I've been taking Krav Maga, the official fighting art of the IDF, five or six hours a week for three months. It is totally real-world based, with no katas or chi centering involved.
It's a mixture of boxing, muay thai and jiujitsu. There are jabs, crosses, hooks and uppercuts from boxing, as well as hammerstrikes, palm heels, elbows and knees from muay thai. The kicks are almost all below the waist, mostly to the groin or knees. Once the fight goes to the ground, the jiujitsu aspect of it comes into play.
There are also unarmed defenses against knives, guns and impact weapons taught. Attacks with knives and impact weapons are taught at higher levels, I understand. I have learned quite a bit of defenses against chokes, holds and headlocks, and it all meshes up pretty well with what I learned in the Marine Corps' LINE program. The great thing about it is that the defenses are based on your body's natural reaction to the common scenarios.
For instance, if you're grabbed by the throat in a choke from the front, your natural reaction will be to raise your hands in front of you. Instead of grabbing your assailant's wrists, Krav Maga shows you how to turn that grab into a pluck, thus freeing your vulnerable trachea of your attacker's thumbs, at the same time countering with a kick to the groin, followed up immediately with a series of palm heels and elbows to the face and neck, and knees to the groin and face, once he's bent over.
It emphasizes speed and brutality once the action is joined, and there are no complicated maneuvers to memorize, as most of it comes pretty naturally after you've done it a time or two. Another great thing is that there is no sparring for points. You get in the ring and fight rounds, trading blows for a couple of minutes at a whack instead of stopping everytime someone lands one.
Check it out at [url]www.kravmaga.com[/url], or you can email me if you have any questions. I'm no expert since I've only been at it for a few months, but I really enjoy it, and it makes a lot of sense to me.
[Edited to say: See, EricTheHun, here's something about Israel I like!]