Combat Krav Maga

No rules

Dion Privett had always been interested in fitness. Now, he says, he’s reached a whole new level.

“I boxed and took taekwondo,” said the Lumberton resident. “By far, krav maga is the most intense, most realistic thing.”

The 49-year-old Privett was one of about a dozen students training at the Israeli Krav Maga self-defense studio in Cherry Hill on a recent Monday night.

Krav maga is the official self-defense system of the Israeli military and police.

This instinctive form of fighting — a kind of marriage of a diverse variety of fight forms — is the opposite of a traditional martial arts school. There are no contests or trophies. And the philosophy is simple: No rules.

The studio is in a 4,300-square-foot warehouse-like building on Springdale Road and has a 2,000-square-foot training floor.

Co-owner Don Melnick, a Cherry Hill resident who said the studio opened in July 2010, said he became fascinated by krav maga after taking a seminar in it at the Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill in 2008.

He took the class with David Kahn and later, Melnick became certified to teach krav maga. Then he decided to open a business with Kahn, David’s brother Abel and Rinaldo Rossi. The Kahn brothers already had established a school in Hamilton in Mercer County more than four years ago.

Melnick, 38, a former Mount Laurel resident who once worked in sales for a major information technology company, said he had no martial arts training.

“I came in cold,” he said. “With krav maga, the less you know the easier it is.”

The whole point of the training” is to get you home safely. It’s a hybrid of a whole bunch of systems,” Melnick said. “You must learn whatever it takes to defend yourself. There is no such thing as a fair fight in the street.”

Though not a traditional martial art, the krav maga system has a colored belt ranking, with the first belt — yellow — only achieved after nine months of training.

On a recent night, Rossi, an engineer for Verizon Wireless, explained that training involves a variety of exercises, including situps, punching and kicking drills — and even how to fall down and get up again. Pointing to students who were dropping and rolling on a mat, he said they were learning how to fall safely.

“You can learn how to fall holding a baby — and the baby doesn’t get hurt,” Rossi said.

Rossi and Melnick said krav maga, which roughly translates to close combat, was originated by Slovakian boxer Imi Lichtenfeld to help Jewish immigrants in Israel fight off antisemitic bullies. Finding that boxing wasn’t enough, Lichtenfeld added other elements to create a self-defense process that was adapted to the street.

Krav Maga – Frequently Asked Questions | Nutaofit Martial Arts.com

If you are interested in Krav Maga but not sure whether to get a professional training in it, these answers to Frequently Asked Questions about this self defense system would help you make up your mind. Read on.

Krav Maga as a close combat system, is quite different from other martial arts. While martial arts like karate have spiritual and sporting elements, Krav Maga has nothing as such. It is a pure self defense system created to defend yourselves in real time situations. These basic questions and answers about Krav Maga would help you develop a basic understanding about the system.

Q. How did Krav Maga come into being?

Krav Maga was derived from street-fighting skills where you instinctively try to defend yourselves from the attackers by any means possible. The goal of this fighting technique is to respond to an attack with overwhelming force in the quickest time possible.

Q. Who founded Krav Maga?

Imi Lichtenfeld, an Israeli citizen, is credited as the founder of this self defense technique. The term means “close combat” in Hebrew and was developed in the 1930s by Imi Lichtenfeld.

Q. What are the basic principles of Krav Maga?

General principles of Krav Maga include counter attacking as soon as possible or attacking preemptively, targeting most vulnerable parts of the body, trying to neutralize the opponents as quickly as possible, using available objects as weapons and maintaining awareness of the surroundings to deal with any possible threat.

Q. How does Krav Maga differ from other close combat systems?

Krav Maga differs from other close fighting systems such as Karate in that it has no real rules, no competitions and no sporting applications. It is just and just for self defense.

Q. What about basic training?

Basic Krav Maga training is a mixed aerobic and anaerobic workout. Protective pads and other personal protection equipment are usually used during initial training. Practical scenarios are used to train personnel for situations encountered in real world situations.

Q. What are the four arms of Krav Maga defense system?

Krav Maga self defense system has four arms – Civilian, Military, Law Enforcement and VIP Protection.

Q. What is the objective of civilian Krav Maga training?

The training is designed to prepare civilians to defend themselves in any type of street confrontation. The technique prepares practitioners to defend against bare handed opponents as well as armed assailants wielding edged, impact or firearms. Multiple opponent strategies and tactics are also taught. In short, the civilian training focuses on street-proven self-defense techniques.

Complete Krav Maga, The Ultimate Guide to Over 200 Self-Defense and Combative Techniques

Martial Arts Around the Globe

Advanced Krav Maga, The Next Level of Fitness and Self-Defense

Krav maga, an essential guide to the renowned method--for fitness and self-defense

The Everything Krav Maga for Fitness Book, Get Fit Fast with This High-Intensity Martial Arts Workout!