When looking at starting a martial art, a lot of people think about its applications in a real life setting. In other words, whether it’s good for self defense, and more explicitly whether it’s good in a street fight. Whilst street fighting is not advised and can be potentially life threatening, it is something that sadly does happen. Sometimes, you may get randomly attacked in a shady area even if you’re keeping your head down. This is why people commonly learn martial arts as it can help you literally fight back in these cases.

As for Krav Maga, the good news is that it was developed by the Israeli military to be used in similar encounters. In other words, if a soldier was outnumbered or attacked on the street, they could call upon the Krav Maga system to successfully defend themselves. This is something that has proved successful many times over the years and there are lots of stories of Krav Maga working in a street fight setting. However, like everything in life – the Krav Maga system has its faults which will also be looked at closely as well.

Why Krav Maga works in street fights

Krav Maga is realistic (when done right)

At its purest form, Krav Maga is brilliant for street fights. One critique of traditional martial arts is that they struggle during street scenarios whereas they work within their own environments. An example of this could be seen with boxing. Whilst boxing is great for self defense, it has certain rules that aren’t seen in the streets.

For instance, during a boxing match you can’t bite your opponent, gauge their eyes, or kick them. This means that if you fight someone who is willing to do dirty moves, then you may be surprised as a boxer. Krav Maga will make you aware of these tactics, teach you the defensive counters, and even teach you how to fight dirty yourself.

It may not have the honor code that many established martial arts follow, but Krav Maga certainly gets the job done in terms of teaching you how to fight effectively. This is due to its lack of rules which won’t apply on the streets, so it’s better off knowing them than dropping into a false sense of security otherwise.

Krav Maga teaches a variety of disciplines

Overall, Krav Maga is well rounded when being looked at as a fighting system. It teaches you how to grapple, how to strike, how to defend and escape, as well as weapons training. This is great news if you’re looking for something to cover all areas and make you competent with loads of different types of martial arts.

For example, where a Judoka may lose to a boxer, or a Muay Thai fighter may lose to a Sambo expert, Krav Maga tries to cover all of these weaknesses. It takes the fundamentals from all of the main, successful martial arts and puts them together. Therefore, you will get a taste of many effective fighting styles and also learn weapons training whilst in a safe environment.

The reality is, there are very few places that you can train knife and gun defense either, so if you’re wanting to learn such niche disciplines, then this may only be done so under Krav Maga in certain towns or countries.

Why Krav Maga doesn’t work in street fights

Krav Maga can be taught badly which causes more problems than solutions

In a perfect world, Krav Maga would be taught perfectly by those closest to the original founders of the art. In its purest form, Krav Maga is legitimate and has been used by the Israeli military for generations. The issue is, as it’s spread it’s been accused of getting watered down. For example, originally a handful of Israeli’s would know and teach Krav Maga. Then, it would spread to others with good intentions, before finally arriving in the hands of those who teach it for profit. This is a sad practice that is often the case with a lot of martial arts and it has infiltrated Krav Maga too.

A big issue with Krav Maga is you literally can’t spar knife defenses in a realistic situation. If taught correctly, then this is ok as the knowledge will be passed on and you will still learn. However, if done badly then you may be taught stuff that puts your life in danger. A charlatan teacher could show something that looks ok but falls apart in reality. When talking about knives and firearms, this is a pretty big deal.

Krav Maga can sometimes be too broad

Another issue with Krav Maga is that it can be too broad at times which means it’s difficult to take a lot of it in. For example, whilst a large curriculum is a good thing – it can also be damaging under a poor teacher. This is where mistakes can be made and people can fall into poor training habits. For example, if you’re taught an armbar by a good teacher then it will be fundamentally sound.

However, if you’re taught this by a bad teacher then it may lack control. In other words, sometimes in Krav Maga, there can be so much going on that the curriculum can get overcrowded and key details get missed as a result. Like the previous critique, this boils down to teachers being in positions where they’re too inexperienced to be teaching.

Summary

Krav Maga can be very effective in a street fight, as long as it’s taught in the correct way. However, if it’s taught in a ‘stripmall Karate’ style where profit is prioritized over principles, then it may be a waste of time when fighting and may cause you more problems than good. It’s a shame that Krav Maga has fallen into the trap of McDojo culture in some parts, but there are still some excellent gyms out there. Having said this, as a newbie to any martial art, sometimes it can be difficult to find out what is legitimate and what isn’t.

In conclusion, Krav Maga should theoretically be the ultimate martial art when it comes to street fighting – and in many ways it is. However, too often you find dodgy schools with shady teachers who ruin the name. Because of this, a good way to think of Krav Maga is that it’s theories and ideas are perfect – however, sometimes the execution of these principles is poor and this is where it can run into problems. Overall, Krav Maga can be incredibly effective if used in a street fight. The hard part is just finding the right dojo!

Want to learn more about Krav Maga? Check out this book that goes through the fundamentals here.