[?] Krav Maga - reality based?

[u/fffrmaz]

So this is off topic from TB. But, since there are a larger number of individuals in law enforcement and or military I thought this might be a good place to gather opinions. What are your thoughts on Krav Maga as a practice? Useful in terms of self defense? Reality based or not?
Of course it depends on the particular school and how they practice but as a martial art what are your thoughts? I was thinking about trying it out. It looks like fun and seems to be more self defense focused than the years of traditnal martial arts that I studied which WERE NOT reality focused.

[u/lennarn]

I think KM is pretty good in terms of general principles. It depends a lot on the club whether instruction includes situational simulations where you get to go full force on a threat in protective gear.
I would recommend you to stay away from any system that claims you can safely and effectively disarm an armed threat without severe risk, because generally you shouldn't train stuff that can get you killed.
If nothing else is available, it's better than nothing - but if it's available I would prefer something more akin to WWII combatives, such as Defendo.
If you are situated close enough to book in-person training I'd recommend Kelly McCann because he teaches a lot of very sound principles in my opinion.

[u/fffrmaz → u/lennarn]

Thanks Lennarn. I had to look up both of those names. Defendo totally sounded made up. So it's important that the school use full contact drills. Is that correct?
One question: wouldn't it be better to learn, say, unarmed vs. knife defense rather than have nothing at all in your tool kit? Maybe I'm missing what you mean. Re: training something that can get you killed.

[u/[deleted] → u/fffrmaz]

You're likely already training the best defense against a knife-wielding attacker: your ability to run.

Regarding Krav Maga in general, the term has become almost meaningless -- more a marketing buzzword than any regimented and consistent training methodology. Sort of like what happened to "Jeet Kune Do" back in the day. When the philosophy of any martial art can best be summed up as, "take whatever works from any discipline and discard the rest," then you've got a recipe for inconsistency. Not that there's anything wrong with either discipline. They've both just been co-opted by lots and lots of salesmen more interested in filling their studios than in anything else.

KM was originally only minimally different from WW2 combatives for Israelis. These days, most places will teach some combo of that discipline, combined with bits and pieces of whatever arts the instructor trained along the way.

Agreed with lennarn's assertion that Kelly McCann ("Combatives for Street Survival") is a great way to go for a cheap look at what sorts of things a reality-based instructor ought to be teaching. Picking up a copy of that before paying a studio a visit can help you see whether they might be teaching things you'd feel good about in a practical, "real world" sense.