Frequently asked questions

Yes. We are highly confident that you will love our training materials. All you need to do is cancel within your first 30 (thirty) days of membership and you will receive a full refund.

Not all Krav Maga is the same. Krav Maga, while increasingly popular, has also developed somewhat of a dubious reputation as an exercise fad due unqualified instruction. The online program, in part, is designed to teach and demonstrate what krav maga is; and, perhaps, equally important, what it is not. Many people equate krav maga as simply another type of exercise routine with a few self-defense mechanics thrown in, rather than the effective, no-nonsense, and when necessary, brutal self-defense system it was designed to be. My goal is to allow responsible people to learn proven self-defense first while concurrently deriving great strength and conditioning. Proper body mechanics, movement, and retzev (“continuous combat motion”) coupled with the IKMA’s innovations separate us. As noted, there are now many interpretations of krav maga. Some are rooted in founder Imi Lichtenfeld’s original teachings while others bear no resemblance.

Israeli Krav Maga survival can generally be summarized, “What we do up, we do down” with modification. In other words, whatever we do from an upright position, with modification and your weight properly positioned, we do from a ground position. This includes positioning the defender for optimum secondary-weapon deployment. And just as there are no rules in an “up” fight, there are no rules in a “down” fight. Groin strikes, throat strikes, eye gouges, and biting are all-viable and are ground fighting options. Do not go to the ground if it can be helped. A second assailant or multiple assailants could come to the first assailant’s aid. To state the obvious, fighting multiple adversaries on the ground is extremely difficult—hence the importance of developing your infighting and anti-takedown capabilities to remain standing. Ground movement obviously differs from standing movement. Ground survival can allow one combatant superior control and positioning, preventing the other from defending, disentangling, or escaping as he might while standing. Krav Maga groundwork should be thought of as “what you do up, you do down,” with additional specific ground-fighting capabilities such as practiced (secondary) weapon deployment for professionals.

One of the wonderful things about Krav Maga training is the more you put into it the more you get out of it. Generally, it takes about three months of intense training for everything to click and the practitioner to ignite all cylinders. Please see IKM belt-guidelines above.

Generally, yes. Be sure to consult and receive permission from your physician for any type of exercise including the Mastering Krav Maga program. The great thing about Krav Maga is you can ramp up or scale down your engagement as necessary. In other words, you can do fewer techniques within your allotted workout time; take more of rest or recovery period as needed in between practicing.

Yes. Krav Maga training for civilians, law enforcement, and military personnel all share the same principle: to deliver oneself from harm’s way. Importantly, the “ending” or end goal is different. The exception is when any category of defender faces a situation involving deadly force. The following table summarizes the engagement strategies with the key end-goal differentiations for civilians, law enforcement, and military: Civilian: disrupt incapacitate as necessary disengage; call police Law enforcement: disrupt incapacitate subjugate and control or, if necessary, terminate Military: disrupt incapacitate or maim terminate

Yes, as the necessity for technique adaptions and the adoption of new tactics to counter new threats are developed, we continually update the MKM training.

Yes, within our training hubs we award belts to our students upon successfully completing the pre-requisite belt level requirements and testing for them. Imi developed Krav Maga’s belts in parallel with those found in judo: Yellow Belt – 9+ months Orange Belt – 18+ months (approx. 27 months / 2+ yrs.) Green Belt – 24+ months (approx. 51 months / 4-5 yrs.) Blue Belt – 24+ months (approx. 75 months / 6-7 yrs.) Brown Belt – 24+ months (approx. 99 months / 8-9 yrs.) Black Belt – Invitation Only; Minimum 10+ years To make the system more digestible and set shorter term goals which practitioners can achieve in rapid succession, we have replaced the first three belt levels (Yellow, Orange, and Green) with Kravist Levels: Levels 1-3 – 9+ months Levels 5-8 – 18+ months (approx. 27 months / 2+ yrs.) Levels 9-12 – 24+ months (approx. 51 months / 4-5 yrs.) Blue Belt – 24+ months (approx. 75 months / 6-7 yrs.) Brown Belt – 24+ months (approx. 99 months / 8-9 yrs.) Black Belt – Invitation Only; Minimum 10+ years

Currently, we do not provide belts for online training. However, we can issue Kravist certificates of completion following your submission of yourself performing the tactics correctly on video.

We suggest you try to master three tactics per 45 minute training session. In other words, try to spend at least 15 minutes per technique with your training partner. We do not suggest doing more than six tactics per training session unless you are dedicating several hours at a time to the training.

Your training partner can be a great help if s/he notes you are doing something incorrect. Filming yourself perform the tactics is a great way to evaluate your progress by then comparing them to what you see online. We try to present the common mistakes our teaching to facilitate your avoiding them. We will have an online feedback portal for those who wish to film themselves for our review.

Generally, it takes just a few lessons to master Krav Maga’s tactics. The reason is two-fold: the tactics are based on instinct and a few mastered movements go a long way. Krav Maga’s tactics are based on cumulative building blocks. Once you master these building blocks, your learning curve is accelerated. However, inculcating these tactics and making them first nature (not even second nature) does require a significant number of repetitions along with repeated training sessions. We recommend going through each online tactic and practicing it a minimum of 12-15 repetitions per partner.

Cooling down is both a literal and mental requirement. You should try to stretch after your training to improve your flexibility. While you stretch you should rehearse what you just did in your mind, but, envision scenarios that would require or demand the Krav Maga tactics you just learned. Now take the same scenario and mentally visualize or rehearse how you would avoid, de-escalate, and/or escape such a scenario. In other words, come up with a plan that will calm the situation and yourself down to avoid the necessity of using krav maga counter-force.

Krav Maga provides an exceptional fitness workout while focusing on tried and proven reality based defensive measures. Aerobic and anaerobic training is integral to the training. A vitally important component of surviving a violent encounter is a fitness level to do it. Ballistic combatives and grappling are taxing. The great thing about krav maga training is that you can ramp it up or down to build your fitness level.

Yes, provided the anatomical targeting that Krav Maga emphasizes is adjusted to comport with safety and competition rules. Our core strikes fit well within any MMA curriculum along with retzev (continuous combat or fight motion).

Yes! Israeli Krav Maga provides women with an unparalleled ability to defeat a larger, stronger, and even armed attacker. The tactics are designed for any women regardless of size, strength or athletic ability. The goal is to present women (and men) workable defensive measures to safeguard one’s own safety. While krav maga teaches the same techniques for men and women alike, “infighting” and specialized ground techniques receive special emphasis for women. Violence against women often involves close proximity, especially, in a sexual assault. Street violence is volatile and, often, unpredictable. The one street certainty: there are no certainties in a life and death battle. Again, awareness is the most crucial element to walking away unscathed. If you can outsmart an attacker and prevent an attack, this must be your first and best choice. Violence is an ugly reality. When a woman or man, is prepared to defend her-/himself with anything and everything at one’s disposal, s/he is a kravist.

No! Krav Maga is designed for every law-abiding citizen. Age considerations are obviously taken into account regarding the suitability/capability of a tactic for a given person. Certain tactics may need to be customized despite any type of infirmity. Of note, a cane or walking stick can be readily integrated into the training.

Krav Maga is taught to both children and adults. The caveat in learning Krav Maga is the practitioner’s maturity and understanding of use-of-force considerations. Generally, we do not teach weapon defenses and related skills to anyone under the age of thirteen.

No gear is necessary. When working with a training partner, however, groin and a mouth guard is highly recommended. You can practice the combatives in front of a mirror. To develop long movements along with power you might want to invest in a 120 lb. heavy bag or some good muay thai pads and a solid kicking shield for use with a training partner.

Currently, we do not offer online certifications, however, through our assessment portal, we can provide feedback for those who wish to film themselves for our review.

The key to at-home or independent training is to find at least one compatible training partner who will gradually orchestrate attacks at full force and resistance to the counter-tactics. Women need to train with men and men need to train with men. Obviously, no one should get injured in any type of training. Yet, training cannot be done in a vacuum devoid of the brutal nature of an attack, especially, if it is an ambush. The balancing act (literally and figuratively) is safety. If possible, it is best to join with a good training partner. It cannot be understated how important partner work is. Initially, partners should work cooperatively, but, as one advances in reality based training scenarios, your partner must become uncooperative. In other words, your partner should offer concerted resistance to simulate an attacker who is determined to injure (or even kill) you.

Although many Krav Maga building block techniques have existed for thousands of years, the self-defense system was developed, modernized, and fine-tuned during World War II and Israel’s War of Independence by Emerich “Imi” Lichtenfeld (Sde-Or). Imi’s father, Samuel Lichtenfeld, joined a professional circus troupe, where he excelled in both wrestling and boxing. After developing extensive knowledge in fitness training along with wrestling, boxing, and mixed-skill fighting, Samuel joined the Czech police as a detective and led the force in arrests. Samuel founded and ran the wrestling club and gym “Hercules,” where he trained Imi and other young competitive athletes. Imi rapidly distinguished himself as a champion in judo, boxing, wrestling, gymnastics and ballroom dancing, among other athletic pursuits. Imi quickly concluded that only real necessity justifies a “win at all costs” approach. This tenet undergirded Imi’s Krav Maga training approach.

Krav Maga is often translated as “contact combat.” The meaning here is significant. Combat is a life-and-death battle devoid of rules. Krav Maga is based on our most primitive and natural instincts. The Hebrew word “krav” means struggle and was first used in the Old Testament when Isaac wrestled with Gabriel, the angel of death.

You may be your first and last line of defense in an increasingly violent world. Street-proven and battle-tested and Israeli Krav Maga (“contact combat”) is the Israel Defense Force’s official self-defense and close-quarters-combat system. Imi Lichtenfeld’s Krav Maga has reached global prominence because of its simplicity, instinctiveness, easy learning curve and brutal effectiveness. Krav Maga is dynamic and constantly evolves as situations require. Krav Maga’s philosophy is never to do more than necessary but to react with speed, economy of motion, and objectively reasonable counter-force. If a situation is dire, the defender must do whatever is necessary to overcome the threat. This may include multiple strikes to the groin, throat, and kidneys, a finger planted into an eye, shouting into an attacker’s ear, a head butt, breaking an attacker’s elbow using an armbar variation, a bite to the neck, or choking an assailant into unconsciousness. Krav Maga will build your body, mind, and soul. Imi designed it to benefit people of all shapes, sizes, and physical abilities regardless of age. The system uses the same building blocks from the most simple defenses to the most advanced techniques. These include empty-handed defenses and disarms against bladed weapons, firearms, hand grenades, and even rocks. In short, Krav Maga is well known for its simplicity, instinctive nature, utility, use of weapons of opportunity, adaptability, and proficiency.