have the experience to understand why a martial art is deemed ineffective.

I would love to learn how to use knives, I mean - a mate bought me some giant tanto ka-bar for a birthday present and I would love to be able to use it rather than it lie under my pillow and...lie there? but that's a question for some other time.

So tell me escapist...what's your opinion of traditional martial arts to krav maga - and when so in consideration to "the street"
Don't flame, troll or anything nasty.

 

[Kenko]

Usually from what ive seen, fights usually go down to whose bigger and stronger or faster and ofcourse who's the meanest or crueller fighter. It's mostly brawling ,even if one of the participants are a martial artist, not enough time for most techniques to be used and the environment around usually don't allow for them either.

I'd say any martial arts that utilize grappling, choking or on-the-ground-fighting are the better ones in "street fights".

But it usually boils down to size and strength.

 

[SilentCom]

As far as I understand, Krav Maga is more practical when it comes to defending yourself on the street. Krav Maga is meant as a way for the practitioner to defend themselves against multiple and armed opponents. Many other martial arts are based around unarmed combat, usually against one other opponent. Also, many martial arts that people practice nowadays are essentially sports because of the various rules and restrictions as to where you can hit and how, etc. In a real situation where survival is something you're fighting for, I think experience is the best teacher. Besides experience, fighting styles such as Krav Maga and even MMA could probably prepare practitioners better than many other forms of martial arts.

 

[BrassButtons]

The way most martial arts are taught really shouldn't be considered self-defense at all. They are about personal skill and competitions, not actually defending against real threats. There is a huge difference between the fighting that goes on in a sparring ring, and what happens in the real world. Martial arts classes (from what I've seen, anyway) don't discuss things like threat assessment, how to determine if you should run or fight, what to do if someone pulls a gun, etc. Krav Maga does deal with these issues. It isn't meant to be used in competitions where everybody fights fair--it's meant to be used in war zones against people who are trying to kill you by any means necessary.

 

[TheAmazingHobo]

In theory ?
Well, I would consider KM to be more pratical, as it is concerned with some aspects of brawling that "traditional" martial arts don´t really bother with (which makes sense, because many of those weren´t supposed to teach you how to beat down beggars coming at you with a broken bottle in the first place).

In reality ?
I don´t think it makes any difference.
At all.
As long as your weren´t trained in the armed forces or some kind of police outfit, you should really refrain from talking yourself into believing you know how to "fight". You may have an edge, because of chances are you are not a complete fatty, if you regularly do martial arts, but that´s pretty much it.

 

[TheIronRuler]

I agree with the above responses.
Krav Maga or MMA are effective at taking out your opponents as fast as possible.
The rest nowadays is just sports.
You can't tell your assailant to wait for you to put your shields on, he'll just slivce you and take your wallet.

 

[BabySinclair]

I disagree with the "strength and size win" part, I've seen small and fast kids beat the shit out of bigger kids because they wouldn't get hit or grappled. Krav Maga is street fighting, that's what it was designed to do, much like historical German Rengan.

True that if a black belt has the opportunity to use their forms they will likely win but it comes down to being able to use them fast enough.

Personally, I prefer a mix of the things I've learned from Rengan (manuals included bar fight tactics), Aikido, Karate, and wrestling. Am I a master at each? Far from, but I'm of the mindset that sampling from everything is better than focusing on only one art.

Also comes down to body type, I'm skinny and not the strongest so I avoid grappling like the plague and will immediately go for the throat when someone tries to grapple.

 

[ACman]

Krav Maga at its most serious it seams to focus on quick joint breaks and throws with strikes to the eyes, throat and groin.

Kung fu seems to focus on redirecting force which I imagine is probably better if you don't want to destroy the other person.

That said its much of a muchness. If somebody using say wing-chun fought somebody using krav-maga I'm sure it would come down to the more skilled and then maybe the stronger, not the style being used.

That said if I was attacked in a chair or had a gun pointed at me or was jumped by multiple dudes I'd hope for training in Krav Maga.

 

[spartan231490]

!This is not a hate thread! I'm aware of what the title implies but it isn't what it seems.

I'm just considering the "real" capabilities of krav maga compared to 'traditional' martial arts.
Everyone I talk to claims that traditional martial arts is nice to learn and makes you feel like a badass when you go watch one of Jet Li's films, but nothing compares to krav maga or a self-defence course if you're talking street situations.

I'm not claiming kung fu is superior or that krav maga is a load of false advertising, but I'm trying to comprehend why people consider krav maga as an ultimate fighting system.
In my eyes, if you're more skilled at what you do - compared to however skilled they are at what they do - then you should come out top.

I'm a kung fu practitioner and have been for almost a decade, and I've been in a few scraps myself, almost always against armed opponents and most of the time I came out fine.
My dad/teacher said that since I have a "natural affinity for the art" is the only reason why I came out fine, so I don't have the experience to understand why a martial art is deemed ineffective.

I would love to learn how to use knives, I mean - a mate bought me some giant tanto ka-bar for a birthday present and I would love to be able to use it rather than it lie under my pillow and...lie there? but that's a question for some other time.

So tell me escapist...what's your opinion of traditional martial arts to krav maga - and when so in consideration to "the street"
Don't flame, troll or anything nasty.

Of course, you are right, a black belt at kung fu is going to be better able to handle adverse situations than a brown belt in krav maga. Also, two black belts from those two disciplines will probably be about even as well. I think the strength of krav maga is that a yellow belt, for example, of krav maga is going to handle himself on the street better than a yellow belt of kung fu. Some of the most basic techniches of krav maga, are designed to either help you survive against multiple opponents or against armed opponents. In most traditional martial arts, those types of techniches are more advanced. I've never studied krav maga, so I'm not the most informed on it, but I've studied tae kwon do and I'm something of a martial arts enthusiast and I have done some research on krav maga, and these are my conclusions about it.

 

[Zyst]

1.- Learn Parkour
2.- Run away Like a Boss!

 

[A.A.K]

Well I suppose I can agree on most parts.
The average martial artist is really only a martial artist in the training area whether it dojo, do-jong, kwoon or otherwise or they're simply bad at it and from some of the gyms I've seen MMA being taught; it appears as if they just want the most realistic fight situation as they can get and then tell you "go. Win or we're dragging you out of the cage."

but again, I was taught by my father who learnt old school...like...temple old school.
So i learnt the painful way in my garage, in the back yard, neighbour concrete floors and everywhere he saw fit to teach me in - that's not to say I can pull off an impressive montage scene (because I most certainly cannot... 60 push-ups will kill me), but I've learnt when it's appropriate to break someone's knees and when it's appropriate to slap them.

though if that is the case, that krav maga/mma are more effective street wise, then shouldn't the government see the practicality and lift restrictions on martial arts schools? (...and martial art schools should hold a higher standard of their students...)