Kevin Lewis - Idiots Guides: Krav Maga

No one likes a know-it-all. Most of us realize theres no such thinghow could there be? The world is far too complicated for someone to understand everything there is to know. So when you come across a know-it-all, you smile to yourself as they ramble on because you know better.

You understand that the quest for knowledge is a never-ending one, and youre okay with that. You have no desire to know everything, just the next thing. You know what you dont know, youre confident enough to admit it, and youre motivated to do something about it.

At Idiots Guides, we, too, know what we dont know, and we make it our business to find out. We find really smart people who are experts in their fields and then we roll up our sleeves and get to work, asking lots of questions and thinking long and hard about how best to pass along their knowledge to you in the easiest, most-accessible way possible.

After all, thats our promiseto make whatever you want to learn As Easy as It Gets. That means giving you a well-organized design that seamlessly and effortlessly guides you from page to page, topic to topic. It means controlling the pace youre asked to absorb new informationnot too much at once but just what you need to know right now. It means giving you a clear progression from easy to more difficult. It means giving you more instructional steps wherever necessary to really explain the details. And it means giving you fewer words and more illustrations wherever its better to show rather than tell.

So here you are, at the start of something new. The next chapter in your quest. It can be an intimidating place to be, but youve been here before and so have we. Clear your mind and turn the page. By the end of this book, you wont be a know-it-all, but your world will be a little less complicated than it was before. And well be sure your journey is as easy as it gets.

Mike Sanders
Publisher, Idiots Guides

Introduction

Krav Maga is a self-defense system that provides realistic defenses against a variety of attacks. No matter your age or fitness level, you can achieve proficiency in a short period of time in Krav Maga.

Whether the threat involves an armed or unarmed assailant or even multiple assailants, the ultimate goal and the greatest profit of Krav Maga is it allows you to protect yourself and get home safe. To defend against and neutralize physical attacks, the system combines decisive and aggressive responses with the bodys instinctive reactions to stress so youre prepared no matter the situation.

To ensure effectiveness, Krav Maga provides techniques that emphasize simple problem-solving principles, as well as training drills to practice. Through these, youre given the tools necessary to fight when your attention is divided, when your vision is impaired, and when you just want to give up. Plus, Krav Magas open system keeps it relevantas attacks change, the system adapts with new techniques. So no matter the challenge, you can learn to turn on your warrior instincts and fight your way out of an attack. This is what makes Krav Maga the best street-fighting self-defense system in the world.

Acknowledgments

We would like to honor and give our respect to the late Imi Lichtenfeld for developing the Krav Maga system of problem-solvingwhich is realistic, practical, and easily transferable to the massesand for being an example of how a man of integrity can be a positive force of change in the world. We also wish to thank our Chief Instructor Darren Levine for his years of mentorship and friendship. We acknowledge the amazing team at Penguin Random HouseJan, Kayla, Bill, and Christinefor making this project possible and pushing us to new limits. We would like to thank the very talented Zach Coco for taking great photographs, as well as thank our models Tammy, Jarrett, Noi, and Chad for playing along and getting behind the cameras at a moments notice. We would also like to give special thanks to our friends and families for putting up with us during this process. From our first Krav Maga classes to the last word written in this book, you stuck by our sides, had our backs, and pushed us forward when we needed it, so we could carry on Imis dream of showing the world that every person can walk in peace. Thank you!

Technique Note

Certain techniques in this book involve two people, with one acting as the attacker and the other as the defender. For clarity, the attacker is always dressed in a gray shirt.

What Is Krav Maga?

Krav Maga is an aggressive, reality-based self-defense system that virtually anyone can practice, regardless of size, age, or athletic level.

Defining Krav Maga

Meaning contact combat in Hebrew, Krav Maga is a street-fighting system best known for its efficiency in defending against real-world attacks with brutal counterattacks. It emphasizes targeting the most vulnerable parts of the attackers body while employing basic principles to keep defenders safe. Krav Maga incorporates movements and techniques from many different styles of martial arts and self-defense systems, including judo, kickboxing, karate, wrestling, Brazilian jujitsu, and other weapons-based systems. By utilizing the very best techniques of these other arts and systems, Krav Maga is able to defend effectively against a wide range of attacks.

Unlike other self-defense systems, however, Krav Maga is not a sport. The goal of Krav Maga is simply to allow all types of people to defend themselves using only whats at hand in all types of attack situations, with an awareness that no two situations are exactly the same. While we encourage any person to avoid confrontations, sometimes this simply isnt possible. Krav Maga gives you a solid foundation of both physical and mental training so you can be more aware of your surroundings, properly assess them, and react with appropriate techniques when running away just isnt an option.

The Purpose of Krav Maga

The purpose of Krav Maga is to walk in peace. To truly get what self-defense is, you must understand the deeper meaning of this quote. In order to walk in peace, you must have confidence, technical ability, situational awareness, and emotional strength.

As you learn to practice Krav Maga, youll be challenged physically, mentally, and spiritually to achieve higher levels of performance. The first step in your journey toward walking in peace with Krav Maga is developing your physical skill sets. This is your ability to address common attacks using the Krav Maga principles. Once you do that, youll learn to face the mental and spiritual challenges of the systemsuch as strategy, tactics, and situational awareness trainingwhich will lead to greater emotional strength and fortitude.

But how does all this help you walk in peace?

With Krav Maga, you gain the ultimate confidence from knowing you have developed your skill sets and organized your life in such a way that you can avoid most situations in which you or others around you could be harmed. There can be no peace without confidence in your abilities. As the old saying goes, If you want peace, prepare for warpreparedness is the path to peace. Krav Maga training and principles give you the vehicle, strategy, and tactics to develop the necessary skill sets for this physical, emotional, and spiritual growth.