“Why the hell does a healthy person choose training during which he voluntarily gets punched?”
Have you ever asked yourself or heard that question? The vast majority of potential martial arts students choose this activity to improve their physical fitness, take part in a sports competition, or learn to defend themselves.
If you’ve found yourself here to learn to defend yourself against aggression, you’ve come to the right place. But if you want to win medals, shape your body without wasting time – Israeli Tactical Krav Maga is not the place for you. To understand well what we do, you need to know the difference between combat sports, martial arts, and combat systems.
The basic question that we should ask ourselves when looking for differences in the above-mentioned activities is their GOAL.
What are the main goals of martial arts, combat sports and combat systems?
MARTIAL ARTS
In martial arts, the main goal of training is the physical and mental improvement of personality through the use of practice forms of confrontation between practitioners. Martial art is an orderly set of tactical and technical solutions useful in hand-to-hand combat or combat with the use of weapons.
COMBAT SPORTS
In combat sports, the primary goal is to prepare for the effective competition of a two-way nature, with the right of direct contact within the framework of sports competition defined by the regulations. “A combat sport” can be also an appropriate name for any martial, art that enables sports competition.
COMBAT SYSTEMS
In combat systems, to which Krav Maga belongs, the main goal is to prepare to avoid threats, physical confrontations, and – if one occurs – to neutralize the enemy as quickly as possible.
It’s based on a set of utilitarian techniques, free of philosophical and moral aspects or limitations (however, bearing in mind the legal conditions). Krav Maga is a form of close combat, with or without the use of various types of weapons (or other handheld equipment) at a distance that ensures direct contact to neutralize the opponent.
It can be briefly assumed that we practice MARTIAL ARTS for ourselves, COMBAT SPORTS for competition, combat systems (including Krav Maga) for self-defense.
The most important aspect of each course in Israeli Tactical Krav Maga is the students’ preparation to avoid threats and equipment with technical-tactical-mental skills (aimed at neutralization of the attacker and escape) as well as tactical and logical dealing with situations of violence.
Inspired by Levine and Whitman, 2007
Author: Tomasz Leszkowicz
Translator & editor: Kasia Maciejak
