Is Krav Maga Difficult to Learn?
A common question that arises when people call to inquire about Krav Maga is “Is Krav Maga Difficult To Learn”. In short, the answer is no. Krav Maga isn’t difficult to learn. It was developed for the underdog to help the helpless defend themselves against attackers of all shapes and sizes. It’s an adaptable system that meets the practitioner at their skill level and helps them build from there. A common misconception is that Krav Maga is a brutal and complicated art form, but in reality, it’s simple to learn and efficient when practiced properly.
What Makes Krav Maga Easy To Learn?
- Krav Maga is based on natural human instincts.
- The techniques are simple and based on minimum movement and maximum efficiency
- The main objective in learning it is to be able to disengage from violence, not to maintain a long and ‘fair’ fight.
- Krav Maga is a flexible system, it is designed to meet the practitioners where they are, and adapt to their physical ability.
- All techniques are based on common sense and simplicity.
Although Krav Maga is easy to learn, it is difficult to master. The knowledge and basic skills you gain from Krav have saved many lives, but as with any other skill it takes time to build a proper repertoire of instincts.
Understanding the lessons taught in Krav and actually being able to execute them well are two very different things. As stated before, the techniques we practice are based on minimal yet efficient movements. It’s important to build muscle memory in order to perform them instinctively. A moment’s hesitation in class has little to no consequence, but that same hesitation in a real-life scenario can be catastrophic.
Our goal is to teach our students everything necessary to disengage from dangerous situations as quickly as possible. Not to have them engage in a lengthy brawl. It’s important to remember that Krav Maga isn’t a sport, but a self-defense system. Defense is our main goal.
Finding the right mindset
People come into the gym often, making boisterous claims about how they want to be the best and show that they can take on anyone in the gym. This is the wrong mindset to have when approaching a system like Krav Maga. Our goal isn’t to train competitive fighters, but rather to equip everyday people with the skills necessary to remove themselves from dangerous and sometimes life-threatening situations. The goal of our classes is to make someone’s reactions to a threat instinctive. From the moment we start our warm-ups we implement small movements to help build the muscle memory it will take to understand and put into practice whatever techniques are being taught on any given day. With dedication, repetition, and consistency these responses will become second nature.
There is always one more thing to learn
As you progress through our program one thing will become evident. No matter how high the mountaintop you climb there will always be another higher mountain on the horizon. Our highest-level practitioners often realize just how much they don’t know every time they reach a new level. Even our founder Tsahi Shemesh stated that he wasn’t aware how much more he needed to learn until he was already a blackbelt. This is a lifelong discipline and there will always be room for improvement no matter how far you’ve already come.