MMA vs Krav Maga

Over the past couple of decades Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) have evolved from a no name sport to one of the most leading, captivating, exhilarating and extremely profitable businesses in United States and the rest of the world.  MMA is a competitive combat sport where two fighters use techniques from Muay Thai, boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and other less conventional martial arts to knock out, submit or dominate their opponent, thus achieving victory in the match.

Krav Maga is a hand to hand combat and self defense system that is used by military, law enforcement agencies and civilians across the world to deal with the threats one may face on the battlefield or the streets.  It was developed in Israel and spread across the globe, with schools popping up all over US, Europe, South America and Oceania.

So given the abundance of both gyms across the world, people naturally start questioning which is the better system and which one should they learn and spend their time and money on?  Unfortunately, this is the wrong question to ask. The two systems are completely different and serve two very different purposes.  To pick the one that suits you best, try asking yourself why you want to invest time into studying fighting in the first place.

MMA is sports fighting.  It has clear rules, a referee arbitrating the match, time limits and a single opponent that is usually equally matched to you in weight and size.  Both fighters are warmed up and ready to fight before the start of the match.  They fight on a relatively well padded surface suited for throws and grappling.  The two fighters have no weapons, and although the fights are pretty intense, the fighters are athletes looking for a win, not criminals looking to murder or maim their victims.

Krav Maga deals with the latter.  It prepares people to fight and defend themselves and others anywhere against any type of attack.  This includes surprise attacks, multiple attackers, armed attackers, fighting in tight quarters, on pavement, in water, on uneven ground, in the dark, in vehicles and much more.  There is no referee to stop a fight on your behalf and the attackers are not looking to have their hand raised after the fight, rather they are looking to inflict serious if not fatal injuries to you and/or your loved ones.

So which one should you learn?  It depends.  If you want to get into competitive fighting, MMA is the way to go.  MMA fighters develop a very good striking and stand up game.  Similarly they are well versed in ground and grappling techniques.  Since MMA matches can last up to 25 minutes, these fighters are some of the best conditioned, toughest athletes in the world.

Krav Maga practitioners train for a different purpose: to survive a violent, deadly attack.  So they too are well versed in striking and relevant ground techniques, but they also train to deal with multiple attackers, fighting at a physical disadvantage, dealing with a variety of weapons ranging from bottles to rifles, protecting third parties, fighting in unconventional positions and environments.  Since Krav Maga spans such a wide range of techniques and principles, Krav Maga fighters are not as skilled at handling a competitive MMA match as an athlete who is specifically trained for such a task.  But Krav Maga students are much more versatile when it comes to personal safety and protection of loved ones.

Two great systems, two separate purposes.  The choice is yours!