Safety Starts with the Quality of Your Training

Krav Maga was relatively unknown in the US even as recently as 10 years ago.  However with the popularity of YouTube, explosion of Facebook and other social media means, Krav Maga gained tremendous recognition in this country as the best form of self-defense and hand to hand combat.  Although this exposure has given the opportunity for some good instructors to open new schools in this country, the same popularity has also brought in a tremendous amount of poorly trained people that wanted to profit from the appeal of this system.  Many new organizations started a 3-5 day instructor certification program.  Others have created an online certification process.  Others have claimed to be Krav Maga Experts from the Israeli military, although most have had only a few months of actual Krav Maga training in the service.  Daily YouTube searches for new Krav Maga videos from around the world often make us cringe when we see unaware students that have entrusted their instructors with their safety being taught dangerous, incorrect techniques that are in no way a true representation of Krav Maga, but more importantly can lead to serious and often deadly repercussions if the students were to attempt these techniques in real live alterations.

Self-defense profession can be compared to the medical field, where people entrust their safety and the safety of their loved ones into the hands of the professionals, hoping that every physician has the best interest of the patients in mind.  But like in any profession, not all doctors nor are all self-defense instructors are created equal.  As everywhere, there are people that excel at their job, and there are others that do the bare minimum and are yet still employed.  Most instructors that teach incorrect and dangerous techniques do this not because they have malicious intent, but simply because they do not know any better, and because they don’t take the time to validate and try the techniques they teach in more realistic, un-choreographed settings.  Other instructors simply don’t want to put in the time or the effort or go through the challenge of getting the best available training, and simply take the easy way out by getting certified through unknown organizations and short courses.  So the responsibility often falls upon the student to seek out the best, most qualified training available.

So how do you pick the most appropriate Krav Maga training?  Other than the environment and the ambiance of the school, there are a quite a few factors to consider.  Start by learning about the origin of Krav Maga and understand the lineage of the world’s top instructors.  Then pick the schools that are directly certified by these top instructors.  Next inquire how these schools maintain their own training and if they routinely receive and train updated material from Israel.  When it comes to selection, relate it to the medical field.  When picking a doctor, you want the one that has the best training and the most current medical technology and methodology.  Also when it comes to highly specialized medical procedures, general doctors often don’t cut it, hence we see a specialist.  Similarly, be wary of self-defense schools that are too diversified and teach a variety of martial arts; the more specialized the training the better.  Also, take the time to read the reviews of other people that have trained in these schools and see what their thoughts are as to the quality of the training.  And most importantly ask instructors questions.  Just like a good physician explains the details of the medical procedure, a self-defense instructor has to explain the nuances of the techniques.  If your instructor cannot explain the reasoning behind the technique, or cannot justify why this technique is preferred to another, then most likely he is not knowledgeable enough to train you and your family.

Unfortunately, we cannot assume that all Krav Maga instructors take their profession and the responsibility that comes with it seriously.  So the responsibility falls upon the consumer to make the most informed decision when it comes to their safety and that of their family.  So take your safety into your own hands and pick the training that is the best.  Here is a quote from our instructor and highest ranked Krav Maga practitioner in the world, Eyal Yanilov: “As a serious practitioner, you should be looking for the authentic, real, correct and valuable instructor and knowledge, remember that we are dealing with life and death situations. So get the real life-saving skills and enjoy the practice and the other benefits of belonging to a great community, improving your physical fitness and acquiring courage, focus and other mental skills.”