Training
Self-defense
Our Krav Maga training has the main purpose to develop your skills in order to improve your aptitude to deal with every kind of threat.
This is not a sport to fight in the ring/dojo/octagon or oriented to any competition, but is a self-defence method.
In KRAV MAGA SOFIA club, one lesson is about 1h.15m. till almost 2 hours and it is divided in several parts: warmups, muscular reinforcement, combat sparring and of course a couple of self-defence techniques used in Krav Maga.
Close Combat
A threat in the street generally differs from a sport fight in several ways:
The attacker may be much bigger and stronger than you and to fight or defend may be very difficult or impossible – on the contrary to sport, where people are generally in categories according to their weight during a fight. A woman has in general 30% less muscles for the same weight like a man.
In real situations the attack is often unexpected, an aggressor waits in general for the right moment when we are weaker, distracted or busy. The attacker can strike with a lethal weapon (knife, gun, stick, baton). An attack could involve several attackers. Then you are not in your sportswear and warmed up.
Besides that, the aggressor is maybe on drugs, therefore less sensitive to pain. The attacker could be trained or not in different martial arts… And last but not least, on the street there is no referee or instructor to stop them.
Effective Techniques
We develop skills mainly in 4 fields: Physical – Technical – Mental and Tactical. In Krav Maga the emphasis is on street self-defense effective techniques, which can be used successfully in any situation by the women too.
Because our life can be in danger, we use every kind of technique to be able to survive and we are targeting the vital points.
However the answer should be proportionate to the threat, i.e. we will not break a neck for strong handshake.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, what you need is to not have severe health problems (cardiovascular limitation). Also the regular student should provide the medical certificate allowing practicing sport so called full contact. That certificate will be valid for 1 year. Last but not the least, just good motivation and to be serious. Everyone improves at their own speed because some people are just more fit and maybe more talented. Therefore it requires regularity, because Krav Maga is about instinctual work.
To start Krav Maga, you do not need to be an athlete or in very good condition. However it is needed to reach a certain level of shape after a while, because you cannot defend yourself efficiently if your condition is too weak. You can still practice other sports alongside Krav Maga to improve your stamina, muscle tone, flexibility.
No, the technique should be easy to remember and simple. Our first answer to a threat is an instinctive reaction, so it cannot be complicated. The simplicity matters a lot, your brain should remember it easily. Being not complicated does not mean that the techniques lack of technicity and details. The details have their importances in the effectiveness of the technique.
There are not only differences between federations of Krav Maga but in the type of Krav Maga - there are basically 3 : the one I know and teach is Civilian Krav Maga (it’s also the one which is popularized ), one is more designed for Police or Security Forces ( there is more lock and control ) and finally the military has also some specific techniques (its more lethal).
Anybody can learn and use Krav Maga. I believe that it should be taught to people over 15 years old in general. However, some kids courses are sometimes offered by some federations. I do not teach to kids for several reasons.
First of all, the approach when it comes to teach to young people differs, the content of the lessons should be different. I do not have the training for that and also the time for that (we just have couple of training per week). I am considering that to train an 8 old boy in a group of adult would also affect the course negatively. Some students are rather reluctant already to train with a woman so I wonder how it could be with a kid. I encourage women and men to train also together, the majority of aggression come from men.
The mind-set of a kid is different and the techniques taught can be used in wrong way, a schoolmate for example and I am more or less responsible toward that. I consider that 15 year old is the bottom limit: physically the structure of the body is more adult and it is an age when a teenager is allowed by the law to more freedom too so regarding to the law more responsible of its act. The kid could also commit his own parents into some trials.
Yes it does, because we use dirty tricks and Krav Maga does not emphasize on strength. A "dirty strike" would be maybe their only chance to escape from a skilled man aggressor who is often 40 kg more and 20 cm bigger than them. Krav Maga is designed to work for everybody. If size matters too much then this technique is not a proper Krav Maga technique.
We work also in a progressive way without the aim to injure our partner in the drill. Krav Maga does not intend to make you a wonder-woman, but at the very least to not freeze and also to try some dirty tricks instinctively when you face a stressful situation.
We do fight as drill (fight drills are important to develop our skills and vision), but most of the time they are "soft" and generally just 10 min per session. But we do the drill fight at a slow speed and low impact most of the time at beginner level. Fight so called "hard" are mandatories in the belt exams from the Green Belt (included).
"Train Safe" is a common motto in Krav Maga. One of the reason that Imi denied the competition is because in competition the injuries occurs way more. If you get injure during training you eventually expose yourself more to a real attack (you will defend with less efficiency).
In Krav Maga there are 2 main systems of Grade (the Belt and the Patch) depending of the federation. In general one belt is equal to two patches.
The Belt system is more a traditional one with White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Brown and Black and then the Darga or Dans. This is the one that we use in KRAV MAGA SOFIA club affiliated to the FEKM-RD.
However, the graduation to black belt varies and depends on the federation. In the FEKM-RD it takes 5-6 years minimum or even more, in IKMA around 8-10 years. The program between federations also differs, not all black belt Grades have the same curriculum. The Belt system are used in IKMA, FEKM-RD, KMF-AC.
The Patch system is about 5 level for Practitioners and 5 level for Graduate, then Expert - 5 levels, and Master - 5 levels. We consider that a black belt is Expert Level 1. The Patch system is used mainly in IKMF, KMG, IKM and all the schools who have been in touch with IKMF. The instructor grade is delivered by the belt regarding seminar and couple of exams passed. G1 is the first grade instructor for the Patch system, after several weeks of instruction.
Yes you can, since november 2017, the club is affiliated to the FEKM (European Federation of Krav Maga). FEKM uses the belt system, according to the rules, KRAV MAGA SOFIA can graduate a student up to a brown belt in Sofia, without necessarly traveling abroad for those exams.
The black belt exams take place in France 2 times per year. The success to the exam grants you the black belt. The failure percentage is more than 50 % among all pretenders and 75 % at the first presentation to the exam. Getting a black belt in FEKM is difficult.
Yes, but you will have to make at least 2-3 travels to France to get few days long seminars (so called "long seminars", each of them is long more than 3 days). Success of the exam and a valid first medical help diplom. These seminars are necessary to get a proper pedagogical knowledge and a technical assement.
Equipment
Gloves and mouthguard
The gloves should be like in Boxing (closed).
MMA gloves are allowed for experienced practitioners for certain form of fight, but are not recommended in the FEKM-RD. We use closed gloves to avoid gouging the eyes by mistake of your partner, especially at beginner level. MMA gloves allows grabs and more possibilities. The authorized gloves in the Federation are boxing gloves. Mouthguard: useful by default.
Groin guard
Both men and women need groin protection.
Krav Maga aims to hit the vital parts: testicles and pelvis are sensitive zones. We have to be on the safe side. Most of our defence involves hitting the groin. If you avoid kicking this area, you have greater chance to miss the target in a real situation. We should be prepared to give and receive kick to the groin area.
Optional equipment
Shielding of the shin is recommended.
Knee cap protection can be used also. Helmet, and finally - breast protection for women. For the drills with guns, knife, and stick – we use plastic models. We never train with real weapons. The protection is not only for you, but for your sparring partner also.