In This Article
This is Krav Maga for beginners that will cover everything you need to know.
If you are a complete beginner, here is an article with some very useful and practical beginner self-defense tips everyone should know.
You first have to establish Krav Maga principles, mindset, stance, and basic techniques. This is the Krav Maga guide to read if you want to master all of that.
This beginner guide to Krav Maga will cover all the basics required for implementing Krav Maga most effectively. Without further ado, let us jump into this Krav Maga guide.
Let’s dig in.
Krav Maga History
Imi Lichtenfeld, the originator of Krav Maga, was born in Budapest in 1910 and grew up in Bratislava. His father, Samuel Lichtenfeld, owned a gym and taught self-defense.
Imi learned from his father and became an international boxing champion shortly after. In the 1930s, Imi developed Krav maga and became a top contributor to the Nazi resistance.
Soon after, Imi taught Krav Maga to paramilitary forces and became the lead instructor of a martial arts he called Krav Maga. Krav Maga is Hebrew, and it means combat contact.
Today Krav Maga is used for everything from tournaments to survival scenarios.
Krav Maga Guide Principles
Krav Maga is more than just a technique. Krav Maga is a method of defending, combatting, and thinking to end a fight as fast as humanly possible.
Some of the major principles include:
- Neutralize all threats completely. If a threat presents itself, it’s always a good idea to run. But, if the danger harms your loved ones or you, neutralize the threat completely. This could mean removing a weapon, injuring, paralyzing, knocking unconscious, or killing.
- Interchange from defensive to combative mode quickly. Krav Maga is the flow of movement. You want to use multiple parts of your body to combat and defend at the same time.
- Avoid any Injury. This principle is obvious but often not taken into close consideration. It’s simple. Don’t tear any tenants, muscles, or ligaments. You can avoid doing those by not overreaching and not performing sloppy technique. It would be best if you also tried to avoid any attack your opponent presents.
- Improvise to create weapons from anything around you. The chances are, the opponent will have a gun or knife. If you don’t have a gun or knife, think dirty. Any bulky or sharp object will give you much better odds of winning.
- Leverage your body’s natural reflexes and the weak points on the opponent’s body. Attacking with your nose against the opponent’s elbow is not the best idea. Attacking your elbow against the opponent’s nose is a good idea. You have to hit the hard parts of your body against the soft or weak parts of the opponent’s body(eyes, nose, groin, knee).
Krav Maga Guide Mindset
Krav Maga requires you to have a calm mindset to fight correctly. If you are in a fight or flight situation, understand that flight is almost always the best option.
But, if you are forced into a fight, stay focused, and DON’T FREEZE no matter what. In a scenario where you are terrified, humans tend to freeze because of the sudden burst of adrenaline.
You have to follow the principles very closely. You have to neutralize the opponent. In a life or death scenario, you must use more lethal techniques to win, which are covered here.
Krav Maga Guide Stances
Before we move into the techniques, it is beneficial to understand the basic stances. This will give you an immediate advantage over your opponent.
1. Neutral
The neutral stance is just standing with your hands to your side and your legs slightly spread apart. It would be best if you didn’t put your hands in your pockets or tilt your head down.
This is the stance you should be in if you are in immediate danger and you don’t have the time to get in any other stance.
2. Guard Stance
To execute this technique correctly, you will have to put your hands in front of your face, but be sure they are at least 9 inches from your face.
This allows you to calm the opponent down while being ready to attack in case you are in immediate danger.
You want to put your right foot forward and raise the heel of your left foot, with both legs slightly bent. You want your elbows at least slightly bent towards your body, not to the sides. Your head should be slightly tilted forward.
Krav Maga Guide: Basic Techniques
Now, we can dive into the “fun” stuff. So, before we learn advanced combos and more lethal techniques, you MUST master all the basic techniques.
These are the basic techniques that anyone can learn and must learn if they wish to move on to the next steps.
1. Straight Punch
How to execute:
You want to start this attack with a guard stance. Next, you have to pivot your whole body to the left if you are attacking with your right arm and your whole body to the right if you are attacking with your left arm.
Then, you have to jump am extend your arm into the opponent’s nose, temples, or jaw. You have to do the correct fist too.
To do the correct first, you have to curl your four fingers and put your thumb on your middle finger and clench as hard as you can. Another alternative punch is to curl your four fingers and put your thumb under your middle finger.
2. Jab Palm Strike
How to execute:
It is easiest to start this attack with the guard stance. You have to get in close distance and use the heel of your palm to hit your opponent’s nose or jaw.
If you want full impact, then push the person’s head into a wall on the floor.
3. Horizontal Knee Strike
How to execute:
This attack only requires you to get close up in the neutral stance, but you can enforce more impact with the guard stance.
To execute this properly, you have to tilt your hips and shoulders left if you’re using your left leg and right if you’re using your right leg.
If you want full impact, hit the crotch, ribs, or abdomen, and if you are in the guard stance, then pull the shoulders or arm for maximum impact.
4. Horizontal Elbow Strike
How to execute:
It is easiest to start with the guard stance. You want to raise your right heel if you’re striking with your right elbow and your left heel if you’re striking with your left elbow.
You have to turn your hips and shoulder to the sharp right if you’re attacking with your left elbow and a sharp left if you’re attacking with your right elbow.
5. Rear Choke
How to execute:
You have to approach your opponent from behind for the best results.
To execute this properly, put your left or right arm over his neck and press down the arm around the neck with your opposite arm, so it is challenging to escape.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Krav Maga has basic ground rules. You have to follow all the principles thoroughly and have a focused mindset to properly execute these beginner techniques.
I hope you liked this Krav Maga guide. Consider going here if you want to learn more about Krav Maga techniques (8 Moves You Need to Know). You can also learn more about the history of Krav Maga here. This Krav Maga book is a beneficial beginner’s guide that will help you greatly if you are just beginning Krav maga.
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