Is Krav Maga Offensive or Defensive?

Krav Maga is a practical system of self-defence that teaches students how to avoid, prevent, and deter real world threats.

As students begin to learn Krav Maga as a martial art, a common question is whether Krav Maga is intended to be an offensive or defensive martial art. Krav Maga combines a number of different offensive and defensive techniques to provide comprehensive protection.

Whether you’re facing an armed attack, or you’re engaged in hand-to-hand combat, Krav Maga helps students to react and defend themselves effectively and decisively. 

What is Krav Maga?

Krav Maga is an Israeli martial art self-defence system that was originally developed for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Today, the Israeli Defence Forces are widely considered to be one of the most highly-trained defence forces in hand-to-hand combat anywhere in the world.

The origins of Krav Maga trace back to the 1930s when Hungarian-Jewish martial artist Imi Lichtenfeld first developed Krav Maga as a self-defence system for Jewish people living in Nazi-occupied Germany. At the conclusion of the second world war, Imi Lichtenfeld migrated from Europe to Israel where he continued to develop Krav Maga and teach to new students in Israel.

Almost 100-years since those first teachings, Krav Maga continues to be adopted by the Israeli military and Israeli law enforcement as its official hand-to-hand combat system.

What are the principles of Krav Maga?

Krav Maga as a martial arts form boasts a number of key principles that can be applied to its approach, as well as the training methods that are used. The principles of Krav Maga have evolved as a result of real-world, front-line practice that combat violent and aggressive situations.

The principles of Krav Maga include stopping the immediate threat, counterattacks, disengaging and de-escalation, and continued monitoring of the next threat. Some important principles that apply to Krav Maga: 

1. There are no rules to survival
2. Simplicity is best when it comes to stopping the threat
3. Employ natural responses and reactions to threats
4. Utilise what you have available to neutralise the threat
5. Stay vigilant for threats

Over the course of almost 100 years, the Krav Maga martial arts system has continued to evolve, however, those founding principles of practical and effective self-defence for real world situations continue to apply.

Is Krav Maga offensive or defensive?

Krav Maga (and all forms of martial arts) are intended to be used as a form of self-defence in combat or attack situations. Krav Maga combines offensive elements such as punches and kicks, elbows and knee strikes, and throws, with defensive elements such as blocks, evasive movements, and techniques to disarm your attacker.

Krav Maga students will learn a range of different kicks, knees, elbows, and strikes that are intended to overwhelm the opponents. Compared to some forms of martial arts that focus primarily on evasion, blocks, and counterattacks, Krav Maga may be viewed as more offensive in nature.

Krav Maga takes a holistic and real-world approach to ensure that students gain practical self-defence training that can be applied across a wide range of threats. Balancing both the offensive and defensive tactics ensures that Krav Maga students maintain personal safety in threatening situations.

It’s important to distinguish between the ideology of martial arts and the individual who practises the martial art. Krav Maga and all forms of martial arts are not intended to be an offensive weapon for individuals to use at their discretion. Instead, Krav Maga is intended to provide a self-defence (not self-offence) method for individuals to disarm and stop threats before they escalate.

At UMF Academy, we deliver the industry’s number one character development system in our Krav Maga classes with a focus on applying it in commonly encountered self defence scenarios for personal security. Our approach to teaching Krav Maga techniques are designed to prepare the practitioner for the worst case scenario with the expectation of never having to use them.