Sadly I'd say it's both theoretically a great system that a few people have turned into a money making "craze of the new age."  Basically Krav Maga looks at combat from all aspects.  The problem being, as the same as any one style in Martial arts, is that it teaches the same thing to the same group of people at the same time, ie forms or katas.  Each person being an individual needs to find what they excel at but still be proficient enough to defend against what they are weak at.  One style can't do that.  If you watch any "no rules" combat martial arts competition, you see guys that cross train in a few arts.  Of course sport oriented matial arts is just that, sport.  There are rules that can handicap you in real life situations, BUT, it can give you an edge against someone with absolutely no training whatsoever.

Aimless,

After years in Kung Fu and Karate, I was also looking for a new style to study, so I visited a number of schools to see what they had to offer. When I visited the Krav Maga School, the real-life situation training method they used really intrigued me. Krav Maga doesn’t teach any forms, just self-defense techniques. I’ve been doing it for about 8 months now and really enjoy it. They teach a great deal of defenses against many weapons and there is some stick and knife fighting in the higher levels.

The classes start with a warm-up and stretching. From there we usually move on to strikes and blocks with drills to practice full contact striking the pads. We also learn some self defense techniques (from a choke, bear hug, headlock, weapons, etc.) and then practice the techniques with a partner.  We usually finish with a drill that allows you to apply the techniques you’ve learned.  For example, you’ll stand in the middle of the room with your eyes closed & someone will grab or choke you and you have to react like you would in a real situation. That’s the part I like the best. In the other systems, I’ve learned all kinds of techniques, but we didn’t really put them to use the same way.

Since most fights end up on the ground, we also learn ground fighting techniques.  One of our instructors fought in a couple of UFC matches, so it’s good to hear what really works and what doesn’t.

On the negative side, the instructors don’t go into as much detail breaking things down as much as I feel they should in some areas. This probably won’t be a problem if you’ve had a solid martial arts background, but it could be a problem for someone with no experience. For example, my Karate instructor was super detailed in his teaching. Before you threw a punch, he would explain everything about a punch, like keeping your wrist straight, striking with the first two knuckles, slight bend in the arm, target areas, etc. In Krav, you just punched.  The instructors always are willing to answer questions, but they try to get through a lot of material in a class and sometimes things get rushed. It’s not much of a problem for me due to my prior experience, but it could be a problem for some.

Overall, I would highly recommend it. Katas have value, but at this stage in my studies I would rather spend time learning how to react to a variety of attacks instead of learning new forms. It’s a good workout too. Every class I’ve had left me exhausted and soaked from sweat.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

krav, IS the flavor of the month so beware of posers.

In addition try and remember the purpose of Krav Maga. It is not the be all, end all of fighting methods. It is simple basic combat designed to augment a soldier (in this case the IDF) in combat. It is practical for those who receive little or no unarmed training and have little time to invest in that kind of training. KM, also operates under the asumption that the operator is armed. Most techniques are a means of ultimately employing a firearm. For that reason it is ideally suited for military and law enforcement.

But by the same token it is limited and basic. Most legitimate martial methods more completely explore the options and seek a higher level of skill. Combat soldiers do not have the luxury of time to pursue those higher levels.

So it is good because it is simple and basic, but that is also one of it's flaws. A KM stylists can quickly find himself in unfamiliar territory, especially if unarmed.

Mantis,

Where you taking the class, the workout sounds similar to the class I'm taking.

When comparing krav to the older martial arts, I find it will train a student faster.  Mainly due to the teaching method.  Other martial arts start the student off with the need for excellent form, lots of drilling of basic punches/kicks, and the need to learn katas.  In comparison, the first day of krav, the new student is punching the bag, and starts to learn combo techniques.  

Possibly in more advanced classes the student learns to fight with knives and sticks, but i haven't seen much yet.  In more advanced classes, the student learns to defend from advanced knife and stick fighters, so these techniques could be learned at that time.

I had a friend that had come back from serving his time in the Israeli army.  I asked him about "Krav Maga" or atleast it's US verson.  He told me most of the combat training he did there used the empty/malfunctioning rifle/pistol as a weapon.  Not much empty hands work.

Chaingun,

I'm taking the class in the Western New York area. The thing I like the most about it is that we do a great deal of reacting to attacks. The other night in class, the instructor set up obstacles in the room and turned off most of the lights. He had one group of students act as attackers and another group act as defenders. The defenders would walk around the room and the attackers would sneak up on them and attack. It's a quick and relatively painless way to see how well you remembered your defenses.

Krav also allows me to see how some of the techniques I've learned in the more formal systems work against unexpected attacks. It's pretty cool after class when someone you've worked with says "Wow, what did you do to me ? I never saw it coming. I'm glad it wasn't full contact".