Self-Defense For The Streets
The definition of “the streets” can be vastly different depending your location. However it’s pretty clear that anyone interested in training in self-defense is considering the idea of being away from the safety of home and in a position where they are in danger of being harmed. If you don’t have the skills and mentality to overcome those sort of circumstances there’s an inherent fear based on the question “what would I do?”. For many, the answer is “start taking self-defense classes.”
Take a look at apps like Citizen and NextDoor and you’ll get an idea of just how dangerous “the streets” around you are and how likely you chances are of finding yourself in that “what would I do?” situation. Regardless of where you live and how dangerous “the streets” around you are, if you want to develop self-defense skills that will give you the ability answer to “what would I do?” for yourself, Krav Maga Worldwide® self-defense classes are for you.
Self-defense training is a very broad category in a general sense. Seeking out the best self-defense classes and the most valuable, effective, self-defense training can involve navigating a confusing landscape of locations and activities claiming to be beneficial for self-defense. There are myriad styles of training. Private trainers. “Self-defense” classes at local gyms and community centers. Self-defense tools and equipment available to buy. There are apps you can download. There is a monstrous amount of free material to watch on Youtube. It can be somewhat dizzying because so many outlets have a claim to providing self-defense training and, ultimately, whatever you commit to needs to work when the chips are down.
There are many things that set Krav Maga Worldwide® self-defense classes and self-defense training apart as the best way to train to make yourself safer and stronger. If you want to train in self-defense so that you will be safer on your streets consider these five facts about Krav Maga self-defense classes.
Krav Maga was developed in Israel to train soldiers.
As WWII was coming to a close in the 1940’s, Jewish people were emigrating to the newly formed nation of Israel. One of these emigrants was a man named Imi Lichtenfeld. Imi grew up in Bratislava where, under the tutelage of his father, he became an accomplished boxer and grappler. During WWII Imi fought against Nazi oppression by joining resistance forces in Europe. Imi’s hand-to-hand combat skills were incredibly valuable and he distinguished himself as a leader in the resistance.
When Israel needed to build a military force for it’s defense from it’s population of new citizens, Imi was selected by the nation’s leaders to train recruits in hand-to-hand combat. This was an incredibly daunting task because the Israel’s growing population of immigrating citizens were coming from all walks of life and the majority of them had little to no fighting or hand-to-hand combat experience.
Imi had to develop a system that would bring these people to a high level of proficiency in hand-to-hand combat in a very short period of time. Imi knew that the ceremonial elements of traditional martial arts were unnecessary for the needs of Israel’s military. He also knew that building a “fighting spirit” in people with little to no combat experience was essential for training people to become soldiers who would be fighting for their lives. Imi’s idea was to teach recruits a fighting system not a martial art. This system had to be easy to learn so Imi based the training on principals that built essential skills for fighting and survival. The system that Imi created was Krav Maga.
The early military force that Israel built eventually became today’s Israel Defense Force (IDF) and Krav Maga became the official hand-to-hand combat system of the IDF. Imi continued to build and refine Krav Maga, constantly analyzing, adding and eliminating techniques as a method of staying true to the principles of Krav Maga and its fundamental purpose; give people the skills they need to fight and survive.
Krav Maga Worldwide® self-defense classes teach a no-holds-barred system.
Imi Lichtenfeld had to teach people to fight for their lives, not to compete in a test of martial arts skills. As a result, he developed Krav Maga to be a no-holds barred system. That means there is not a rules related to the application of Krav Maga. There are principals in the system that maintain continuity of training but no technique is considered “off limits” or “illegal” if it means that using that technique is the difference in overcoming an attacker.
Krav Maga Worldwide® self-defense classes teach students to use strikes like groin kicks, eye gouges, throat strikes, and strikes to the back of the head, all of which would be considered illegal in a sanctioned sport fight. This way of thinking is important in developing “fighting spirit” and an aggressive mentality in students. It’s also an important element of one of the principles of Krav Maga; to counterattack as aggressively as possible in order to end the encounter.
In order to act aggressively, students have to be able to think aggressively. In Krav Maga Worldwide® self-defense classes, students learn these no-holds-barred techniques and train to apply them in drills designed specifically to develop aggression when counterattacking. This principle continues throughout the system and is applied to more and more complex and dangerous scenarios as students progress in their training.
This is a big difference between Krav Maga Worldwide® self-defense training and traditional martial arts. Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense classes teach a system, not an art form. Students learn techniques and apply them in training under different levels of stress. There is no subjective analysis based on ceremony and tradition. Students training in Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense classes are taught to do techniques correctly but the techniques don’t always have to “look” or be pretty. They just have to work.
Krav Maga Worldwide® self-defense classes are suitable for anyone.
Anyone can take Krav Maga Worldwide® self-defense classes and develop the skills they need to be stronger and safer. This idea is at the very heart of what inspired Imi when creating Krav Maga and how Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense classes develop students today. Designing the system around principles gave Imi the ability to make the system broadly applicable.
One of the main principles of Krav Maga is to use your body’s natural reaction to initiate a defense. If somebody tries to choke you by grabbing you around the neck, your body is going to have an instinctive reaction to that. Most likely, your hands are going to go straight to your neck because that’s where you are feeling pain, pressure, danger, etc. Krav Maga Worldwide® self-defense classes will teach you to use that reaction as part of your defense. This same principle applies to all levels of defenses and all levels of increasingly complex scenarios as students progress in training. Developing this principle was a huge advantage for Imi and for Krav Maga training overall because students don’t have to learn or be taught the instinctive reactions that your body is going to have.
Krav Maga is a self-defense system that allows for training to be scaled depending on the level of the students training in each self-defense class. The principles of Krav Maga are the same for everyone that’s why Krav Maga self-defense classes are the best way for anyone to learn to defend themselves. Realistically, some people are more physically capable of some things than others. Krav Maga Worldwide instructors understand this dynamic and work to develop students to be as effective as possible with every technique.
Consistent training in Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense classes will improve your overall fitness level.
One of the great benefits of training in Krav Maga Worldwide® self-defense classes is that it will get you in incredible shape. Krav Maga self-defense classes make your body work and push your conditioning levels in a way that most people have never experienced. Consistent training in Krav Maga classes will boost your metabolism and help you lose weight. Training will help you develop lean mass and strengthen your muscles. It will also help you improve your flexibility and overall functional movement.
Krav Maga Worldwide® self-defense classes are a physical challenge that will push your body to do things that it hasn’t done. If your body is used to self-defense training already, Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense classes will challenge you in how you apply your abilities.
Many people come to Krav Maga Worldwide certified training centers looking for a new, stimulating, way to work out. In this case, they get the benefit of developing skills that make them better prepared to defend themselves on “the streets”. Conversely, people who come to Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense classes with the goal of learning self-defense, get the added benefit of incredible physical conditioning.
Krav Maga Worldwide certified training centers also offer a specific fitness program in addition to self-defense classes. Fitness program classes are based largely on Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense training but can also involve things like heavy bag classes, thai pad classes, high intensity interval training classes, yoga, and more. Taking these classes will improve your performance in self-defense classes as well as your overall athletic ability. The fitness program at most Krav Maga Worldwide certified training centers can also be a great stand alone program for people whose goals are mainly fitness related.
Krav Maga Worldwide’s mission is to give people real skills to be safer and stronger and all of our programs have this goal in mind. Taking self-defense classes at a Krav Maga Worldwide certified training center is the best way to learn self-defense, it will get you in amazing shape, and it often serves as an entryway to other methods of training that have symbiotic benefits and produce real results.
Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense classes are taught by expert instructors.
Instructors who teach Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense classes at Krav Maga Worldwide certified training centers are put through grueling instructor training courses called “Phase Training”. This training comes directly from Imi Lichtenfeld by way of Darren Levine. Instructor candidates have to dedicate themselves to training for years in order to earn entry into Phase Training. Each course in the Phase Training process is roughly the equivalent of a 5-6 day forty plus hour work week, with a comprehensive test and teaching skills assessment at the conclusion. That’s what is required to earn just one level of instructor certification. When the time comes to earn the next level of certification, candidates must take the next level of Phase Training. It’s a process that requires incredible effort and dedication.
Krav Maga Worldwide certified instructors earn their certification every step of the way. They dedicate, not only the time and effort that it takes to go through Phase Training, but their very lives to the goal of being able to teach. They embody the vision that Imi had for Krav Maga and the mission of Krav Maga Worldwide as a company; to empower every person with real skills to be stronger and safer so that they may walk in peace.
There is no better place to take self-defense classes than at a Krav Maga Worldwide certified training center. The mission of our training centers and the very heart of our training and programming come from Imi Lichtenfeld himself. There is simply no other organization on the world that can say the same. If you want to learn to defend yourself on “the streets”, if you want to get in amazing shape, if you want to learn the most effective self-defense system in self-defense classes taught by self-defense experts, start training at a Krav Maga Worldwide certified training center.
