http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1431674
http://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail?pid=96805
Today I and a video from a Krav Maga instructor but have some comments and complaints that I’d like anyone who performs Krav Maga or any other martial arts to discuss. It seemed like almost every kick done was at the groin or above the groin, none were done any lower. None of the techniques really put in consideration what would be done if the person was in a different position. When shown in little videos the Krav Maga expert never did anything to stop the person attacking them from retreating and coming back at them. It didn't seem to focus very much on any type of ground fighting. When I have the time I'm going to go to a Krav Maga studio close by to find out more. I've only done Krav Maga for a while, so I'm by no means an expert. But i'll give my two cents.About the kicks, most of them are indeed foccused at the groin. the idea of Krav Maga is to get maximal efficiency from each attack. And, if you knee a guy in the groin a few times, i dont care how strong he is, he'll go down. It also makes more sense to focus on the upper body, since it is more sensitive, and contains the vital organs.
If you get kicked in the stomach, you're far more likely to go down than if you take one in the leg. The thing about Krav Maga is that its not a nice, aesthetic cobat sport, like Karate or Taekwo Do. You just have to infict as much damage as you can, to survive in a messy hand-to-hand combat situation. So, it makes more sense to kick the upper body, which will amost certainly cripple a guy, than to kick him in the leg, which is less likely to have a devastating effect. This is just my reasoning at work. My Krav Maga teacher has never gone into it, so i cant really give you an authoritive answer. I'm not really sure what you mean by the instuctor not stopping the agressor fromp retreating and then attacking. In my Krav Maga classes, we are taught to immediately step into a punch, and then stay as close to the guy as possible. Grapple him, hang on to him, headlock in. Staying close enough so he cant punch you. And then just going for the groin, the eyes, the neck, head, whatever. I dont know what this instuctor was doing. Maybe he's doing something more advanced than i've learnt, maybe its a different sort of technique.
And about the ground fighting, Krav Maga aims to prepare you to fight in whatever condition. We learn to fight starting from a lying down position, siting crouching, what to do if you're being strangled, what if he has you in a headock, how to stop him if he has a variety of weapons etc... So, ground technique is covered, but its only a part of it. In the end, you cant get a feel for Krav Maga, or see the whole picture from a few film clips. I really do recommend you to go to a Krav Maga studio. Its the most interesting and most effective martial art that i've had the pleasure of practicing.
This podcast is good for information
