In this lesson, José Luis Bravo will introduce you to the different types of Krav Maga. You’ll see that each type has its pros and cons. These are divided into three groups:
- Krav Maga Martial art. This is traditional Krav Maga. It’s easily recognizable because it comes from the oldest traditions. Traditional Krav Maga instructors rely on the fact that most of their teachers were students or had some kind of contact with one of the developers or creators of Krav Maga, named Imi Lichtenfeld. They are visually identifiable because they wear a judogi, a judo-style gi, and carry belts. The belt color coding is the same as in judo. They honor their teacher. They do meditation and breathing exercises. The bow is Japanese-style, kneeling. Their techniques are 40 years old and, today, are not as practical.
- Krav Maga Combat. The instructors usually come from contact sports such as MMA, boxing, and Muay Thai. The students are typically athletic and strong. Everything is focused on sparring and landing blows. The techniques are primarily combative. These are very physical classes. You need a good physical condition for this type of sport. The classes are predominantly male-dominated. The clothing is military-style or contact sports shorts with a T-shirt. Even the graphic imagery, such as logos, often has a more aggressive connotation.
- Krav Maga Self-Defense. It is characterized by a powerful methodology that includes a learning phase, a practice phase, and a technique testing phase. It is based on motor learning. It is easier for everyone to practice, with physical fitness being less important. Most of the time is spent learning how to resolve practical situations. These practical situations are typically encountered in a real-life setting, in everyday life. Therefore, this type of Krav Maga is much more educational than the previous ones, as it teaches you to identify threats and learn how to manage a fight. Many women attend these types of classes.
The latter, Krav Maga Self-Defense, is what you’ll learn in our courses. This type of Krav Maga is taught in the Israeli Defense Forces due to its practicality and speed of learning.
The methodology applied by José Luis Bravo is a result of his many years of certification during his annual trips to Israel, both at Wingate College in Israel, the Wingate Institute, and the Israeli College of Sport (ICS), where José Luis Bravo also teaches several Practical Krav Maga courses for Foreigners.
The techniques are constantly updated, so if a particular technique proves to be ineffective, it will always be replaced or updated with another with better results. This is one of the great advantages of using our methodology.
You’re going to enjoy this course a lot!
