Krav Maga Techniques

A close contact form of self defense, Krav Maga is widely used by military personnel from across the globe. Developed in Israel, the different Krav Maga techniques were derived from street fighting skills of Imi Lichtenfeld. He made use of his wrestling and boxing training in order to develop the Krav Maga fighting techniques. In the period of anti-Semitic activity (between mid and late 1930s) Imi Lichtenfeld had used these techniques to defend the Jewish in Bratislava. The grappling, wrestling and striking techniques are mainly used in different Krav Maga moves.

Krav Maga Self Defense Techniques

The name Krav Maga is formed of two words, 'Krav' and 'Maga' which mean 'combat' and 'contact' respectively. The different Krav Maga tactics and techniques are classified under following categories: stances, kicks, punching techniques, blocking techniques, head strikes, ground fighting and throws & takedowns.

The basic idea behind using Krav Maga techniques is neutralizing the opponent and positioning oneself as to suffer minimum injury. Krav Maga is neither a sporting application nor martial art of any kind. It is a simple idea of utilizing basic moves in order to defend oneself. There are no set rules for practicing Krav Maga. Instinctive body reflexes form the basis of learning this art. One can therefore, expect to learn some real moves right from the first day. Anybody can start learning this techniques; gender, age and physical abilities don't act as a hurdle in the process of learning these techniques.

The different techniques of Krav Maga classified in categories such kicks, punches, etc. are enlisted in tables presented below.

Stances

Neutral or Passive Stance	Back Position of the Ground
Fighting Stance	Bobbing and Weaving
Side Position on the Ground	-

Kicks

Offensive Front Kick	Groin Kick
Knee Strikes	Round Kick
Defensive Front Kick	Roundhouse Knee Strike
Back Kick	Side Kick
Back and Side Kicks with a Spin	Uppercut Back Kick
Inside and Outside Slap Kicks	Heel Kick
Axe Kick	Inward Angle Knee Strike
Sweeping Techniques	Spinning Heel and Slap Kicks
Switch Kicks	-

Punches

Straight Punch	Eye Strike
Palm Heel Strike	Low Punch
Throat Strike	Hammerfist
Hammerfirst to the Bacl or Side	Hook Punch
Horizontal/Vertical Elbow Strikes	Inside Chop
Uppercut	Mouth of Hand
Outside Chop	Overhand Punch

Blocking Techniques

360 Degree Defenses

Straight Punch Defense with Counterattacks

Inside Defense against a Straight Punch

Defense against an Uppercut

Defenses against a Hook Punch

Defenses against a Low Round Kick

Defenses against a Front Kick

Outside Defenses against a Straight Punch

Defenses against 1-2 Punches

Defenses against a Heel Kick

Defenses against a High Round Kick

General Defense a High Kick

Defense against a Side Kick

Groundfighting

Side Position on the Ground

Back Position of the Ground

Side Kick from the Ground

Front Kick from the Ground

Getting Up

Round Kick from the Ground

Defenses against Punches while Mounted

Stripping a Foot Grab

Trap and Roll while Mounted

Being Choked while Mounted

In a Headlock while Mounted

Techniques to Escape from a Guard

Reversing a Guard

Arm Bar

In a Headlock from the Side

Being Choked from the Side

Straddled, with Wrists Pinned

Side Mount

Guillotine

Triangle Choke

In a Headlock from Behind

Throws and Takedowns

Cavaliers

Toe-pick

One/Two Leg Takedown

Hip Throw

Sacrifice Throw

One-arm Shoulder Throw

The different Krav Maga techniques enlisted in the article should give a rough idea of this form of self defense. These techniques can be learned by anybody for the purpose defense. Use of these direct and practical self defense techniques can be of great help in real life.