Clean Krav Maga

Tracing the Circle – Weekly Meditations on the Practice

“Clean Krav Maga”

When Jim Keenan left Israel to return to the United States in the late 1980’s, he promised Krav Maga Founder Imi Lichenfeld that he (Jim) would teach Krav Maga “clean”.

What constitutes “clean” Krav Maga?

When devising a response for a given self-defense scenario, one must consider the following three questions, each of which points to a particular principle indicative of “clean” Krav Maga:

1. Does the proposed response simultaneously meet Imi’s five required criteria: Is the response the shortest, fastest, strongest, most natural, and to-the-point? The last of the five – ‘to-the-point’ – governs the remaining four. Imi used to say, “If you’re going to hit, hit; if you’re going to escape, escape.”

2. Is the proposed solution likely to be successful 99% of the time, for 99% of the people employing it? Imi use to say, “Krav Maga is not an insurance policy.” That said, the response should carry a high probability of success.

3. And, concerning ‘99% of the people’, is the proposed response designed for the specific target audience learning Krav Maga? For example, Krav Maga taught to elite military looks different that that taught to the average civilian. Therefore, expectations for capacity and response must be proportional to the target audience.

If one’s Krav Maga does not meet all three of these principles, not only is it likely that the Krav Maga being taught is not clean, but more significantly it might inhibit the student’s capacity to successfully manage a violent encounter.